The national poet of Greece, Dionysios Solomos, wrote the “Hymn to Freedom” and stands out for his contribution to Greek letters. He was born on April 8, 1798 in Zakynthos and passed away on February 9, 1857, leaving a poetic work so important, which is considered as the basis of modern Greek literature. February 9, our national poet’s day of remembrance was established in 2017 as World Day of the Greek Language and the aim of this celebration is to highlight the fundamental role played by the Greek language over the centuries.
On the occasion of this day, dedicated to the memory of our national poet and the Greek language, the Archive of ERT suggests the episode of the series:
REMAKE
THE GREEK LANGUAGE
THE Rena Theologidou through the series “REMAKE” approaches the topic “The Greek Language”, showing interviews of leading professors who quote their opinions on the issue of the continuity of the Greek language from antiquity to the present day.
THE Robert BrowningProfessor of Classics and Ancient History at the University of London and Chairman of the Commission for the Return of the Elginians speaks briefly in fluent Greek and continues in English explaining his position that ancient Greek can be understood with a little effort by modern Greeks, then underlines the unique relationship of the ancient with the new Greek language and points out that abandoning the study of ancient Greek in the Greek school would be equivalent to cutting off the heritage of the Greeks, which has contributed decisively to the development of the culture of many peoples.
THE Eleni Glykatzi Arveler, rector of the Sorbonne University, answers the question of contact with the language, underlines the necessity of the connection with the mother tongue and the need for contact with books, through schools and the family, suggests that modern Greek letters attempt a gradual return in the roots even ancient Greek, otherwise young people will not be able to understand the language, while he argues that a relevant anthology is needed for children. On Byzantium and her “heretical” views, Arveler explains her position on the Roman empire, Romania and the Romans, but also her position that Byzantium was not obscurantist, underlining her view that the Greeks speak the only language which has never stopped being spoken and has a living tradition, while also giving the psychoanalytical explanation for the Greeks’ obsession with ancient Greece and not medieval Greece.
The professor Ioannis Babiniotis explains that he accepts the idea of a single Greek language and its structure with large and important changes which were not so intense as to destroy the sense of continuity, especially in prose and this is found in the ancient texts, in the Byzantine hymns, the vernacular songs and even modern speech. He considers that this phenomenon allows us to develop opportunities for richer and greater expression in a creative way, while pointing out that all the great popularists had a great sense and access to the Greek language. He also argues that since the reform of 1976, which despite its weaknesses was done in the right direction, today we speak of a single language approaching the vision of Korai, of using the modern language, with a weakness of course in terms of our relationship with ancient language, which needs to be strengthened. He believes that the quality of the Greek language has improved and that as long as there are speakers of a language that language will exist, while its quality and purity fluctuate.
The professor Dimitris Maronitis he refers to Browning’s theory and the common basis of the Greek language from Homer to the present day, but does not accept the position that the study of the language in one of its periods of development can enable its student to understand the others. He analyzes the concepts of the linguistic present and past and distinguishes between the concepts of “speaking for the mother tongue” and “speaking the mother tongue”, pointing out that we focus more on the ideologies and theories surrounding the language than on the language itself. For the Maronite, expressively and communicatively, the center of gravity is in the linguistic present without ignoring the past, but in the present all the living and useful elements of the linguistic past are preserved. He insists that at school children need feedback on the language we speak today, it is useful but not necessary to know the history of our language, while we often underestimate the present and overestimate the past to the detriment of both. He also believes that the evolution of the Greek language does not mean a discount or an upgrade, it responds to the communication needs of each era, our knowledge of our linguistic past can start from the present backwards or from the most ancient years, while he considers the first method better, thus agreeing with Arveler’s proposal for a gradual course and study from the recent past to the more distant. Maronites explains the interest in the sources of the modern Greek language, the vernacular, its relationship with the Hellenistic years and the translations of the old and new testaments, in the vernacular medieval language, its richness and usefulness for the perception of the modern language .
During the show, excerpts from her extremely interesting documentary are shown Memes Spyratou “The Ancient Greek Language” (1992), granted by the Lambrakis Studies Foundation and an excerpt of his speech is heard Odysseus Elytisat the awarding of the Nobel Prize in 1979, for the Greek language and the difficulties faced by a poet, as well as an excerpt from his poetry collection “Axion Esti” from the chapter “THE PASSES” B Psalm.
Directed by: PANAGIOTIS KAKAVIAS
Texts – Editing – Presentation: RENA THEOLOGIDOU
Year of production: 1998