How Greek gives me immense joy

At the start of the year I read Babel and Katabasis by R.F Kuang. Truly awesome books that kept me up each night before bed with a “just one more page” excuse. The writer’s description of academic life and views on history and language was something that really resonated with me.

I wouldn’t consider myself a language or history buff but I do like reading and listening to interesting facts and trivia on both topics. Babel in particular scratched that itch very much, I know that is a fictional work set in an alternate timeline but the basis in real colonialism and academic life was so well-written and executed I could easily suspend my disbelief and get into the story.

So how does this relate to the Greek language you might ask? Especially in Babel and to some degree in Katabasis the Greek language is a cornerstone in the academic pursuit. You can’t start learning all the intricacies of western languages without learning Greek.

As the months passed I found myself feeling a pull to learn another language, the gratification of ordering in German at a cafe on a holiday pushed me to stop just thinking about it and actually act on it. On the decision as to which language to learn the view on Greek resonated within me, it was also helped by my already large interest in Greek mythology and histories.

I picked up a language app and started the Greek course and oh boy is it fun. I keep bugging my wife with trivia on new words that I learn. “Did you know that an aeon used in western languages to signify a long time is actually the Greek aeonas (αιώνας) meaning century?”.

When browsing the supermarket I’ll pick up some cereals or something and read the ingredients to check how much sugar etc. is in it only to find that they are also listed in Greek and get stuck reading it and practicing for far too long. Yay for living in Europe and having multi-language declarations.

Will I ever be fluent in Greek? Probably not as I have no reason to speak or interact in Greek in my daily life but it sure is fun to learn!