INTRODUCTION |
Becky: Hello everyone and welcome to GreekPod101.com. This is Lower Intermediate, Season 1, lesson 1, Have You Done Something Wrong At Your Greek Job? I’m Becky. |
Stefania: And I’m Stefania. And together we are going to explain to you some of the most basic and useful elements of my language, Greek. Join us and see how Greek is not that hard after all! |
Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn about onomatopoeic words in Greek. The conversation takes place at the office of the daily newspaper “Εliniká Néa” published in Athens, Greece. |
Stefania: It is between the main character, the 26-year-old trainee reporter Antonia Georgiadi, and the editor Eleni Kalogirou. |
Becky: The characters know each other well, so they will use informal Greek. |
Stefania: Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
DIALOGUE |
Αντωνία: Καλημέρα! |
Ελένη: Καλημέρα Αντωνία. Πώς και έτσι νωρίς σήμερα; |
Αντωνία: Ήθελα να δω τι έγινε με το κομμάτι που έδωσα εχτές. |
Ελένη: Ο Γιάννης το διόρθωσε και τώρα έχει πάει στη Σοφία για στήσιμο. |
Αντωνία: Καλά, θα πάω να δω. Επάνω δεν είναι η Σοφία; |
Ελένη: Τώρα; Από τις εννιά! (γέλια) |
Αντωνία: Τι έγινε καλέ; Γιατί χαχανίζεις; |
Ελένη: Γιατί σκέφτομαι τι μούτρα θα κάνεις όταν το δεις! |
Αντωνία: Ε! Γιατί; Τι έγινε; |
Ελένη: Τι κάνει νιάου-νιάου στα κεραμίδια βρε Αντωνία; Το αφεντικό έγινε. |
Αντωνία: Μη μου πεις! Πάλι; |
Ελένη: Εχτές το βράδυ γκάριζε μια ώρα για το κομμάτι σου. Και είπε στον Γιάννη να το «φτιάξει». |
Αντωνία: Ωχ! Πάω! |
Ελένη: Καλή τύχη! (γέλια) |
Antonia: Good morning! |
Eleni: Good morning, Antonia. How come you're so early today? |
Antonia: I wanted to see what happened with the article I handed in yesterday. |
Eleni: Giannis corrected it and now it has gone to Sofia for the layout. |
Antonia: OK, I'll go and have a look. Sofia is upstairs, isn't she? |
Eleni: Now? Since nine o'clock! (laughs). |
Antonia: What's up? Why are you giggling? |
Eleni: Because I'm thinking of the look on your face when you see it! |
Antonia: Eh? Why? What happened? |
Eleni: Oh, come on Antonia! What did you expect? The boss happened. |
Antonia: Don't tell me! Again? |
Eleni: Last night he was yelling for an hour about your article. And he told Giannis to "fix it." |
Antonia: Ouch! I'm going! |
Eleni: Good luck! |
POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
Becky: So, the conversation took place in a newspaper office, right? |
Stefania: Yes. An Athenian daily. |
Becky: Do people still read newspapers in Greece? Don’t people get their news from the TV or the Internet nowadays? |
Stefania: Younger people do. But for people over 50, reading newspapers is a habit that is hard to kick. |
Becky: But I didn’t notice many people reading in buses or the metro. |
Stefania: You know, for Greeks who love newspapers, reading them is like a ceremony. First, you make your morning coffee, and then you spread your newspaper out on the table and read it. |
Becky: And usually, they’re also smoking a cigarette! |
Stefania: Yes, I’m afraid there are still many smokers in Greece. But things are getting better. |
Becky: Anyway, a newspaper office seems like a good place to hear some good everyday Greek, doesn’t it? |
Stefania: It certainly does! |
Becky: Okay, now let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
VOCAB LIST |
Stefania: θέλω [natural native speed] |
Becky: to want |
Stefania: θέλω [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Stefania: θέλω [natural native speed] |
Stefania: γίνομαι [natural native speed] |
Becky: to become, to happen |
Stefania: γίνομαι [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Stefania: γίνομαι [natural native speed] |
Stefania: κομμάτι [natural native speed] |
Becky: piece, part, article, copy |
Stefania: κομμάτι [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Stefania: κομμάτι [natural native speed] |
Stefania: στήσιμο [natural native speed] |
Becky: setup, layout, setting |
Stefania: στήσιμο [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Stefania: στήσιμο [natural native speed] |
Stefania: χαχανίζω [natural native speed] |
Becky: to giggle |
Stefania: χαχανίζω [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Stefania: χαχανίζω [natural native speed] |
Stefania: κάνω [natural native speed] |
Becky: to do |
Stefania: κάνω [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Stefania: κάνω [natural native speed] |
Stefania: νιάου-νιάου [natural native speed] |
Becky: meow |
Stefania: νιάου-νιάου [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Stefania: νιάου-νιάου [natural native speed] |
Stefania: κεραμίδι [natural native speed] |
Becky: roof tile |
Stefania: κεραμίδι [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Stefania: κεραμίδι [natural native speed] |
Stefania: αφεντικό [natural native speed] |
Becky: boss |
Stefania: αφεντικό [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Stefania: αφεντικό [natural native speed] |
Stefania: γκαρίζω [natural native speed] |
Becky: to yell, to bray |
Stefania: γκαρίζω [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Stefania: γκαρίζω [natural native speed] |
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
Becky: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. So what do we have first? |
Stefania: We have the word “κομμάτι” literally meaning “piece”, as in “I’ll have a piece of cake”. |
