Cyprus-Forum.com

[Hazza]

Reason I ask this question is the local kiosk that I go to have 2 young Polish ladies working there. One of them has been living in Cyprus for around 18 months, the other for 7 months. Both arrived here not knowing a single word of Greek and very very limited English.

They both speak fluent Greek now and a little bit of English.

A Serbian customer I had yesterday, she has been living in Cyprus for a year now. She didn't speak a work of English or Greek, she spoke quite good English and she told me she speaks Greek better.

What is the secret here? Is it dedication from these 3 ladies? Do Eastern European find language learning easier than somebody from the UK? Does Cyprus have very very good language tutors?

I'm a little interested as to how somebody who couldn't speak anything apart from their own language learns so much in so little time.

[devil]

My experience:
I first learnt a little Greek when I first came here in 1952-3, with formal lessons. I could hold simple conversations, time of day, ask directions, order from a menu, understand prices and so on, although I could never hold a philosophical discussion etc. I could also use a small amount of bad language. I could also read aloud Greek that I could not fully understand and have been told my accent was quite good (the Scottish r helped, of course).

This was reinforced by a short visit (5 months) in 1956, sent by my then employer.

When I came to live here in 1997-8, I found myself lost in Greek. I had forgotten more than I ever learnt and a lot of the language (vocabulary) had changed. I tried some lessons, but found I was getting nowhere. Maybe I'm just too old. I don't have much opportunity to practice. If I say something to a stranger in Greek, I find it difficult to understand the reply, now, or they reply in English. Dhen katalavaino tipota!

[Sotos]

It is as easy as with any other language If you speak English because all Cypriots speak some English then you are not forced to learn Greek. If you don't speak English then you have to learn the language to communicate and there is no way out of it! If somebody speaks to a Cypriot with very bad Greek then the Cypriot will usually try to see if the foreigner speaks English. If that foreigner doesn't speak English or his English is even worst than his Greek then they will continue trying to talk in Greek and this way that foreigner can practice his Greek and learn better slowly slowly. But if that foreigner is English or speaks good English then the conversation will turn to English and this way that foreigner can not practice his Greek and he will probably think "why should i try to learn Greek if everybody talks to me in English" and he will give up trying. I think I fully answered your question

[devil]

I disagree that Greek is as easy as any other language. I am bilingual French/English and have varying degrees of knowledge of several other languages. I found Greek and Russian to be the most difficult ones. Some of my difficulties:
nouns ending in -os can be masculine, feminine or neuter, making it very difficult to know from the form whether they are o, i or to (transliterated)
verb conjugations, especially irregular ones. Adding double prefixes, e.g. thelo, tha ithela

What I like about Greek: if you can read it, you can pronounce it!

[Sotos]

I think it was easier for you to learn French because English is more similar to French than Greek. If your first language was Chinese then I don't think learning French would be easier! Whats maybe more difficult in Greek is to write it because of the many letters and combinations of letters that make the same sound. So if you can read greek you can pronounce it but if you hear it you will not know how to write it

[steverf]

Dear Hazza
apse gefali sou. The art is in listening

[Hazza]

Thanks for the replies all. I can speak Greek, but it was the speed that these girls learnt the language which shocked me. I knoe people from the UK that have lived in Cyprus for years, but can't speak a word of Greek, yet these 3 girls learnt to speak it fluently in a few months.

[steverf]

Hazza
It's a must do situation.I learned the same way.I know it's difficult to pronounce a lot of the words. People from the eastern bloc use Grrr and ghh everyday Also they use a different alphabet.Plus very few people here speak their language.What would would you do if you were dropped in Siberia


O.K. for all the smart asses out there everybody speaks their own language

[LENA]

George mou, your answer to your question is...

If you speak English because all Cypriots speak some English then you are not forced to learn Greek. If you don't speak English then you have to learn the language to communicate and there is no way out of it!

Agree!! Thats why they learn Greek so easily. Because they did not speak English at all or Greek and living in Cyprus was easier for them to learn Greek.

If somebody speaks to a Cypriot with very bad Greek then the Cypriot will usually try to see if the foreigner speaks English. If that foreigner doesn't speak English or his English is even worst than his Greek then they will continue trying to talk in Greek and this way that foreigner can practice his Greek and learn better slowly slowly.

Agree again, so that mean your English are very good but your Greek sucks.

So if you can read greek you can pronounce it but if you hear it you will not know how to write it

Dear Hazza
apse gefali sou. The art is in listening

You already have your example here! (just kidding) And trust me I have seen worst!

I can speak Greek, but it was the speed that these girls learnt the language which shocked me. I knew people from the UK that have lived in Cyprus for years, but can't speak a word of Greek, yet these 3 girls learnt to speak it fluently in a few months.

Does this ring any bell to you??? All girls...you are a guy...mmm that makes me think...maybe if you keep using that method for the pain you might learn Greek faster!

But I totally agree with Sotos. If you use Greek you will learn faster. The mother of a British friend is in Cyprus, she is taking Greek classes and she tries to speak and use the language but her husband gave up because he do not use at all the language.

[LENA]

Oh and stop talking to me in English and you might improve your Greek