Use of colloquial language

How difficult is it for a foreign speaker of the Greek language to understand the meaning of the words “hakaro”, “partaro”, “zoumaro”, “reparo” etc.? Although, if you encounter them in the written word, it will make it easier to connect with the corresponding foreign words, this ease is not observed in conditions of daily oral communication.

The informal communication

To be suspicious next time, it is worth noting the ending (-aro) of the verb. These words are related to a “sociological term” as it is called by linguists and more specifically to the “language of young people”. The term “language of young people” means all the linguistic phenomena that characterize the communication of young people with each other. As stated by Giannis Androutsopoulos (2001), the reasons for the emergence of the language of young people are sociological, psychological and communicative.

3 reasons for this linguistic style

• Sociologically, each age has special linguistic characteristics that are related to typical communication conditions. The social networks of young people are narrower than those of adults, which intensifies the pressure of language compliance with society.
• Psychologically, at a young age, personal and social identity is formed. The rejection of established behaviors and the experimentation with alternative models, tendencies that generally characterize adolescence, are also expressed linguistically. With their special language, young people symbolize that they belong to an age with its own interests and values, which differs from both childhood and adulthood.
• Communicatively, language functions such as expressiveness, originality and language play may be stronger in adolescence than in later life.

The scientific approach of colloquial language

As Giannis Androutsopoulos (2001) points out, one of the four basic ways of creating and renewing youth vocabulary is borrowing, mainly from English. George Papanastasiou (2001) points out that a characteristic of every language is that it slowly adapts borrowed words to its own phonetic and morphological system. There we can say that lies the originality, flexibility and ingenuity that characterizes the language of young people.

In the above verbs, the creation is based on the borrowing of a foreign word, which is the subject of the verb, and on the subsequent addition of the form -ar- and the ending of the Greek verbs a ‘conjugation of active voice -ω-. In the same way, the verbs are formed: google (do a google search), zoom in (bring an image closer or move it away), park (park), roll (move) etc.

So, the next time you hear a word with the corresponding ending, if you focus on the subject of the verb, you will automatically realize the meaning!

And some examples: If you want to read more about colloquial language, google it!

I took a break from work, I went for a coffee nearby and now the phase rolls better!

 

Dive into the fascinating etymology of Greek words and their relevance in modern communication through our eBook.

 

Source

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[1]: greek-language.gr

 

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