Καλημέρα σε όσους διαβάζουν αυτό το άρθρο. (Kalimera se osous diavazoun afto to arthro: litterally translated it means good morning to those who are reading this post)

My name is Ourania (Ουρανία) and I will be posting on the Greek blog. For those who have questions about my name, in Greek mythology Ourania was the muse of astronomy. As a feminine adjective, ουρανία  derives from ουρανός (ouranos =sky) and it means celestial or heavenly.

I was born in Athens, but my family originally comes from Πελοπόννησος  (Peloponnesus).

I have worked as a Greek tutor since 2008, and I hold a degree in French Literature and a master’s degree in Special Education for Children.  My “assets” include teaching experience, participation in various seminars and projects about Greek, and my love for my native language.

One of the best things that happened to me was learning to read and write. I learned to read and write at the age of six like most kids and haven’t stopped writing since! I usually write in Greek which is my native language. Language or tongue is γλώσσα (glossa) in Greek, and it’s a word that can be found in “polyglot” or “glossary”. One might say that I sound like Gus, the Greek father in the movie “My big fat Greek wedding” (Γάμος αλά Ελληνικά, Gamos ala Ellinika):

“Give me any word and I’ll show you how the root of that word is Greek.”

While thousands of words have Greek roots, this claim is obviously not true.

One of the most impressive characteristics of the Greek language is its evolution throughout the centuries. Greece, or more precisely the geographic area which today is called Greece, has been invaded by many different populations, including Venetians, Franks, Ottomans and Slavs. As a result, the Greek language has been inevitably influenced by new linguistic elements. New words were created by necessity, the form of the language has been modified and simplified and we got to the language called “Modern Greek” (νεοελληνική, neoelliniki) that is related to the Attic dialect (Αττική διάλεκτος, Attiki dialectos).  However, the Modern Greek language is definitely a direct “descendant” of one of the oldest languages.

This blog won’t be only about the Greek language. The purpose of this project is to provide the readers who study Greek, or who are just interested in the Greek language and culture, information about anything related to Greece. After all, Greece is more than  just another country suffering a serious financial crisis; it is culture, language and people.

Θα τα πούμε σύντομα! (Tha ta poume sintoma, we’ll talk soon). Stay tuned!