Learning Greek Cypriot

[Gardash]

[filio]

well, Katharevousa was the formal Greek language until 1976 when "demotic" was made the official language and by the end of the century katharevousa was completely abandoned. However the existence of "katharevousa" and the long time of transition to "demotic" resulted in syntax, grammar rules as well vocabulary to be adopted by the later.

[cypezokyli]

[Crash Test Dummy]

How do you say................

What are you playing at, thats a foul.
Im going to kick your ass??

[cypezokyli]

[cypezokyli]

how about some Turkish Cypriots give us their gavgatji phrases?

something tells me you have as many as we do

[Crash Test Dummy]

can you provide a few direct translations??

[filio]

geeeeeeeeeez
hahahah priceless!

what does "touti fella se","apohti" mean?

how are you translating "siftaneis"?!

on the other hand.. how many traditional ways do we have of flirting? pick up lines?

[cypezokyli]

fella - ofella - ofeleia - beneficial .

apohti....mmm i was told what that means before. give me a couple of day to consult with home and i ll have the answer


crash... many of them are simply not translatable , or are metaphors - i am not sure if it makes sense to translate a metaphor.

[cypezokyli]

here we go again.
two more in the same context :
enna se kamo satsin
enna se kamo efta tonnous .

actually the idea of translating this things makes you think where do these phrases come from ? interesting. unfortunately i do not have the answer to all of them. i would need the cypriot dictionary to give correct translations.
a first attempt :

enna se - tha se (in greek) : i will .... you

dero - deiro - means beat up

kamo ahristo - make you "useless"

kamo mavro - make you black. thats more probably associated with the bruces after a fight.
...pou to xylo or enna sou doko xylo - ...from "wood" , or i will give you "wood" . i dont know where this metaphor comes from. but i know you can define the quantity of xylo you can give to someone : ena sheri , thkyo sherka xylo etc a hand , two hands etc

sapatji and toppouzi are for sure not greek words. perhaps turkish... ?

enna sou arkepso tes gliores - i will start with you the "fast ones"

...touti vlaftei se touti fella se - its kind of saying at each slap or punch : this one does you gut, this one does you harm (harms you)

enna se kamo sapouni - i will make you soap ( i am imagining a nazi-jew origin of this one )

enna sou doko pa st aftia - i will give on the ears... lol i dont know how to translate that

enna se fatsiso hame opos to htapoi- have you seen how they hit octapus on the ground in order for it to get soft ? thats what this sais

enna se kamo na me thoreis tjai na katouras pano sou - i will make you when you see me, to shit yourself (actually pee yourself)

enna se kamo satsin - satsin is a sack. i will make a sack out of you. (or a verb: enna se satsiaso) that would be interesting to find its origin.

enna se kamo efta tonous - i will make you seven tons. most probably because you get all swallen after a fight...

i left last the patsiso and patsarkaso bc they need elaboration
patsos - slap
patsarka - big slap
so the above are just the verbs of the two

now... fouskos means also patsos. moreover we have vyzinopatsos , which does not mean boopslap (vyzi + patsos) but a slap with the back of your hand.

a patsos you can give ( doko) send (pepso ) or "lighten" (astrapso) or (fexo)
with these now you can build even more threat sentences in the form :
if i slap you ...you will... (these if -then sentences are quite interchangable,. that means they dont necessarily have to go together in one sentence) so let me build some for you:

an sou ti pepso enna se kamo na thoreis asterouthkia

an sou doko ena patso enna gyrisei o nous sou

an sou fexo ena fousko enna se fyro

an po tjai gyriso to sheri mou enna peseis hame na lahtaras

an po tjai doko sou ti , en tjai na prolaveis na noseis (lol)

an se piaso sta sherka mou (re kopeloui) enna se laoso

an erto tjiame, enna gyrefkeis topo na hosteis. (akoueis inta pou sou lalo)

: lol:
i am writing these and laughing alone.
i ll try to translate the new ones tomorrow
and dont forget the regional differences. i am sure that paphos and kothinohorka have many more vaiations.

