Xenophobe’s Guides London SW9 7QH United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0)20 7733 8585 E-mail: info@xenophobes.com Web site: www.xenophobes.com Copyright © Xenophobe’s Guides, 2012 All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Series Editor – Anne Tauté Illustrator – Charles Hemming Cover designers – Jim Wire & Vicki Towers
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The Xenophobe’s® Guide to The Greeks makes the perfect companion to this Xenophobe’s® Lingo Learner.
Print ISBN: 978-1-903096-27-7
Contents Introduction Pronunciation A Bit of Useful Grammar The Alphabet Possible Pitfalls
1 1 4 5 5
Essential Words to Remember
5
Less Essential But Jolly Useful Words and Phrases Small Talk The Family Numerals Days of the Week, etc. Time
7 7 8 9 10 11
Getting About On Foot By Taxi By Train By Bus By Boat By Car Car Trouble Parking Road Rage
12 14 14 14 16 18 18 19 21 22
Getting Something to Eat and Drink Fast Food At the Bar Regular Food Essential Questions to Waiters
23 23 24 26 27
Emergencies
28
At the Chemist At the Doctor At the Hospital At the Dentist At the Optician
29 31 33 34 34
Getting a Bed
35
Getting Service At the Bookshop/Kiosk At the Post Office At the Bank At the Hair Stylist/Barber
38 38 39 40 41
Having Fun Sightseeing At the Village Feast At the Bouzouki Joint At the Disco/At the Club On the Beach At the Market At the Boutique
42 42 44 45 46 47 48 50
Sex Mature Female to Toy Boy Sugar Daddy to Nymphette Young Stud to Bimbo Sweet Young Thing to Macho Male
51 51 52 52 53
At the Police
53
Public Notices You May Come Up Against
55
Phrases You May Hear
57
Last Words
60
Introduction When abroad you have to expect foreigners. Most of these foreigners will not speak English. Worse, to them, you are the foreigner. This book is to help you overcome such a setback and cope with the need to communicate with the natives. Phrases are given in English. Then in Greek in italics. Then the pronunciation is set out for the English tongue in bold type. Speedy speech can make all the difference. The faster and more deliberately you say the bits in bold, the more you will convince the natives that what they are hearing is their own language.
Pronunciation There are two things to bear in mind when speaking Greek; firstly, that in Greek some sounds cover a wider spectrum than they would in English. Secondly, in trying to speak this language your mouth is going to get a good workout. So, all you need to do is to master the sounds. ‘™ Û’, for ‘s’ and ‘sh’ which sound the same to a Greek, so it doesn’t matter which one you are using ‘X ¯’, which, whether you pronounce a ‘ch’ sound as in ‘loch’or an ‘h’ sound as in ‘heaven’, it’s all the same. ‘¢ ‰’, is pronounced ‘th’ as in ‘then’ or ‘those’ and can also be pronounced as a ‘d’ and no-one will bat an eyelid. You can have even more fun with ‘° Á’ which can be pronounced like ‘w’ in ‘woman’ or ‘y’ in ‘yes’, or even like ‘g’ in ‘gone’. 1
