The Greek Influence on the English Language_CONTENTS_ΙΩΝ

CONTENTS

Chapter One:

Introduction .....................................................................9

Chapter Two:

Historical Background of the two Languages............13 2.1

The English Language ....................................................13

2.1.1

General ............................................................................13

2.1.2

Old English .....................................................................15

2.1.3

The Middle English Period and the Renaissance ...........17

2.1.4

The Modern English Language ......................................19

2.2

The Greek Language .......................................................20

2.2.1

General ............................................................................20

2.2.2

The Greek Dialects .........................................................21

2.2.3

The Common Dialect ......................................................21

2.2.4

The Greek Language in the Middle Ages.......................24

2.2.5

Greek in the Turkish Period ............................................25

2.2.6

The Modern Greek Language .........................................26

Chapter Three:

Main Analysis ................................................................27

3.1

Section A .........................................................................27

3.1.1

General ............................................................................27

3.1.2

Psychology ......................................................................29

3.1.3

Text Selection .................................................................31

3.1.4

The Passage .....................................................................33

8

The Greek Influence on the English Language 3.1.5

Etymological Analysis ....................................................34

3.1.6

Morphological Analysis ..................................................37

3.1.7

Phonological Analysis and Pronunciation ......................42

3.1.8

Representational/Referential Analysis............................46

3.1.9

Other Greek Words in Psychology .................................49

3.2

Section B .........................................................................52

3.2.1

Philosophy.......................................................................52

3.2.2

The Passage .....................................................................54

3.2.3

Etymological Analysis ....................................................55

3.2.4

Word Formation Analysis...............................................57 (a) Derivation .................................................................57 (b) Compound Words ....................................................60

3.2.5

Word Meaning Change ...................................................62

3.2.6

The English Influence on Greek .....................................64

3.3

Section C .........................................................................66

3.3.1

Reasons for the Greek Influence.....................................66

Chapter Four:

Conclusion......................................................................71

Appendices

.........................................................................................77

Bibliography

.........................................................................................77

CHAPTER ONE Introduction This book grew out of a great concern regarding the question of the influence of the Greek language on English. As many British lexicographers quite often point out, the full understanding of the English language and its development through the ages requires a deep knowledge of its Greek roots.

They report that, as a main source of our civilization, Greece remains alive through the use of all the words of Greek origin.

In order for us to gain a greater insight into the importance of the above, I shall mention, briefly, some interesting statistical figures which are indeed astonishing: according to the Webster International Dictionary the total of the word stock of the English language is 166,724 words, out of which 41,214 are Greek. On the other hand, A Konstandinides, in his remarkable book The Greek Words in the English Language, argues that the whole of the medical terminology in English amounts to 43,716 words, out of which 20,346 are again Greek.

It is not a mere coincidence that all the basic concepts of Thought and Expression in English - and other European languages - are words of sheer Greek origin: "analysis" (1667), "synthesis" (1611), "antithesis" (1529), "method" (1541), "therapy" (1605), "empiric" (1605), "rhythm" (1527), "axiom" (1485), "theorem" (1551), "dogma" (1600), "symmetry" (1563), "diagnosis" (1681), etc. The numbers in brackets indicate the date that each of the above words appears in any English text for the first time. It is a really astonishing fact that words of the era of Homer and Aristotle are introduced into the English language only fifteen or seventeen centuries later; it is easy, therefore, for us to realize the great extent of the Greek contribution to the evolution of humanity and culture in general.

In this book I intend to investigate and identify the reasons why so many Western European languages (where English also belongs) resort to the Greek glossary to

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The Greek Influence on the English Language

express feelings, concepts, ideas or to name objects. My intuition is that the Greek language, more than Latin, is suitable and ideal for the creation of new words; Latin, though very flexible, has difficulties in the production of compound words - to include two different meanings in one single word. Science constantly discovers new objects and concepts; a name must be given to them. The Greek thesaurus is the solution.

It is resolved, at this point, to direct the progress of this book into two sections: 1. a historical section, which will illuminate the various stages of development of the two languages from the beginning of their formation up to now. Such an investigation will reveal that the English language has always been open to foreign influence, partly through the succession of invaders who came into contact with English speakers during the Middle Ages; partly through the enterprise of the English themselves, who have carried their language into the far corners of the world, where it has gathered, like a snowball, new matter as it passed on its way. It will also show that the contact between the English and the Greek peoples has never been direct, but indirect, mainly through the impact of the ancient Greek culture and literature.

2. the second section will focus on a detailed presentation of the Greek influence on English, concentrating on the areas of (1) Psychology and (2) Philosophy. In order to provide a lucid and wide-ranging discussion of this, two passages will be selected, one from each area, trying to highlight the degree of the Greek interference in the development of English. This is hoped to be achieved better by a series of analyses on various levels - such as the etymological, the morphological, and the phonological level, and by attempting to cover, at the same time, some other aspects of the language, such as the process of word formation and the reasons for any word meaning change.

Chapter One. Introduction

11

3. But such an investigation will yield, by contrast, valuable insights relevant to the English influence on Greek. It is a well-known linguistic fact that language contact always results in interference phenomena. It would be unfair for the English language if we claimed that it only received but it did not give. The gradually increasing influence of English as an international and widely spoken language upon Greek will therefore be examined in the respective chapter of the main analysis.

With these general thoughts always in mind, I proceed to the examination of the historical background of the two languages, hoping to be able to depict some useful elements of their origin and their development throughout the ages.