Learning – Live Local and Learn in…

Learning the Lingo

Part of our homeschool plan is to learn a list of common words and phrases for each country we are visiting:

England
Scotland
Ireland
Greece
Italy
Spain
France

England, Scotland and Ireland

In theory, we speak English. But what I’ve found from other trips is that we actually speak American. We pronounce a lot of words completely wrong (from a Brit point of view) and we use the wrong words – a lot! We are making a list of words that are used differently so we can use the right ones when appropriate.

American pants are British underwear

American truck is British lorry

That kind of thing.

We’ll also learn a few Gaelic phrases for Ireland and practice the accent for Scotland.

Greece

This one is truly challenging for me. We don’t even use the same alphabet. Everyone says, don’t worry, all the signs are in English, too.

But are they really? Will we be racing for the last ferry and have a choice of Έδρα and Θήρα and end up on the right boat?

So I am learning the alphabet, so I can at least sound out words. And we have a list of words, phrases and numbers that we think will be useful.

Italy

We’ll come up with a lot of words, but we already know the most important ones, which are gelato and pizza.

Spain

I’ve never been to Spain and my only Spanish may be more appropriate for a trip to Mexico. But, we are studying Latin in our home school curriculum, so hope that helps with all these Latin based languages.

France

I’ve been to France several times and also to some French speaking African countries – generally my French has been painful but appreciated (and amusing at times). My goal is to walk into a shop and greet the staff, ask for what I need, pay correctly and thank them as I leave. We can do that.

Greece, Learning

Greek Phrases

This page of Greek phrases is designed for printing out, two sided, and cutting down to size. We’ll tuck it in our guide book so we can always ask for the toilet and directions. The list includes really easy and useful things like Hi and where is the toilet?

English	Greek	Pronunciation
hi	xαίρεται	[xairetai]
how are you?	πως είσαι?	[pos eisai?]
I’m good, thank you	είμαι καλά, ευχαριστώ.	[eimai kala, eecharisto.]
and you?	εσύ?	[esύ?]
what is your name?	πως λέγεσαι?	[pos leyesai?]
my name is Maya	το όνομά μου είναι μάγια	[to onoma moe einai mayia]
nice to meet you	χάρηκα	[chareka]
toilet	τουαλέτα	[toealeta]
How much is this?	πόσο κοστίζει αυτό;	[poso kostizei aeto;]

Can you help me?	μπορείς να με βοηθήσεις;	[mporeis na me voetheseis;]
Can I help you?	να σε βοηθήσω;	[na se voetheso;]
Where is the airport?	πού είναι το αεροδρόμιο;	[poύ einai to aerothromio;]
Go straight	πηγαίνετε ευθεία	[peyainete eetheia]
Then	μετά	[meta]
Turn left	στρίψτε αριστερά	[stripste aristera]
Turn right	στρίψτε δεξιά	[stripste thexia]

Travel	Greek	Pronunciation
airport	αεροδρόμιο	[aerothromio]
airplane	αεροπλάνο	[aeroplano]
train	τρένο	[treno]
taxi	ταξί	[taxi]
bus	λεωφορείο	[leoforeio]
car	αυτοκίνητο	[aetokineto]
ticket	εισιτήριο	[eisiterio]
hotel	ξενοδοχείο	[xenothocheio]
reservation	κράτηση	[kratese]
passport	διαβατήριο	[thiavaterio]
luggage	αποσκευές	[aposkeees]
tourism	τουρισμός	[toerismos]

Survival	Greek	Pronunciation
doctor	γιατρός	[yiatros]
medicines	φάρμακα	[farmaka]
pharmacy	φαρμακείο	[farmakeio]
hospital	νοσοκομείο	[nosokomeio]
ambulance	ασθενοφόρο	[asthenoforo]
poison	δηλητήριο	[theleterio]
help me	βοηθήστε με	[voetheste me]
danger	κίνδυνος	[kinthenos]
accident	ατύχημα	[atύchema]
police	αστυνομία	[astenomia]
headache	πονοκέφαλος	[ponokefalos]
stomach ache	στομαχόπονος	[stomachoponos]

For more lessons, check out:

The Greek alphabet, numbers and commonly used words.