The same principle applies to all vowel sounds, e.g: · is pronounced ‘ah’. A Greek cannot distinguish any difference between the ‘ah’ in ‘Maria’ and the ‘a’ in ‘cat’, the ‘u’ in ‘bug’, the ‘o’ in ‘cow’. It all sounds like ‘ah’ to him. E Â, AÈ ·È sound like any of the following: ‘The men said that bears bury their leftover pears and berries.’ H Ë, I È, Y ˘, EÈ ÂÈ, OÈ ÔÈ, YÈ ˘È will cover all these: ‘Peter, hissed at the happy killer bees.’ O Ô, ø ˆ can be used for: ‘All were gone though the lawn needed mowing.’ This may all sound like Greek to you, but happily it also sounds like Greek to the Greeks. Greek also has several unique sounds when talking: ‘• Í’, which sounds as if you have run together the three middle letters in ‘backseat’; ‘æ „’, which sounds like the middle bit of ‘upset’ (You will be helped over these vocal hurdles by the simple device of a hyphen, k-s and p-s.) Then there is: ‘¶N ðÓ’, for ‘pn’, which is pronounced as two separate letters, ‘p-nnn’, and not ‘nn’ as in ‘pneumonia’. Now you are acquainted with the easy bits, here are the remaining Greek sounds: £ ı is pronounced ‘th’ as in ‘thin’ (where necessary it will be shown as ‘thh’ to help you) § Ï is pronounced ‘l’ as in ‘love’ or ‘little’ ¶ ð is pronounced ‘p’, as in ‘Peter’ P Ú which looks like ‘p’ is in fact ‘r’, as in ‘Robert’
2
º Ê is pronounced ‘f’ as in ‘fatty’ or ‘Philip’ O˘ Ô˘ is pronounced ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’. A˘ ·˘ is pronounced ‘af’ or ‘av’. E˘ ¢ is pronounced ‘ef’ or ‘ev’. H˘ ˢ is pronounced ‘if’ or ‘eve’. B ‚ is tricky. It is pronounced ‘v’ so you will have to overcome your tendency to say ‘b’ every time you see it in writing. The equivalent to King’s English in Greek is the Greek spoken by the citizens of Athens, but since almost half of Greece has moved into Athens during the past sixty years, you never know what you may be hearing. So it’s best not to wonder about it. To help you sail over these hazards, this book opts for the easiest way out which is to go for as credible an approximation as possible. Thus, in a sentence such as:
E›Û·È ·ð·›ÛÈ· ÓÔÈÎÔÎ˘Ú¿, ÌðÔ˘ÌðÔ‡ÎÈ ÌÔ˘. You are a lousy housewife, my flower-bud. everybody will understand you if you say it like this: Eess eh / up essy ah / nick cocky rah, / boo boo key moo. Regional Greek varies, especially among elderly villagers. Islanders, particularly those from the Ionian Islands, have a sing-song pronounciation, while people from mainland Greece have rather heavy accents. There are also several Greek dialects: for example, the word for ‘sheep’ in one area is an identical word to that of ‘shit’ in another. Thus the accusation “You ate my sheep” interpreted as “You ate my shit” brought the two speakers to blows until an outsider was able to explain the misunderstanding. 3
A Bit of Useful Grammar In English the question “Are you alone?” can be asked of a boy or a girl. In Greek the question has two versions.
E›Û·È ÌfiÓÔ˜; Eess eh / moan oss? for a male. E›Û·È ÌfiÓË; Eess eh / moan ee? for a female. Greek grammar not only distinguishes between male and female persons, but accords the same privilege to animals, vegetables, minerals, inanimate things, situations and ideas. For example ‘democracy’ ‰ËÌÔÎÚ·Ù›· (thee mock rat tea ah) is a she, but ‘war’ ðfiÏÂÌÔ˜ (Paul em oss) is a he. Happily, using the wrong gender will not lead to bodily harm. Note the quirky Greek question mark which is the Latin semi colon. So look out for ‘;’ instead of ‘?’. The Greek semi colon is just an upper dot, which is not often used, since Greeks rarely have need of a pause of that length. Boo boo key moo
