International Modern Greek Seminar for Classicists

• Topic: Modern Greek Seminar for Classicists
• Dates: June 23-27, 2025
• Location: CHS Greece, Nafplio
• Organized by: Cambridge Centre for Greek Studies, University of Ljubljana, and The Ohio State University, with the support of CHS Greece
• Open to: Anyone with a knowledge of Classical Greek and an interest in Modern Greek focusing especially on undergraduate and graduate students of Classics, faculty members, and independent researchers (up to 10 participants); Classics students and faculty from the Universities of Cambridge, Harvard, Ljubljana, and Ohio State participating with scholarships (up to 8 participants)
• Application Deadline: April 20, 2025
• Language: English
• Faculty: Brian D. Joseph (Ohio State University), Jerneja Kavčič (University of Ljubljana), Ioanna Sitaridou (University of Cambridge)
• Activity Administration: Jerneja Kavčič (jerneja.kavcic@ff.uni-lj.si), Ioanna Sitaridou (is269@cam.ac.uk), Evan Katsarelis (CHS Greece)

Overview

The Cambridge Centre for Greek Studies, the University of Ljubljana, and The Ohio State University are pleased to announce the 2025 International Modern Greek Seminar for Classicists, a one-week introduction to Modern Greek designed for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as interested faculty and researchers, with at least a basic knowledge of Ancient Greek. The Seminar will be hosted and supported by CHS Greece.

This is a one-week introduction to the Modern Greek language. The major objective of the program is to equip classicists with knowledge they can use to leverage their command of Classical Greek to gain a foothold in the modern language, essentially repurposing their Classical Greek for Modern Greek. Furthermore, the program explores the diachrony of Greek and familiarizes students with the continuities and discontinuities of the Greek language and culture.The instruction is based on the similarities and differences between the ancient and modern forms of the Greek language. In the initial stage of teaching, the emphasis is placed on the words which are called "carry-overs" (e.g. μέλι, κρέας, πίνω, μένω). These words have in Modern Greek approximately the same meaning as in Ancient Greek (according to the etymologies of the LKN, Λεξικό της Κοινής Νεοελληνικής). Additionally, their Erasmian (ancient) pronunciation generally corresponds to their Modern Greek pronunciation. Gradually, students are also informed about the differences between Ancient and Modern Greek,starting with the phonological differences and progressing to morphology to syntax. During the one-week course, they learn basic Modern Greek expressions and gain insight into the structure of Modern Greek. The program also includes lectures on the history of the Greek language and on the phenomenon of bilingualism (a total of approximately 25 teaching hours).

In 2025, the course will take place at CHS Greece in Nafplio, from June 23 to June 27 and is co-taught by Prof. Brian D. Joseph (Ohio State University), Prof.Jerneja Kavčič (University of Ljubljana), and Prof. Ioanna Sitaridou (University of Cambridge).