Plato wrote:Hello everyone!
I am trying to learn Greek and just have a few questions I am hoping you bright lot can help me with!
Firstly, can a Greek (say from Athens) understand a Greek Cypriot, and vice versa? Basically, are the Attic and Cypriot dialects mutually intelligible?
Also, can a native Greek speaker really understand ancient Greek, i.e. that used to write the New Testament?
Thanks guys in advance!
I am fascinated by the Greek language and look forward to your replies!
A Greek from Athens may understand a Greek Cypriot, unless the later uses a heavy Cypriot accent and a lot of idiomatic expressions particular to Cyprus. A Greek Cypriot will more easily and under most circumstances understand a Greek from Athens, mainly because what is taught in Greek Cypriot schools or used in GC media is the universal standardized Modern Greek version of the language.
Attic is a term used for the standardized ancient (not modern) Greek language!
A Modern Greek person will understand ancient Greek with great difficulty, unless he has studied and learned ancient Greek! However, the opposite is truer, i.e. an ancient Greek person would probably understand Modern Greek much easier, i.e. grammar, syntax, etc, with the exception of the new words that were added to the language during the centuries that have passed until our times.