4
The Alphabet To ·ÏÊ¿‚ËÙÔ Toe / alpha vie toe The Greek alphabet is the mother of them all, though not much of it is recognisable to an English-speaker. Since it may be useful in awkward situations to spell your name, here are the individual Greek letters: A alpha B veetah ° gum ah ¢ delta E epsilon Z zit ah H ee tah
£ I K § M N •
thhee tah yo tah kapah lam thah me knee k-see
O omicron ¶ pee P raw ™ seegmah T tough Y eepsilon º fee
X æ ø
he p-see omegah
Possible Pitfalls Beware the following where the stress is placed:
MfiÓË Moan ee means being alone (feminine) MoÓ‹ Moh knee is a single item (feminine) or a monastery Mo˘Ó› Moo knee means cunt °¿ÌÔ˜ Gum moss means wedding °·ÌÒ Gum mow means I fuck
Essential Words to Remember Very nearly everything can be mimed. You can nod your head for ‘yes’. Tilt it backwards for ‘no’. You can point rudely at anything you wish to indicate and hold up fingers for numbers (with your palm towards your face unless you want to damn a Greek person’s eyes) but you cannot mime colours, the past, the present or the future. 5
If you have lost a pink hold-all on the bus going to the beach yesterday, you can convey a hold-all by drawing a square in the air and miming a hand gripping it, a bus by making a noise like a car gone berserk, but pink and yesterday are tricky. The following should therefore be kept handy. Black White Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Light blue Violet Brown Pink
M·‡ÚÔ ÕÛðÚÔ/§Â˘Îfi KfiÎÎÈÓÔ/EÚ˘ıÚfi ¶ÔÚÙÔηϛ K›ÙÚÈÓÔ ¶Ú¿ÛÈÓÔ MðÏ °·Ï¿˙ÈÔ Mˆ‚ K·Ê¤ PÔ˙
Yesterday Today Tomorrow Later
E¯Ù¤˜ ™‹ÌÂÚ· A‡ÚÈÔ AÚÁfiÙÂÚ·
Mav row Ass pro or Lef co Cocky no or Eri throw Port oh cal lee Kit tree no Prass in no Bleh Gal azio Mauve Café Roz
Eck tess Simmer ah Avrio Are gotter ah
This last not only means later in the immediate sense, but also any conceivable length of time in the future. You may also need the phrase: That is not mine. ¢ÂÓ Â›Ó·È ‰ÈÎfi ÌÔ˘. Then / inner / thee co / moo. At some point may be necessary to apologise, so, in increasing levels of anxiety, here is what you need: Sorry §˘ð¿Ì·È Leap pam eh Excuse me MÂ Û˘Á¯ˆÚ›Ù Meh / see horry teh Forgive me ™˘ÁÁÓÒÌË Sig know / me 6
Less Essential But Jolly Useful Words and Phrases Yes No
N·È Ÿ¯È
Please Thank you
¶·Ú·Î·ÏÒ E˘¯·ÚÈÛÙÒ
Hello Goodbye
X·›ÚÂÙÂ AÓÙ›Ô or °ÂÈ¿
Neh Oh he Para cal law Ef harry’s toe Her rhett teh Adio or Yah
Or, the universal phrase for either hello and goodbye:
°ÂÈ¿ ÛÔ˘ Yah sue literally, ‘Health to you’, to which, when you mean hello, you should add the person’s name. Good Morning K·ÏË̤ڷ Good Evening K·ÏËÛð¤Ú· Good Night K·ÏËÓ‡ÎÙ·
Kali mare ah Kali spare ah Kali nick tah
Sod off! ¶·Ú¿Ù· ÌÂ! (almost polite, literally: “let me be”) Para tah / meh! Toilets (always an embarrassing one to mime): ¶Ô‡ Â›Ó·È Ë ÙÔ˘·Ï¤ÙÙ· Pooh / inner / ee / too ah letta
Small Talk Isn’t it a beautiful day? øÚ·›· Ë̤ڷ! Or ray ah / im mare ah! Or, to cover all contingencies from ‘It’s a bit warm today’, to ‘I can’t stand this heatwave’: 7
What heat! TÈ ˙¤ÛÙË! Tea / zesty!
