Considering a Greek Language Course?
The best way to learn Greek is by doing one of the many Greek language courses currently available. Learning an additional language has many benefits for your mind. Are you ready to unlock them? It also helps you immensely with your career. The good news is there are tons of Greek language courses currently available. They offer great flexibility for those of us leading busy lives. They provide part-time and full-time options, in-person and online.
About Greece
Greece and the Greek Islands are famous for three things in particular, amazing landscapes, ancient civilisation and well-established tourism. Greece is incredibly rich in beauty and culture that it never seems to be entirely explored, no matter how times people visit.
This is the reason why it is one of the most popular tourist destinations across the globe. Greece has the longest coastline in Europe and is the southernmost country in Europe. The mainland has forests, lakes and rugged mountains, but the country is known for the thousands of islands dotting the blue Aegean Sea to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to the South and the Ionian Sea to the west.
The country is divided into three geographical regions: the islands, the mainland and Peloponnese, the peninsula south of the mainland. The Pindus mountain range on the mainland includes one of the world’s deepest gorges, Vikos Gorge, which plunges 3,600 feet.
Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece at 9,570 feet above sea level. Ancient Greeks believe that the country is the home of the gods.
About the Greek Language
Greek, the language of one of the major civilisations and one of the greatest literatures of the world, forms its own independent branch of the Indo-European language family and has no close living relatives. Of all the living Indo-European languages, Greek is closely related to Armenian. It has been spoken in the Southern Balkans since the early part of the second millennium BC and has a documented history that goes back 3,500 years, the longest record of Indo-European language. The earliest written evidence of Greek are Mycenaean Greek documents that were found on Crete and later on in the Greek mainland. They were written in the Linear B syllabary.
Why Study Greek?
There are many reasons to consider studying the Greek language. Greek is the oldest and sole survival of ancient European languages bearing a linguistic tradition of around 4,000 years. It has been the basis of European civilisation and naturally has fundamentally affected other cultures and languages. From 480BC to AD1500, Greek remained the language of global civilisation in both written and oral forms and was the official vernacular of the entire Hellenised world from India to Western Europe.
Therefore, the general use of the Greek language was of huge importance to the spread of Christianity. The sole modern descendant of the Indo-European family of languages is Greek, in which fundamental texts of western civilisation and Christian scripture were transmitted and formulated through the ages. Even in the 21st century, Greek-speaking Patriarchates in Constantinople, Jerusalem, Cyprus, Greece and Alexandria commemorate the 1000 years of Greek presence in Africa, Asia and Europe.
What Will I Learn?
Each course will vary depending on the course provider, however, there are some things you can expect to learn in practically every Greek language course. Therefore, you can expect to learn the Greek alphabet, how to write in the language, pronunciation of the language and how to put phrases together and the grammar. Coming out of the course, you should be able to speak and write Greek confidently in social and business settings.
If you’re serious about doing a Greek language course, check out courses near you in the Nightcourses.co.uk national course finder.
