In the 19th century, Modern Greek became the official language of the Kingdom of Greece.Īccording to Peter T. Modern Greek is derived from Koine, a common dialect of Ancient Greek that was understood throughout the Greek-speaking world at that time. Greek is one of the oldest Indo-European languages and is usually divided into Ancient Greek (often thought of as a dead language) and Modern Greek. Let's take a closer look.Ī very brief history of the Greek language
To this list, we could add thousands more words, some common and others less so. Clearly, the Greek language has had an important influence on the English language. How many words derived from Greek have you used today? British Council teachers in Greece, Martha Peraki and Catherine Vougiouklaki, explain why English owes so much to the Greek language.Īntique, idol, dialogue, geography, grammar, architect, economy, encyclopaedia, telephone, microscope. all these common English words have something in common: they're derived from Greek.