The Family H ÔÈÎÔÁ¤ÓÂÈ· Ee / eco yen knee ah Whether you want to or not, sooner or later you will be introduced to someone’s vast family – usually in the manner of being taken for a visit to the zoo. You should therefore know the following: Mother Father Daughter Son
MËÙ¤Ú· ¶·Ù¤Ú·˜ KfiÚË °˘Èfi˜
Me terra Pa terrace Corry Yoss
Grandmother Grandfather Granddaughter Grandson
°È·ÁÈ¿ ¶·ððÔ‡˜ EÁÁÔÓ‹ EÁÁÔÓfi˜
Yah yah Pap puss Egg oh knee Egg oh noss
Wife Husband Sister Brother Niece Nephew
™‡˙˘ÁÔ˜ ™‡˙˘ÁÔ˜ A‰ÂÏÊ‹ A‰ÂÏÊfi˜ AÓ„ȿ AÓ„Èfi˜
See zee goss See zee goss Ah del fee Ah del foss Ah nep see ah Ah nep see oss
Mother-in-law Father-in-law Sister-in-law Brother-in-law
¶ÂıÂÚ¿ ¶ÂıÂÚfi˜ KÔ˘ÓÈ¿‰· KÔ˘ÓÈ¿‰Ô˜
Peth err rah Peth err ross Coo knee ah da Coo knee ah dos
Aunt Uncle First cousin (female) First cousin (male)
£Â›· £Â›Ô˜ EÍ·‰¤ÏÊË EÍ¿‰ÂÏÊÔ˜ 8
Thea Theoss Ex adelpfi Ex ah del foss
Lover (male) Lover (female)
EÚ·ÛÙ‹˜ Eڈ̤ÓË
Air rust teas Air Rome many
How do you do. (Literally: Pleased to meet you.) X·›ÚÔÌ·È ðÔ˘ Û·˜ ÁÓˆÚ›˙ˆ. Her row meh / pooh / sass / g-know reez oh. I cannot eat anymore. I’ll burst. ¢ÂÓ ÌðÔÚÒ Ó· Ê¿ˆ ¿ÏÏÔ. £· Ûοۈ. Then / bore oh / nah / fah oh / al oh. / Thha / scass oh.
Numerals AÚÈıÌÔ› Ah wreath me One ŒÓ· Enna Two ¢‡Ô Thee oh Three TÚ›· Tree ah Four T¤ÛÛÂÚ· Tess erra Five ¶¤ÓÙ Pent eh Six ŒÍÈ Ex sea Seven EðÙ¿ Ep tah Eight OÎÙÒ Octo Nine EÓÓ¤· En nay ah Ten ¢¤Î· Deck ah Eleven ŒÓÙÂη En deck ah Twelve ¢Ò‰Âη Though deck ah Thirteen ¢ÂηÙÚ›· Deck ah tree ah Fourteen ¢Âη٤ÛÛÂÚ· Deck ah tess erra Fifteen ¢Âηð¤ÓÙ Deck ah pent eh Sixteen ¢Âη¤ÍÈ Deck ah ex sea Seventeen ¢ÂηÂðÙ¿ Deck ah ep tah Eighteen ¢ÂηÔÎÙÒ Deck ah octo Nineteen ¢ÂηÂÓÓ¤· Deck ah en neh ah Twenty E›ÎÔÛÈ Ee coss see Twenty one E›ÎÔÛÈ ¤Ó· Twenty two E›ÎÔÛÈ ‰‡Ô
Ee coss see / enna Ee coss ee / thee oh etc. 9
Thirty Forty Fifty Sixty Seventy Eighty Ninety
TÚÈ¿ÓÙ· Tree anne da ™·Ú¿ÓÙ· Sar anne da ¶ÂÓ‹ÓÙ· Pen in da EÍ‹ÓÙ· Ex in da E‚‰ÔÌ‹ÓÙ· Ev though mint ah OÁ‰fiÓÙ· Og don da EÓÂÓ‹ÓÙ· En en ninta
One hundred Two hundred Three hundred Four hundred Five hundred
EηÙfi ¢È·ÎfiÛÈ· TÚÈ·ÎfiÛÈ· TÂÙÚ·ÎfiÛÈ· ¶ÂÓÙ·ÎfiÛÈ·
Ek cat oh Thee ack kossy ah Tree ack kossy ah Tet track kossy ah Pen tack kossy ah etc.
