The language of instructions: how to read what nobody says
You already know the two branches of Greek — the living demotic and the bookish katharevousa. Here is how the second looks on paper, because you will have to read it: instructions, notices, rules and contracts are written exactly so. For example: “Απαγορεύεται η είσοδος στους μη εργαζομένους” — Outsiders are forbidden to enter. A rule from the Greek course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
You already know the two branches of Greek — the living demotic and the bookish katharevousa. Here is how the second looks on paper, because you will have to read it: instructions, notices, rules and contracts are written exactly so.
The first sign — the participle in -όμενος, -ούμενος: ο αιτών (the applicant), τα αναγραφόμενα (the stated), ο ενδιαφερόμενος (the party concerned). The living language has nothing of the kind, while on a form it is half the text.
The second — the genitive instead of a preposition: η χρήση της συσκευής (i khrísi tis siskevís) instead of "η χρήση για τη συσκευή (i khrísi ya ti siskeví)", κατόπιν αιτήσεως instead of "μετά από αίτηση (metá apó étisi)".
The third — passive turns with no doer: απαγορεύεται (apagorévete), επιτρέπεται (epitrépete), συνιστάται (it is recommended), θεωρείται (theoríte). Who forbids is not said, and that is the point of the form.
The fourth — the short words of the old language: εν (in), δια (through), περί (about), υπό (under). They survived only in frozen turns: εν τω μεταξύ (meanwhile), εν πάση περιπτώσει (in any case), δια χειρός (by hand).
This is not to be learned as a language — nobody speaks it, and you would not be understood. It is to be recognized: seeing εν τω μεταξύ, understand "meanwhile", instead of hunting the word τω (to) in a dictionary.
Table
| the sign | on paper | in speech |
|---|---|---|
| the participle | ο ενδιαφερόμενος | αυτός που ενδιαφέρεται |
| the genitive | κατόπιν αιτήσεως | μετά από αίτηση |
| the passive | συνιστάται | σας συμβουλεύουμε |
| the old preposition | εν τω μεταξύ | στο μεταξύ |
By example
- Απαγορεύεται η είσοδος στους μη εργαζομένουςapagorévete i ísodos stus mi ergazoménusOutsiders are forbidden to enter
- Εν τω μεταξύ, η παραγγελία καθυστέρησεen to metaksí, i parangelía kathistériseMeanwhile the order was delayed
- Η χρήση της συσκευής επιτρέπεται μόνο σε ενήλικεςi khrísi tis siskevís epitrépete móno se enílikesThe use of the device is permitted to adults only
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
The language of instructions: how does it work in Greek?
You already know the two branches of Greek — the living demotic and the bookish katharevousa. Here is how the second looks on paper, because you will have to read it: instructions, notices, rules and contracts are written exactly so.
What does it look like in an example sentence Greek?
“Απαγορεύεται η είσοδος στους μη εργαζομένους” (apagorévete i ísodos stus mi ergazoménus) — Outsiders are forbidden to enter. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.