[The Cypriot]

If you're after Cyprot sayings and their translations look no further: www.cypriotacademy.com/proverbs.html www.cypriotacademy.com/expressions.html

[filio]

ahahahhahahahaha
this is soo funny!!!

i have forgotten most of these.

also before any of them..
u start with
( aaaa mana mou mana mou.. enna se.....)while having a very tragic angry almost painful expression on. usually they would lift the hand s and even grab their forehead like this is giving them a headache.
=oh my mother my mother,, i will ...you

hihihihih

i think the " i will give you wood" they also say it in Turkish (Cypriot?) but also Greek .

[Cyprus rules!]

Thats so true!! I think the phase "En na fais ksilo" is brilliant!! I mean come on, "your going to eat stick!?!"

There are many greek dialects throughout the Greek speaking world, like for example the traditional Rhodes dialect is very similar to Greek Cypriot, My nan was speaking to an old women when she went to Rhodes and she thought that she was from Cyprus...However in Greece the younger generation are increasingly speaking "Modern" greek...

In Cyprus, you get taught "Modern" greek in school, for eg, you write in Modern Greek, etc, but you speak the greek cypriot dialect, some old peole speak very raw Greek Cypriot dialect, that people from Greece find very hard to understand!! Lol!

I personally love the way Greek Cypriots speak, it's so much more laid back and there's alot of emotion when they speak...In Greece they speak so fast, and they never open their mouths properly....it's really annoying!! (no offence to anyone...hehe)

The Greek Cypriot dialect contains, turkish words, Italian words, French words, English words etc...

If I were you I think i'd learn Modern Greek, because everyone in CY undertands it and you'll pick up the Cypriot dialect over the years I think!!!

Good luck, and congratulations!!

[Cyprus rules!]

Hey I found this quote about 'regional' dialects, thought i'd put it on....random I know, but hey thats me, a very random person!

"Regional Dialect and Accents
If having carefully followed your home study course in Modern Greek you find that you cannot understand a single word spoken by the fishermen at a Cretan quayside or by the peasants in a Cypriot mountain village, do not be dismayed. Many Greeks will share your predicament! Most regions of Greece have their local dialect (of more modern origins than the dialects of ancient Greece) some of which are very marked. However assuming your pronunciation is correct and you are putting the stress on the correct syllables (one of the most common errors for the student of Modern Greek) they should understand you. Dialects are never used in written Greek other than in literature or for special effect. Indeed the very centralized organization of Greek education and the effect of films and television is leading to a decline in the use of dialect outside the most rural of areas.

Rather different is the question of accents. Again virtually every region of Greece has its local accent, some being clearer for the foreigner to understand than others."

[Cyprus rules!]

Oh and this....

"Greece and Cyprus
There are certain differences between Greece and Cyprus but these are not primarily differences of language, rather they stem from the fact that Cyprus is an independent republic and in its recent history, was governed by Britain for a period of eighty two years.

Indeed Greek as taught in schools in Cyprus is identical to that on the Greek mainland - in fact the same textbooks are used. The same applies to Greek as used in newspapers, magazines and on Cyprus radio and television. Like many regions of Greece, notably Crete and Macedonia, there is a local dialect and a local accent but in a formal context, particularly in written documents, no Cypriot would use dialect just as no High Court judge in Scotland would use words such as wee or bairn when giving a judgement in court although he may well use such terms when talking to his grandchildren!

Differences between the two countries arise mainly owing to differences in institutions, particularly the legal system which in Cyprus is based on the British system. Obvious differences are the currency which in Cyprus is the Cyprus pound divided into 100 cents rather than the Greek drachma. Another trivial but rather confusing difference is the abbreviation T.K. which in Greece stands for post code while in Cyprus it is used for Post Office Box. Katharevousa appears to be dying out more slowly in Cyprus than in Greece, probably because the katharevousa vs demotiki debate was never as heated on Cyprus as in mainland Greece, there being more pressing political issues to engage the Cypriot public!"