One thousand Two thousand
X›ÏÈ· ¢‡Ô ¯ÈÏÈ¿‰·˜
Hilly ah Thee oh / hilly ah thus
One hundred thousand EηÙfi ¯ÈÏÈ¿‰·˜ Ek cat oh / hilly ah thus One million ŒÓ· ÂηÙÔÌ̇ÚÈÔ Enna / ek cat oh me ree oh
Days of the Week, etc. A day M›· Ë̤ڷ Me ah / im mare ah Two days ¢‡Ô Ë̤Ú˜ Thee oh / im mare ess A week M›· ‚‰ÔÌ¿‰· Me ah / ev though ma da A fortnight ŒÓ· ‰ÂηðÂÓı‹ÌÂÚÔ Enna / deck ah pen theme err raw Three weeks TÚÂȘ ‚‰ÔÌ¿‰Â˜ Triss / ev though ma dess A month ŒÓ·˜ Ì‹Ó·˜ Two months ¢‡Ô Ì‹Ó˜ A year Two years
En ass / mean ass Thee oh / mean ess
ŒÓ·˜ ¯ÚfiÓÔ˜ En ass / kronos ¢‡Ô ¯ÚfiÓÈ· Thee oh / kron knee ah 10
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
¢Â˘Ù¤Ú· TÚ›ÙË TÂÙ¿ÚÙË ¶¤ÌðÙË ¶·Ú·Û΢‹ ™¿‚‚·ÙÔ K˘Úȷ΋
Deft terra Treaty Tet arty Pempty Para skevvy Sav at toe Keer yak key
January February March April May June July August September October November December
I·ÓÔ˘¿ÚÈÔ˜ ºÂ‚ÚÔ˘¿ÚÈÔ˜ M¿ÚÙÈÔ˜ AðÚ›ÏÈÔ˜ M¿˚Ô˜ IÔ‡ÓÈÔ˜ IÔ‡ÏÈÔ˜ A‡ÁÔ˘ÛÙÔ˜ ™Âð٤̂ÚÈÔ˜ OÎÙÒ‚ÚÈÔ˜ NԤ̂ÚÈÔ˜ ¢ÂΤ̂ÚÈÔ˜
Ee anne ooh arry oss Fev roo arry oss Marty oss Up rilly oss My oss Ee ooh knee oss Ee ooh lee oss Av goose toss Septem vree oss Ock toe vree oss No em vree oss Deck em vree oss
ÕÓÔÈÍË K·ÏÔη›ÚÈ ºıÈÓfiðˆÚÔ XÂÈÌÒÓ·˜
Spring Summer Autumn Winter
Time
Annie k-see Calo care ee F-thin nope or roe He mon ass
H ÒÚ· Ee / aura
Morning Night Midday Midnight
¶Úˆ› Pro ee N‡ÎÙ· Nick ta MÂÛË̤ÚÈ Messy merry MÂÛ¿Ó˘ÎÙ· Mess anne nick ta
Nine o’clock EÓÓ¤· Ë ÒÚ· En neigh ah / ee / aura Quarter past nine EÓÓ¤· Î·È Ù¤Ù·ÚÙÔ En neigh ah / keh / teh tart toe 11
Twenty past nine EÓÓ¤· Î·È Â›ÎÔÛÈ En neigh ah / keh / ee cossy Half past nine EÓÓÈ¿ÌÈÛË En knee ah me see Quarter to ten ¢¤Î· ð·Ú¿ ٤ٷÚÙÔ Deck ah / para / teh tart toe Ten a.m. ¢¤Î· ÙÔ ðÚˆ› Deck ah / toe / pro ee Ten p.m ¢¤Î· ÙÔ ‚Ú¿‰˘ Deck ah / toe / vrah thee
