"Τα ελληνικά ομιλούνται."
Translation:Greek is spoken.
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Yes, τα Ελληνικά, Γαλλικά (French), Γερμανικά(German), Αραβικά(Arabic), Κινέζικα (chinese) etc, languages are always plural
Alternatively, you can say η ελληνική γλώσσα (the Greek language), η αγγλική γλώσσα (the English language), etc, but it's more formal.
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Isn't ομιλοὐμαι a Katharevousa form? (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CE%BF%CE%BC%CE%B9%CE%BB%CE%BF%CF%8D%CE%BC%CE%B1%CE%B9#Greek)
Should this instead be 'Τα ελληνικά μιλιούνται'?
It may be a "Katharevousa" form, but definitely right. Modern Greek uses both "Katharevousa" forms and forms of "Dimotiki".
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But does Modern Greek use Katharevousa forms in everyday writing and conversation? I've only heard of it being used in Orthodox liturgy and a few other exceptional contexts. If it does, why aren't we learning probably more useful words like, for example, Katharevousa pronouns (συ,υμείς/ημών/ημάς, υμείς/υμών/υμάς)?
The fact that modern Greek use "katharevousa" forms and vocabulary does not mean that it uses every katharevousa form. It is illogical to say that when demotic became the official language, katharevousa died in an instance. Part of it was integrated into what we call today Modern Greek. Those forms are sophisticated and definitely used when you want your speech to be refined. Personal pronouns are basic things, so they did not make it into modern Greek. But many verbs also have sophisticated forms and every complete dictionary includes them (and define them with the word λόγιο). For example, the verb ομιλώ in the Greek wiktionary: https://el.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/ομιλώ. Τα ελληνικά μιλιούνται (especially this sentence) sounds very colloquial.
I couldn't agree more.
Ironically I had a hard time learning to speak and write in katharevousa when I attended University in Athens in the 60's after speaking Greek my entire life until then taught to me by my grandparents from the village with no education.
Now I have to unlearn much of what I learned.
We are definitely in a transition as far as the language is concerned(then again the world is in transition).
I have another question about this sentence. I was marked wrong for translating the Greek into " Greek is BEING spoken". Shouldn't that be an acceptable translation alternative?
Thanks in advance. Keep up the great work.
I think you are confusing Modern and Katherevousa with Koine which is also known as New Testament Greek. (NT).
There is an explanation for it on this page just a little above your comment. Actually, there are two comments my mizinamo including a helpful link.
is ομιλούνται the passive of ομιλω; or the passive of μιλάω; what is the difference between μιλάω and ομιλάω;
ομιλιούνται is the passive form of the sophisticated verb (see troll1994) ομιλώ. Sophisticated verbs have only the ending -ώ in first person sing. Present time whereas the unsophisticated verbs usually have both -ώ and -άω, μιλώ/ μιλάω I speak.The difference between μιλάω and ομιλώ? well, maybe ομιλώ is more solemn. A speaker is ομιλητής and his speech is ομιλία whereas μιλιά is speech/ words that drop out from the mouth (μιλητής does not exist, only ομιλητής)
ομιλώ is the original word -- μιλώ, μιλάω are truncations on the way into modern Greek, which preserved the older form as well.
See also the thread started by ShaoxuanLi and the response by kirakrakra in that thread.
Thanks. I'm posting the link to that thread here for others who have the same question.
That's just the link to this entire discussion page.
The link to the individual thread is https://www.duolingo.com/comment/18063154$comment_id=19530547 .
I take it ομιλούνται is derived from μιλάω? Are there any predictable reasons for the o prefix or the -ούνται ending ? Do all --αω verbs take this ending in passive?
ομιλούμαι and μιλάω are both derived from ομιλώ, a contracted form of even earlier ομιλέω.
It's a bit of an irregular case.
Most -άω verbs form a passive in -ιέμαι, e.g. απαπώ/αγαπάω -- αγαπιέμαι, and the third person plural is αγαπιούνται.
Can someone please explain to me the difference between; 'ομιλούνται' and 'μιλιούνται' ?
Hi, can someone explain, why the form is "ομιλούνται" instead let's say just μιλούνται? Thanks
This has been explained over and over again on this page. "ομιλούνται" and "μιλούνται" have the same meaning and are used frequently. Just read the other comments here.
How do I write "The greeks are speaking."? Οι ελληνικοί μιλούν?
Οι Έλληνες μιλούν.
Or if the Greeks are all women: Οι Ελληνίδες μιλούν.
It comes from the adjective ελληνικός with a noun tacitly understood. For the Greek language one can use η Ελληνική with η γλώσσα/ language tacitly understood or τα Ελληνικά with τα λόγια/ words tacitly understood
Η λέξη «Ελληνικά» στην προκειμένη δε λειτουργεί ως επίθετο, οπότε πρέπει να διορθωθεί το έψιλον σε κεφαλαίο.
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Why do we have the plural form (Τα Ελληνικά) here? Is it the same for any other language? E.g. Will it be correct to say 'Τα αγγλικά ομιλούνται'?
What is Τα? Does it imply that Greek is spoken "by them"? Like "Με λένε" is "they call me"?
What is Τα?
The definite article for neuter plural.
τα ελληνικά = Greek / the Greek language
You might consider it as "the Greek [things]".
My guess is that it comes from the fact that the modern Greek way to derive adverbs from adjectives is to use the neuter plural form -- thus ελληνικά "Greek(ly)" from ελληνικός "Greek".
And then from sentences such as μιλάω ελληνικά "I speek 'Greekly', in a Greek way, in Greek" the adverb got reinterpreted as a neuter plural noun, so one can speak about τα ελληνικά to mean "Greek, the Greek language".