Learn some common Greek slang
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Intro |
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| Michael: What is Greek slang like? |
| Chrissi: And is it commonly used? |
| Michael: At GreekPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Consider the following situation: Lia Andreadaki uses an expression that Ben doesn't recognize. He asks, |
| "What does 'sfihterman' mean?" |
| Μπεν Λι: Τι σημαίνει «σφίχτερμαν»; (Ti siméni "sfíhterman"?) |
| Dialogue |
| Μπεν Λι: Τι σημαίνει «σφίχτερμαν»; (Ti siméni "sfíhterman"?) |
| Λία Ανδρεαδάκη: Σημαίνει μυώδης τύπος που του αρέσει να επιδεικνύεται. (Siméni miódis típos pu tu arési na epidikníete.) |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Μπεν Λι: Τι σημαίνει «σφίχτερμαν»; (Ti siméni "sfíhterman"?) |
| Michael: "What does 'sfihterman' mean?" |
| Λία Ανδρεαδάκη: Σημαίνει μυώδης τύπος που του αρέσει να επιδεικνύεται. (Siméni miódis típos pu tu arési na epidikníete.) |
| Michael: "It means a muscular guy who likes to show off." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: Slang is an aspect of language that isn’t usually taught in the classroom, but it can be important for becoming proficient. Slang is defined as a set of words and expressions that are regarded as very informal. Nevertheless, they can be useful, since they can help someone to better convey feelings and implied concepts. Slang is usually an aspect of the colloquial language, and, for this reason, it changes really quickly or differs from subculture to subculture. In Greek, “slang” is |
| Chrissi: αργκό (argó) |
| Michael: In this lesson, we’ll talk about some of the most common Greek slang words and expressions. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let’s start with the slang word in the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Ben Lee says "What does 'sfihterman' mean?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Chrissi as Ben Lee: Τι σημαίνει «σφίχτερμαν»; (Ti siméni "sfíhterman"?) |
| Michael: The word Ben Lee was asking the meaning for literally means “tight-ing man” in Greek. If you read it in English, you would get the word “sphincter man.” In biology, the term “sphincter” refers to any circular muscle in the body that maintains constriction of a small opening or orifice, such as those found in the digestive system. A “sphincter man,” therefore, is a man who loves to maintain a tight and muscular physique. Not only that, but this man loves to show people how muscular he is. |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: You’ve learned that slang is an important aspect of colloquial language. It is often limited to small groups and it can change quickly or become obsolete. So far, we’ve only covered one Greek slang expression. This time, let’s look at some more examples of Greek slang. Our first example is |
| Chrissi: άραγμα (áragma) [SLOW] άραγμα (áragma) |
| Michael: which refers to “the act of chilling.” It’s derived from the word, |
| Chrissi: αράζω (arázo) [SLOW] αράζω (arázo) |
| Michael: or in English, “to moor,” which refers to the act of securing a boat by attaching it to an anchor. In Greek slang, the word in question refers to the act of securing one’s self down without any intention of going anywhere. If you want to hang out with your Greek friends, for instance, you would say something like, |
| Chrissi: Πάμε για άραγμα σπίτι σου; (Páme ya áragma spíti su?) |
| Michael: or “Let’s go chill at your place.” Now, you’ve probably learned that saying “How are you doing?” in Greek is |
| Chrissi: Πώς είσαι; (Pós íse?) |
| Michael: And this is correct, especially if you want to be sure you’re being typical. Many Greeks, however, use another phrase to ask the same question. It’s the expression, |
| Chrissi: Τι λέει; (Ti léi?) [SLOW] Τι λέει; (Ti léi?) |
| Michael: This word loosely translates to “What does it say?” but in Greek slang, it means “What’s up?” And, like its English counterpart “Wassup,” you don’t want to be using this expression in formal settings, or when you’re addressing someone older. That said, it should be used only when you’re speaking with a person you’re very close to or to the younger generation in informal situations. Another Greek slang that is just as commonly heard is |
| Chrissi: έλα (éla) [SLOW] έλα (éla) |
| Michael: This is the Greek way of saying “Come!” or “Let’s go!” It’s also used as an expression of disbelief, similar to the English expression, “Really?!” |
| Expansion |
| Michael: We’ve been talking about spoken Greek slang, but what about Greek slang used in social media chat or text messages? Just like in English, there’s a lot of slang used in Greek text messages, or |
| Chrissi: γραπτά μηνύματα (graptá minímata) |
| Michael: Keep in mind that most Greek internet and text slang words are in the form of abbreviations. One that’s commonly used is the abbreviation |
| Chrissi: μνμ (mnm) |
| Michael: It’s an abbreviation for |
| Chrissi: μήνυμα (mínima) |
| Michael: which means “message.” Here’s how to use it: |
| Chrissi: Σου έστειλα ένα μνμ χθες. (Su éstila éna mnm hthes.) |
| Michael: “I sent you a message yesterday.” Here’s another one: |
| Chrissi: τέσπα (téspa) |
| Michael: Many of the internet slang words and expressions used in every language today emerged from the need for more concise texting and chatting in the early days of SMS messaging due to the character limits, and this is one of those words. It’s derived from the Greek expression |
| Chrissi: τέλος πάντων (télos pándon) |
| Michael: which is translated as “whatever, anyhow.” Now, here’s the last one: |
| Chrissi: ΣΚ (SK) |
| Michael: This one’s a bit interesting because the abbreviation is only composed of two letters, but, in fact, it’s a compound word: |
| Chrissi: Σαββατοκύριακο (Savvatokýriako) |
| Michael: This word translates to “weekend” and it’s the combination of two words, |
| Chrissi: Σάββατο (Sávato) |
| Michael: which means “Saturday,” and |
| Chrissi: Κυριακή (Kiriakí) |
| Michael: which means “Sunday.” So, in essence, the letters in the slang word in question represent the initials of the Greek words for “Saturday” and “Sunday,” respectively. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Chrissi: Γεια χαρά! (Ya hará!) |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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