Making sense of Greek

[dgadee]

I am bu**eredby the number of names Greeks use for a single location. Why?

 

[westernman]

I am bu**eredby the number of names Greeks use for a single location. Why?

Different cases (as in latin) for "from", "to", "at", "on" etc.

 

[newtothis]

I am bu**eredby the number of names Greeks use for a single location. Why?

It's bad enough they have to call everything Agia Wherever. Total lack of imagination.

 

[dgadee]

I see a name pilot and it has two versions. Go to Navily or a chart and named location not to be found. That's not due to Latin surely?

 

[Davy_S]

It's bad enough they have to call everything Agia Wherever. Total lack of imagination.

Yes, they will be calling places in the uk St Annes and St ives next!

 

[cmedsailor]

I am bu**eredby the number of names Greeks use for a single location. Why?

What do you mean?

 

[dgadee]

Finikas, Foinikas, Foinikou just popped out of a page I opened in Heikell. Not to mention Greek characters.

Has there been a standardisation process which has failed

 

[newtothis]

Finikas, Foinikas, Foinikou just popped out of a page I opened in Heikell. Not to mention Greek characters.

Has there been a standardisation process which has failed

There was a standardisation process. It's called the Greek alphabet. It was only those Johnny-come-lately Romans that went and messed it up.

 

[Yngmar]

It's mostly Heikell being a bit ignorant about the Greek language. And of course it's written in a different alphabet, so whenever you read it in your familiar latin letters, they're really just an approximation of the real thing. The Greeks aren't confused about their place names, just a bit repetitive. Don't ever let anyone tell you they're in Vathy (Βαθύ) - there's dozens of Vathis in Greece! The word just means "Deep"

Picking up a few words is quite fun and you'll begin to understand places better, and learn the origin of so many words in other languages. Nisi = Island. Mega = Big. Meganisi = Big Island. Neo = new, paleo = old. Agios = Saint. Anti = opposite. For example Antipaxos is the island opposite Paxos. Obviously!

 

[billskip]

I am bu**eredby the number of names Greeks use for a single location. Why?

Nowhere near the amount of places called Ausfahrt in Germany.....

 

[cmedsailor]

Finikas, Foinikas, Foinikou just popped out of a page I opened in Heikell. Not to mention Greek characters.

Has there been a standardisation process which has failed

In Greek it’s written only once as φοινικας but if you translate (or “convert”) into English, or latin characters or whatever you want to call it you may see foinikas or finikas or even phinikas etc.

 

[ChromeDome]

Has there been a standardisation process which has failed

Would seem to repeatedly be the case, in several areas around the world.

The region actually was home to one of the Cradles of Civilization and has seen many of the world's oldest cultures and civilizations. From the earliest human settlements, continuing through several major pre- and post-Islamic Empires through to the nation-states of the Middle East today.

One Greek example is Knossos on Crete (Κρήτη, Kríti, Krḗtē).

Once at the pinnacle of development, Sumerians were the first people to develop complex systems as to be called "Civilization", starting as far back as the 5th millennium BC.

Things have changed.

 

[Davy_S]

If you can remember,--Ena litro kokino krassi parakalor, it is all you will ever need!

 

[newtothis]

If you can remember,--Ena litro kokino krassi parakalor, it is all you will ever need!

Or better yet: ένα λίτρο κόκκινο κρασί παρακαλώ

 

[Davy_S]

μόνο αν μπορείτε να διαβάσετε ελληνικά, αλλά οι περισσότεροι άνθρωποι δεν μπορούν!

 

[ChromeDome]

Δεν μπορώ, αλλά το deepl.com είναι ο φίλος μου

 

[newtothis]

Δεν μπορώ, αλλά το deepl.com είναι ο φίλος μου

Υπάρχει επίσης μια μεγάλη μηχανή αναζήτησης που κάνει καλή δουλειά σε αυτό

 

[Davy_S]

deepl.com IS a translator!

 

[ChromeDome]

yep, and one of the best.

Goo Translate doesn't even get near.

 

[cmedsailor]

Or better yet: ένα λίτρο κόκκινο κρασί παρακαλώ

In fact it's more common in a tavern to say.... ένα κιλό κόκκινο κρασί παρακαλώ (despite the fact that litre is the correct word!)