Twilight Elena
- Thread starter Dancebug
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It's Wonderful
New Member
Maybe PM rather than post a new thread?
MacMoto
Active Member
PM-ing her is best as It's Wonderful says, but in the meantime...Dancebug said:
No T-E's exceptionally good (she's an exceptionally talented young lady
) -- but many Greeks do speak English, so not being able to speak Greek shouldn't be a big problem when you are visiting Greece, especially tourist destinations. If you say something in Greek to English-speaking Greeks, they'll say that's very good and continue speaking to you in English :lol:.
Twilight_Elena
Well-Known Member
When I saw a thread with my name on I freaked out. :lol:
Well. Admittedly my grasp of the English language is uncanny.
Nevertheless it's pretty common for Greeks to speak many languages. That's probably because our language is not spoken anywhere else in the world (except Cyprus) and so we have to learn lots of languages. I imagine an English person wouldn't be so hard-pressed to learn new languages, as English is spoken throughout the globe.
So to make a long story short, I don't think you'll have any problems. Even tavern owners know some basic English nowadays, and you probably won't need anything other than basic English. All hotel employees know very good English to my knowledge, too. WHere are you planning on staying? Athens or perhaps one of the islands? The better the weather the more I suggest you book a trip to the islands. Maybe stay a day or two in Athens to see the Parthenon and the museums (a good idea is to do this with a group from teh agency so that you get the whole guided toor and everything), then hit the islands. Only make sure to book everything at least a month ahead of schedhule, that way you'll get better prices (as well as find rooms to stay, the islands are usually crammed around busy months like July and August).
T_E
Well. Admittedly my grasp of the English language is uncanny.
Nevertheless it's pretty common for Greeks to speak many languages. That's probably because our language is not spoken anywhere else in the world (except Cyprus) and so we have to learn lots of languages. I imagine an English person wouldn't be so hard-pressed to learn new languages, as English is spoken throughout the globe. So to make a long story short, I don't think you'll have any problems. Even tavern owners know some basic English nowadays, and you probably won't need anything other than basic English. All hotel employees know very good English to my knowledge, too. WHere are you planning on staying? Athens or perhaps one of the islands? The better the weather the more I suggest you book a trip to the islands. Maybe stay a day or two in Athens to see the Parthenon and the museums (a good idea is to do this with a group from teh agency so that you get the whole guided toor and everything), then hit the islands. Only make sure to book everything at least a month ahead of schedhule, that way you'll get better prices (as well as find rooms to stay, the islands are usually crammed around busy months like July and August).
T_E
Twilight_Elena
Well-Known Member
Joe said:Ah, the hegemony of the British Empire, and the spread of American-style capitalism.
I draw much pleasure from remembering Plato, Socrates, Sophocles, Eucleides, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, and the fact that the European Enlightenment movement was based on Greek philosophy. Oh, and did you know that the Romans pretty much copied the Greek when they conquered them?
Gotcha.
T_E
Dancebug
Well-Known Member
T_E,
Sorry that I freaked you out. You are so kind with all the information. I don’t think we will visit Greece until next year. We are going Iceland this year. Here is the thing. We originally could not make up our mind between Greece and Iceland. We decided to do Iceland first because somebody told us that almost all the Icelanders speak fluent English. We heard exactly same thing about Icelanders like you said about the Greeks. Even though you speak in the Icelandic language to Icelanders, they will speak back to you in English unless you speak their language immaculately. It is funny how language was an important factor of our decision and it turns out that we were concerned about nothing. Any way we will have lots of questions about our Greece trip next year. I hope you don’t mind.
Thank you.
Sorry that I freaked you out. You are so kind with all the information. I don’t think we will visit Greece until next year. We are going Iceland this year. Here is the thing. We originally could not make up our mind between Greece and Iceland. We decided to do Iceland first because somebody told us that almost all the Icelanders speak fluent English. We heard exactly same thing about Icelanders like you said about the Greeks. Even though you speak in the Icelandic language to Icelanders, they will speak back to you in English unless you speak their language immaculately. It is funny how language was an important factor of our decision and it turns out that we were concerned about nothing. Any way we will have lots of questions about our Greece trip next year. I hope you don’t mind.
Thank you.
Twilight_Elena
Well-Known Member
Dancebug said:
Not at all.
Twilight_Elena
Well-Known Member
Joe said:
Not according to the US. They are trying really hard to tell us that what we Greeks call Macedonia (and is one fo the 9 "provinces" of Greece) for years is not Greek. Haven't you heard the agruments about FYROM? It's a royal mess.
In short, depends on what you call Macedonia. This is Macedonia according to CIA: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mk.html
This is Macedonia according to Greece: http://www.macedonia.com/english/thessalo.html
For us, it's a part of Greece. The trouble begins when they start calling a small country right above Greece Macedonia as well.
(Alexander the Great was from Pella, Macedonia, which is 100%.
)T_E