Getting About On Foot M ٷ ðfi‰È· Meh / tah / paw thee ah Which is the way to..... ? Aðfi ðÔ‡ ð¿Ó ÛÙÔ.....; Ah paw / pooh / pan neh / stow…? You will get a reply that sounds like: Pee yen neh / ari stair rah. ¶‹Á·ÈÓ ·ÚÈÛÙÂÚ¿. Go to the left (i.e. Turn left.) Pee yen neh / deck see ah. ¶‹Á·ÈÓ ‰ÂÍÈ¿. Go to the right. Thha / pass / issy ah. £· ð·˜ ›ÛÈ·. Go straight ahead. Yeer nah / pee so / pross / ta / eh key. °‡ÚÓ· ð›Ûˆ ðÚÔ˜ Ù· ÂΛ. Back that-a-way. 12
Then / eh ho / ee deh ah. ¢ÂÓ ¤¯ˆ ȉ¤·. I have no idea. If you do not understand because of rural accents, try: Can you show me where that is on this map? MðÔÚ›Ù ӷ ÌÔ˘ ÙÔ ‰Â›ÍÂÙ ÛÙÔÓ ¯¿ÚÙË; Bore eat eh / nah / moo / toe / thee k-seh teh / stone / hearty? Can you draw it for me on this piece of paper? MðÔÚ›Ù ӷ ÌÔ˘ ÙÔ ˙ˆÁÚ·Ê›ÛÂÙ ے ·˘Ùfi ÙÔ ¯·ÚÙ¿ÎÈ; Bore eat teh / nah / moo / toe / zo graphis set tay / sh’ / aft oh / toe / heart tack key? Oh dear. Where can I get a taxi? ¶ˆ ðˆ! ¶Ô‡ ÌðÔÚÒ Ó· ‚Úˆ ¤Ó· Ù·Í›; Paw paw! / Pooh / bore oh / nah / vraw / enna / taxi?
Taxi?
13
By Taxi MÂ Ù·Í› Meh / Taxi In Greece the word for street, avenue, square, etc. comes first in an address and the number last, e.g: Number 10 Patission Street would be Street Patission Number 10:
O‰fi˜ ¶·ÙËÛ›ˆÓ ‰¤Î·, ð·Ú·Î·ÏÒ. Oh dos / Patty sion / deck ah, / para cal law. after which you can settle back and let him rant about the incompetence of the government, of the police, of his fellow-drivers, or of his wife.
By Train M ÙÚ·›ÓÔ Meh / Tren oh Station ™Ù·ıÌfi˜ Stath moss Platform AðÔ‚¿ıÚ· Up oh vuth rah Express train T·¯Â›· or EÍðÚ¤˜ Tah he ah or Express Stops at every station T·ÎÙÈÎfi Tuck tea co; it also has a: Night sleeper KÏÈÓ¿Ì·Í· Clean ah max ah What time are the trains to Thessalonica? TÈ ÒÚ· ¤¯ÂÈ ÙÚ·›ÓÔ ÁÈ· £ÂÛÛ·ÏÔÓ›ÎË; Tea aura / eh he / tren oh / yah / Thhess salon knee key? One return ticket to Kalamata. ŒÓ· ÂÈÛÈÙ‹ÚÈÔ Ì ÂðÈÛÙÚÔÊ‹ ÁÈ· K·Ï·Ì¿Ù·. Enna / ee seat eerie oh / meh / epi straw fee / yah / Cal lamb matter. Two single tickets to Sparta. ¢‡Ô ÂÈÛÈÙ‹ÚÈ· ¯ˆÚ›˜ ÂðÈÛÙÚÔÊ‹ ÁÈ· ™ð¿ÚÙË. Thee oh / ee sea teary ah / horriss / epi straw fee / yah / Spar tea. 14