Greece, Learning

Greek Numbers

Greek Numbers – Cardinal and Ordinal below. (Much more useful than holding up fingers!)

Cardinal	Greek	Pronunciation
one	ένα	[ena]
two	δυο	[theo]
three	τρία	[tria]
four	τέσσερα	[tessera]
five	πέντε	[pente]
six	έξι	[exi]
seven	επτά	[epta]
eight	οκτώ	[okto]
nine	εννέα	[ennea]
ten	δέκα	[theka]
eleven	έντεκα	[enteka]
twelve	δώδεκα	[thotheka]
thirteen	δεκατρία	[thekatria]
fourteen	δεκατέσσερα	[thekatessera]
fifteen	δεκαπέντε	[thekapente]
sixteen	δεκαέξι	[thekaexi]
seventeen	δεκαεπτά	[thekaepta]
eighteen	δεκαοχτώ	[thekaochto]
nineteen	δεκαεννέα	[thekaennea]
twenty	είκοσι	[eikosi]
seventy one	εβδομήντα μία	[evthomenta mia]
one hundred	εκατό	[ekato]

Ordinal	Greek	Pronunciation
first	πρώτος	[protos]
second	δεύτερος	[theύteros]
third	τρίτος	[tritos]
fourth	τέταρτος	[tetartos]
fifth	πέμπτος	[pemptos]
sixth	έκτος	[ektos]
seventh	έβδομος	[evthomos]
eighth	όγδοος	[oythoos]
ninth	ένατος	[enatos]
tenth	δέκατος	[thekatos]
eleventh	ενδέκατος	[enthekatos]
twelfth	δωδέκατος	[thothekatos]
thirteenth	δέκατος τρίτος	[thekatos tritos]
once	μια φορά	[mia fora]
twice	δυο φορές	[theo fores]

For more Greek language materials check out:

The Greek alphabet, commonly used words and phrases.

Greece, Learning

Greek Alphabet

We made a study sheet so we can learn a few new letters each week before we go. Thank you to quinapalus.com for the helpful starting point.

Upper Case	Lower Case	Letter Name	English Sound	Like
Α	α	alpha	Α	Like art
Β	β	beta	V	Like vast
Γ	γ	gamma	G (throaty)	Like gull
Δ	δ	delta	D	Like this
Ε	ε	epsilon	Ε	like egg
Ζ	ζ	zeta	Ζ	Like zoo
Η	η	eta	[i]	Like tea
Θ	θ	theta	th	Like thin
Ι	ι	iota	[i]	Like bee
Κ	κ	kappa	Κ	Like kit
Λ	λ	lamda	L	Like love
Μ	μ	mu	Μ	Like me
Ν	ν	nu	Ν	Like now
Ξ	ξ	xi	x	Like ax
Ο	ο	omicron	Ο	Like ox
Π	π	pi	p	Like hope
Ρ	ρ	rho	R	Like Roma
Σ	σ,ς	sigma	S	Like song
Τ	τ	tau	Τ	Like pat
Υ	υ	upsilon	long ee	Like bee
Φ	φ	phi	F	Like fly
Χ	χ	chi	[kh]	Like Bach
Ψ	ψ	psi	[ps]	Like laps
Ω	ω	omega	[o]	Like fox

Download PDF Greek Alphabet

We are also learning some Greek words, numbers (handy for shopping!) and commonly used phrases.

Thanks for this comment from Dionysios Bouzos: Great prep! Just a couple of comments on the alphabet transliteration: the Δ is always pronounced like the “th” in “this” and never like a D; the Υ is always a long “ee”; and the Γ’s “g” sound is a very throaty g sound.