Becky: How would you say “I will eat a piece of chocolate cake” |
Stefania: That would be “Θα φάω ένα κομμάτι κέικ σοκολάτα.” The word “κομμάτι” also means “part” as in “When he left he took a part of me”, but in our dialogue, it is used idiomatically by journalists to mean “article” or "copy". |
Becky: In other words, a text or a video that is anywhere in the publication or broadcasting chain. |
Stefania: We can also say “κομμάτι” to mean a piece of music –instead of saying “τραγούδι” meaning “song”. |
Becky: Got it. What else? |
Stefania: We have an idiomatic expression “Τι κάνει νιάου-νιάου στα κεραμίδια;” |
Becky: Sounds a little weird! |
Stefania: Actually it means “What is meowing up on the roof tiles?” |
Becky: O…K… The answer is pretty obvious, isn’t it? |
Stefania: Exactly. And this is how we use it in everyday conversation. When someone asks a question with a very obvious answer, we say “Τι κάνει νιάου-νιάου στα κεραμίδια;” as in “How can you possibly not know that?” |
Becky: OK. This isn’t insulting in any way, is it? |
Stefania: No, not really. |
Becky: And last? |
Stefania: The noun “στήσιμο” means “set up”, but when you are using it in a publication context like here, it also means “lay out”. |
Becky: But in one of our sample sentences for this lesson, it means “set up”, right? |
Stefania: Yes. “Το στήσιμο της σκηνής μου πήρε μια ώρα.” |
Becky: “The set-up of the tent took me an hour.” |
Stefania: Exactly! |
Becky: Got it! Okay, now onto the grammar. |
GRAMMAR POINT |
Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn some Greek onomatopoeia. |
Stefania: Did you know that this word itself is actually a Greek word? Onomatopoeia means the “creation of names”. That is words that phonetically imitate the source of the sound that they describe. |
Becky: We also have words like that in English! |
Stefania: Right! For example, we say “a cat meows”, right? |
Becky: And it really sounds like the meow of a cat. |
Stefania: Exactly! That is the way it was created. Now, since Greek cats don’t go “meow” but “niaou”, the verb in Greek is “νιαουρίζω”. |
Becky: Once again? |
Stefania: Nια-ου-ρί-ζω. |
Becky: What about a dog? It barks, right? |
Stefania: Yes. In Greek “to bark” is “γαυγίζω”. |
Becky: And these are onomatopoeic verbs. Any others? Are they all related to animals? |
Stefania: Many are, but not all. And we also have onomatopoeic nouns. For example, we call the sound of thunder “μπουμπουνητό”. |
Becky: That’s a funny word! |
Stefania: It is, isn’t it? The double “μπου” in there supposedly imitates the roar of thunder “μπουυυυυ”... |
Becky: Isn’t there another noun in Greek to refer to the sound of thunder? |
Stefania: There sure is, it’s “βροντή”. Also, two of the most common summer insects take their names through onomatopoeia. The cicada and the cricket. |
Becky: And they are? |
Stefania: The cicada is “τζιτζίκι”. Ji-jí-ki. |
Becky: Jijíki. |
Stefania: Right! And the cricket is “τριζόνι”. Please repeat: “tri-zó-ni” |
Becky: Trizóni. Hmm… there’s another word for the cricket, though isn’t there? |
Stefania: Oh, you mean “γρύλος”! |
Becky: Right! Grílos! |
Stefania: This also comes from onomatopoeia. People think it sounds like “τρι-τρι-τρι” or “γρι-γρι-γρι” and this is where the names “τριζόνι” and “γρύλος” come from. |
Becky: What about the “garízo” and “hahanízo” that are used in our dialogue? |
Stefania: Well, “γκαρίζω” means “bray”. |
Becky: Like a donkey? |
Stefania: Right. Donkeys in Greek go “γκα-γκα”. |
Becky: And this is used? |
Stefania: When a donkey brays. Or when someone yells or speaks really loudly! |
Becky: Doesn’t sound very polite! |
Stefania: It isn’t! So, please don’t use it too freely! |
Becky: And “hahanízo”? |
Stefania: Well, the sound of laughter is “ha-ha”, isn’t it? So “χα-χα-νί-ζω”. |
Becky: Means “to laugh”? |
Stefania: Not really. It’s closer to “to giggle”, actually. It is more of a silly laugh. In our dialogue, it is used as a question: “Γιατί χαχανίζεις;”, “Why are you giggling?” Nothing funny has been said so the character isn’t really laughing. |
Becky: OK. Do we have anything else? |
Stefania: Yes we do! These are the nouns “καρακάξα” meaning “magpie”, “φάπα” meaning “slap” and coming from the sound of a slap which is “φαπ” in Greek, “γαργάρα” which means “gargle” coming from the “γαρ-γαρ” sound of a gargle, “ζουζούνι” which comes from the “ζζζζζζζ” that some insects make. The word itself means “insect” or “bug”. Then we have the verbs “κακαρίζω”, “τουρτουρίζω” and “τσιρίζω”. Can you guess what they mean? |
Becky: Kakarízo… sounds like “chicken cluck” to me. But I’m not sure! |
Stefania: Well, you’re right! It means “to cluck”. Although the sound of a chicken in Greek is “κο-κο-κο”, the verb contains the sound “κα”, “κακαρίζω”. I am not sure why... But hey you got it! |
Becky: I don’t know what the rest are though! |
Stefania: “τουρτουρίζω” means “to shiver from cold” and “τσιρίζω” means “to shriek”. |
Becky: Well, I will be downloading the lesson notes to review these! And listeners, make sure you download them too! |
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Outro
|
Becky: That’s all for this lesson, everyone! Please feel free to leave us a post on the lesson page if you have any questions or comments. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. |
Stefania: Γεια χαρά! |
Becky: Bye! |
31 Comments
HideWhich onomatopoeic words do you know in Greek?