Which platform for Chalkis? Aðfi ðÔÈ¿ ·ðÔ‚¿ıÚ· ·Ó·¯ˆÚ› Ô Û˘ÚÌfi˜ ÁÈ· X·ÏΛ‰·; Up oh / pee ah / up oh vuth rah / anna horry / oh / seer moss / yah / Hal key da? Does this train stop at many stations? K¿ÓÂÈ ðÔÏϤ˜ ÛÙ¿ÛÂȘ ·˘Ùfi ÙÔ ÙÚ·›ÓÔ; Canny / paul less / sta siss / aft oh / toe / tren oh? Do I have to change? ¶Ú¤ðÂÈ Ó· ·ÏϿ͈ ÙÚ·›ÓÔ; Preppie / nah / al axe oh / tren oh? I thought you said the train left at six. E›ð·Ù fiÙÈ ÙÔ ÙÚ·›ÓÔ Ê‡ÁÂÈ ÛÙȘ ¤ÍÈ. Ee pat teh / oh tea / toe / tren oh / fev ghee / s-teace / ex sea. It is now seven thirty. TÒÚ· Â›Ó·È ÂðÙ¿ÌÈÛË. Torah / in neh / epta missy. I wanted to get out at Trikala. ◊ıÂÏ· Ó· η٤‚ˆ ÛÙ· TڛηϷ. Ee thhel ah / nah / cut teh voe / sta / Tree cal ah. Where does this train go to then? TÂÏÈο, ðÔ‡ ð¿ÂÈ ·˘Ùfi ÙÔ ÙÚ·›ÓÔ; Telly kah / pooh / pie / aft oh / toe / tren oh? I know it’s the wrong ticket! TÔ Í¤Úˆ fiÙÈ ¤¯ˆ Ï¿ıÔ˜ ÂÈÛÈÙ‹ÚÈÔ! Toe / k-sair roe / oh tea / eh ho / la thaws / issi teary oh! How much more? ¶fiÛ· ð·Ú·ð¿Óˆ; Posh ah / para pan oh? 15
Do you accept zlotys? ¢¤¯ÂÛÙ ˙ÏfiÙ˘; The hess teh / zloty?
By Bus M ÏˆÊÔÚ›ÔÓ Meh / Leh off oh rio Most towns and villages in Greece (EÏÏ¿‰· = El lather) have two names, one local and one literate. However on the road signs you get only the latter, plus its pronounciation spelled (for tourists) in the Latin alphabet. I’d like to go on a bus trip to Olympia. £¤Ïˆ Ó· 𿈠Ì ÙÔ ÏˆÊÔÚÂ›Ô ÛÙËÓ OÏ˘Ìð›·. Thellow / nah / pa awe / meh / toe / leh off oh rio / steen / Olympia. How much is it? ¶fiÛÔ ÛÙÔȯ›˙ÂÈ; Poss so / stee hee zee? When does the bus leave? TÈ ÒÚ· ·Ó·¯ˆÚ› ÙÔ ÏˆÊÔÚ›Ô; Tea / aura / anna horry / toe / leh off oh rio? At what time does it get back? TÈ ÒÚ· ÂðÈÛÙÚ¤ÊÂÈ; Tea / aura / ep piss treh fee? Is there an earlier bus? ¢ÂÓ ˘ð¿Ú¯ÂÈ ¿ÏÏÔ ÓˆÚ›ÙÂÚ·; Then / eep are he / aloe / nor eat terra? Is this the right bus for Delphi? A˘Ùfi Â›Ó·È ÙÔ ÏˆÊÔÚÂ›Ô ÁÈ· ¢ÂÏÊÔ‡˜; Aft toe / inner / toe / leh off oh rio / yah / Del foos? 16
