Learn about some common mistakes made by native Greek speakers
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Intro |
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| Michael: What are some common mistakes made by native Greek speakers? Part 1 |
| Chrissi: And why do they make them? |
| Michael: At GreekPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Maritina Chalepa makes a language mistake common for many native speakers. Her teacher, Anna-Maria Aslanidou, corrects her: |
| "The flight is at 2 post meridian (PM)." |
| Μαριτίνα Χαλεπά: Η πτήση είναι στις 2 μετά μεσημβρίας (μ.μ.). (Ι ptísi íne stis dío metá mesimvrías (m.m.).) |
| Dialogue |
| Μαριτίνα Χαλεπά: Η πτήση είναι στις 2 μετά μεσημβρίας (μ.μ.). (Ι ptísi íne stis dío metá mesimvrías (m.m.).) |
| Άννα-Μαρία Ασλανίδου: Όχι «μετά μεσημβρίας». Λέμε «μετά μεσημβρίαν». (Óhi "metá mesimvrías." Léme "metá mesimvrían.") |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Μαριτίνα Χαλεπά: Η πτήση είναι στις 2 μετά μεσημβρίας (μ.μ.). (Ι ptísi íne stis dío metá mesimvrías (m.m.).) |
| Michael: "The flight is at 2 post meridian (PM)." |
| Άννα-Μαρία Ασλανίδου: Όχι «μετά μεσημβρίας». Λέμε «μετά μεσημβρίαν». (Óhi "metá mesimvrías." Léme "metá mesimvrían.") |
| Michael: "Not 'post meridian.' We say 'post meridiem.'" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In the dialogue, we hear a conversation between Maritina and Anna-Maria about common mistakes made in Greek by native speakers. We hear Maritina first say, |
| Chrissi: Η πτήση είναι στις 2 μετά μεσημβρίας (μ.μ.). (Ι ptísi íne stis dío metá mesimvrías (m.m.).) |
| Michael: "The flight is at 2 postmeridian (PM)." |
| Chrissi: Όχι «μετά μεσημβρίας». Λέμε «μετά μεσημβρίαν». (Óhi "metá mesimvrías." Léme "metá mesimvrían.") |
| Michael: Anna-Maria clarifies, "Not 'post meridian.' We say 'post meridiem.'" |
| Michael: In Greek, archaic expressions are used quite often in everyday conversations. However, it happens sometimes that natives might make grammatical mistakes when using such expressions simply because they are not aware of the grammar rules that apply to these archaic structures that might be a bit different from the structures used today. |
| Michael: Let’s take a look once more at our dialogue. When Maritina speaks, she confuses the word |
| Chrissi: «μετά μεσημβρίας» (metá mesimvrías) |
| Michael: 'post meridian' for ‘post meridiem.' |
| Chrissi: «μετά μεσημβρίαν». (metá mesimvrían). |
| Michael: Here, she used the genitive case for the noun instead of the accusative case that the preposition before it requires. Can you think of common mistakes in speaking or writing in your native language? Let’s take a look at another common mistake made in Greek, even by native speakers. This mistake happens in written speech. |
| Chrissi: Κάνε ό,τι θέλεις. (Káne ó, ti théleis.) |
| Michael: "Do whatever you want." But, by mistake, a speaker might accidentally write, |
| Chrissi: Κάνε ότι θέλεις. (Káne ó, ti théleis.) |
| Michael: meaning "Do that you want." |
| Chrissi: Notice how removing that little comma from within the pronoun ó,ti (ό,τι) meaning "whatever, anything" changes its meaning to that of the conjunctive óti (ότι) meaning "that." |
| Michael: In English, we often see native speakers confuse "their," "there," and "they’re" for example, or "your" and "you’re" in writing. In many languages, written language reflects the spoken language we hear every day. Homophones, or even words similar in pronunciation, often get confused, even by native speakers. It’s no wonder, then, that these types of errors, and other types of grammatical errors, can pose a challenge for language learners as well. |
| Michael: So, hopefully, this will reassure you that, as you begin learning Greek, sometimes, getting the grammar just right can be tricky, even for native speakers. Don’t stress about it; keep learning the rules of the language at the same time that you’re putting your speaking skills to the test. You’re bound to make mistakes here and there, but it’s all just part of the learning process. Try to have fun with it! Your speaking will improve faster than you think. |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let’s review the sentences we heard in this lesson. I will say the English translation, and then you will have a few seconds to say the Greek out loud. Chrissi will then model the correct answer. Listen to her and repeat, with the focus on your pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how Maritina says "The flight is at 2 post meridian (PM)." |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Chrissi as Maritina: Η πτήση είναι στις 2 μετά μεσημβρίας (μ.μ.). (Ι ptísi íne stis dío metá mesimvrías (m.m.).) |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Chrissi as Maritina: Η πτήση είναι στις 2 μετά μεσημβρίας (μ.μ.). (Ι ptísi íne stis dío metá mesimvrías (m.m.).) |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Chrissi as Maritina: Η πτήση είναι στις 2 μετά μεσημβρίας (μ.μ.). (Ι ptísi íne stis dío metá mesimvrías (m.m.).) |
| Michael: And do you remember how Anna-Maria Aslanidou says "Not 'post meridian.' We say 'post meridiem.'" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Chrissi as Anna-Maria: Όχι «μετά μεσημβρίας». Λέμε «μετά μεσημβρίαν». (Óhi "metá mesimvrías." Léme "metá mesimvrían.") |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Chrissi as Anna-Maria: Όχι «μετά μεσημβρίας». Λέμε «μετά μεσημβρίαν». (Óhi "metá mesimvrías." Léme "metá mesimvrían.") |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Chrissi as Anna-Maria: Όχι «μετά μεσημβρίας». Λέμε «μετά μεσημβρίαν». (Óhi "metá mesimvrías." Léme "metá mesimvrían.") |
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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