Hi Vera,
Thank you for commenting. While it's true that Turks use a similar word, you'll be surprised to know that αφεντικό is a word of Greek origin 😁 , a medieval word, which was borrowed by Ottoman Turks!.
You can read more about its etymology here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effendi
The ΛΚΝ dictionary has the etymology as well under the adjective αφεντικός, -ή, -ό:
https://bit.ly/3mWmOQG
Also, keep in mind that the word αφεντικό is used more often rather than εργοδότης, especially when one talks about his boss to others.
Εργοδότης is a more formal word, usually used in a legal context. Αφεντικό also may have the meaning of "head manager", the person that overlooks your work in person, or it may mean "person in charge" when it comes to managing a restaurant, store, etc. Εργοδότης, on the other hand (lit. employment giver), is more like the owner of a company that doesn't necessarily mean he even knows you exist or overlooks your work if you work for him.
So:
εργοδότης = employment giver (an owner of a business)
αφεντικό = person in charge/manager but also owner of a business
All the best :)
Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com
'αφεντικό' - is a turkish word. Greeks use "ο εργοδότης".
Hi Peter,
Thank you for the comment and for the typo report. It has been fixed!
Cheers,
Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com
Great lesson!
Minor correction: γαργαριζω -- to gargle (not gurgle! -- that's onomatopoeia-ik for what 'τα μωρα κάνουν ' ;-)
Peter
Hi tigro11,
Thank you for your kind comment!
All the best,
Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com
Very good lesson
Hey Dale,
Thank you very much for your message.
It seems that you don't need an answer as you answered to yourself.
Concerning the greek word 'αφεντικό', as you know, it means 'boss'. Personally, I would not take your sentence as offensive, since it seems that you used it as a part of a joke. I cannot understand why 'big daddy' said by the receptionists is acceptable and not 'αφεντικό'. In any case, it is without question, that being 'το αφεντικό' puts others at a lower level than you.
In my opinion, there are no offensive or bad words. It always depends on the way you use a word.
Contact us again if you have any other question or comment.
All the best,
Nektarios
Team GreekPod101.com
Hello again,
Just a follow up to my question on αφεντικό.
These idiomatic overtones of words can be hard to grasp and even harder to explain to non-native speakers, because when you get down to it, there is no explanation. Let me give you a couple of examples the other way.
In Greece, you'll often hear someone say "Sorry," when he's trying to ask you to move so he can get by. In American English, that's rather offensive. In that context, we hear something like "Sorry [to have to say that you're so stupid as to be in my way]." Instead, "Excuse me," would be better. It must come from the translation of "συγγνωμή," which does mean "Pardon," or "Please Understand" or just "Sorry."
Another is the use of "Mister." In English, "Mister" Smith, is fine, but to call someone just "Mister" is very offensive. "Sir," would be better, yet I'm addressed like that all the time and so are other males on my tours in Greece. I explain to them that they mean no offense. The Greek Κύριε doesn't have that overtone. It would be impossible to explain to a Greek why "Mister" Smith is fine, but just "Mister" isn't. It's just the way it is.
Anyway, thanks for GreekPod101. I've learned a great deal.
-dg
Hello,
A question about αφεντικό?
I was checking my tour group into a hotel in Heraklio and exchanging pleasantries with the staff at the reception desk. They called me "the big daddy of the group," and I said, "Ναι, είμι το αφεντικό τους." One of the receptionists grimaced, and said (in Greek), Listen, I know you want to learn Greek, which is why I'm telling you this. You shouldn't never use the word, αφεντικό. It's a bad word."
Are there negative connotations with the word αφεντικό?
Thanks,
Dale
Hi Kati,
Glad the problem is gone! Το τζιτζίκι στα αγγλικά λέγεται cicada. Μια φορά ένα τζιτζίκι έπεσε από ένα δέντρο επάνω στο στήθος μου. Το έδιωξα με το χέρι μου... μπλιαχ (another onomatopoeic word:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:)! Ήταν σιχαμερό!
Στεφανία
Team GreekPod101.com