Which is the right bus for Delphi? ¶Ô›Ô Â›Ó·È ÙÔ ÏˆÊÔÚÂ›Ô ÁÈ· ¢ÂÏÊÔ‡˜; Pee oh / inner / toe / leh off oh rio / yah / Del foos? Does this stop at the archaeological site? K¿ÓÂÈ ÛÙ¿ÛË ÛÙÔÓ ·Ú¯·ÈÔÏÔÁÈÎfi ¯ÒÚÔ; Canny / stassy / stone / archaeo logic oh / horro? Could you tell me where I get off? MðÔÚ›Ù ӷ ÌÔ˘ ð›Ù ðÔ‡ Ó· η٤‚ˆ; Bore eat eh / nah / moo / pea teh / pooh / nah / cut tevoe? I was told this bus went to Delphi. MÔ˘ ›ð·Ó fiÙÈ ÙÔ ÏˆÊÔÚÂ›Ô ðËÁ·›ÓÂÈ ÛÙÔ˘˜ ¢ÂÏÊÔ‡˜. Moo / ee pan / oh tea / toe / leh off oh rio / pee yen knee / stooss / Del foos. I am on the wrong bus. Please stop, I want to get off. ¶‹Ú· Ï¿ıÔ˜ ψÊÔÚ›Ô. ™Ù·Ì·Ù‹ÛÙÂ, ð·Ú·Î·ÏÒ, Ó· η٤‚ˆ. Peer rah / lath thhoss / leh off oh rio. / Stamat tiss steh / para cal law / nah / cut tevoe. When is the next bus back to Athens? ¶fiÙ ¤¯ÂÈ ð¿ÏÈ ÏˆÊÔÚÂ›Ô ÁÈ· Aı‹Ó·; Pot eh / eh he / pally / leh off oh rio / yah / Atheena? How long does it take? ¶fiÛË ÒÚ· οÓÂÈ Ó· ð¿ÂÈ; Possy / aura / canny / nah / pie? Is there any other way I can get to Athens? Yð¿Ú¯ÂÈ ¿ÏÏÔ˜ ÙÚfiðÔ˜ Ó· Á˘Ú›Ûˆ ÛÙËÓ Aı‹Ó·. Eep are he / al loss / trop poss / nah / yee ree so / steen / Atheena? 17
By Boat M ðÏÔ›Ô Me / Plea oh I feel sick. ¢ÂÓ ·ÈÛı¿ÓÔÌ·È Î·Ï¿. Then / ess thha no meh / cal ah. Should the porthole be below sea level? E›Ó·È ÛˆÛÙfi Ó· Â›Ó·È ÙÔ ÊÈÓÈÛÙÚ›ÓÈ Î¿Ùˆ ·ðfi ÙËÓ ÂðÈÊ¿ÓÂÈ· Ù˘ ı¿Ï·ÛÛ·˜; Inner / so stow / nah / inner / toe / finish tree knee / cut oh / up awe / teen / ep pea fanny ah / tiss / thha lass ass? I can’t swim. ¢ÂÓ Í¤Úˆ ÎÔχÌðÈ. Then / k-seh roe / col lee bee. Should we be at this angle? °È·Ù› ð‹Ú·Ì ٤ÙÔÈ· ÎÏ›ÛË; Yah tea / peer ah meh / tet yah / klea sea? Have you got a life jacket? Œ¯ÂÙ ¤Ó· ÛˆÛ›‚ÈÔ; Eh het eh / enna / sauce see vee oh? Man overboard! ÕÓıÚˆðÔ˜ ÛÙËÓ ı¿Ï·ÛÛ·! Anne throw posh / steen / thha lass ah!
By Car M ·˘ÙÔΛÓËÙÔ Meh / Aft oh keen knee toe I want to hire a car. £¤Ïˆ Ó· ÓÔÈÎÈ¿Ûˆ ¤Ó· ·˘ÙÔΛÓËÙÔ. Thellow / nah / knee key arse so / enna / aft oh keen knee toe. 18