Topics of conversation for Greek language learners Consider
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this... You are learning the host country language – Greek in this case – which seems by Yannis Xamonakis to give you a bit of a headache apokoronasnews.gr – admittedly, not the easiest of languages to learn - and you are caught between contrived textbook conversations and grammar examples. You want to learn functional conversational Greek so that you can start talking to your neighbours but you need to start building your specialised vocabulary. So, when it comes to casual everyday chats with the neighbours in their native language, what would be a good subject to talk about? Inquire about their work in the civil service? Ask if they n watched last night’s TV proo k r s clic re new cretepost.g o gramme? Talk about chickm r / fo http:/ ens, sheep and olive trees? I cannot really say that I had given the matter any thought before someone in the village asked me that very same question when we met for a coffee after his gruelling Greek lesson. I gave the question some consideration. My first thought went to football and politics. In the kafeneion old men often argue about their favourite political party with the enthusiasm and loyalty of football supporters. And like football supporters, who while acknowledging their leaders have not won a match for ages and that the manager is useless, they will support them to the end, as there is no alternative, given that
Jose Murinho (™) is taken. I soon rejected that idea however on the grounds that it might a) be controversial and b) demand some specialist knowledge. In any case much of the language of football, and increasingly of politics, makes use of English / Euro-speak terms so it would not much aid the acquisition of Greek language. Then, as a gust of wind blew carrier bags and sand in our direction and we both said something about the wind picking up again, I thought ‘the weather’. Strangely enough it is something that people talk about a lot at the moment and with good reason - as the weather has lately been more unpredictable than usual. In the last couple of months of what supposed to have been spring, we had dust clouds, storm force winds, untypically low temperatures and a prolonged period of very low rainfall. Thinking about it, when I wake up in the morning and look out of my window I now find myself checking the wind direction to determine which garden items will need securing and what kind of clothes to wear. Several features of the island’s geography, at the edge of the Mediterranean where several weather systems meet and make weather quite unpredictable. After a few years of expecting rain that did not arrive until a couple of days later or a clear sky that turned out to be murky, I have learnt not to be too disappointed or surprised if
the national weather forecast turns out to be inaccurate. I have also learnt that wind direction has a lot to do with it, with southerlies increasing temperature and humidity and sometimes dust and northerlies reducing temperature. Talking about the weather has the added advantage that it would strike a chord with the Greek learning British residents and visitors, as the British have a reputation for being very fond of talking about the weather. Perhaps you consider that this is a stereotypical view of the British, but a quick Google search confirms that in a recent survey, 94% of British respondents admit to having conversed about the weather in the past six hours, while 38% say they have in the past 60 minutes. But far from being the ‘last refuge of the unimaginative,’ commenting on the weather can result in getting a rich and colourful picture of local life in Crete as well as the latest forecast information, and a chance to get some information about historical weather patterns. Following the recent hurricane force winds I got in a long conversation with the owner of the builder’s yard whose roof had apparently been blown over the electricity pylons in the distance, causing a 15 hour power failure in the whole village. From our discussion I found out that the last time that there was a wind strong enough to lift roofs off was in 1966.
And with it came several interesting nostalgic anecdotes about a simpler and happier, care-free life back then. But you do not need to worry about understanding the stories. All that a novice Greek learner has to do is learn to complain: ‘it’s too hot’, it’s too cold’, it’s too wet’, it’s too windy’, and leave it to the other party to take the lead in the conversation hoping that you can pick up some words. Weather conversations have the advantage that they do not demand a full response. Indicating an occasional agreement will suffice. And yet, despite the incessant complaining from the locals, if you ask the average man in the street to describe the climate of the island, the description you will get will most likely be that of a pleasant summer’s day: “hot and sunny, clear blue skies” probably with the added proviso that winters are short and mild, so we do not worry too much about heating or insulation. And when it is cold? Wet? When the gales are howling causing damage to homes and crops? “well, is only a few days in the year. And we can cope thinking about the summer being on its way. What else can we do?” they say, acknowledging once again that the weather, just like football or politics, is controlled by forces greater than themselves that be cannot tamed or changed. Just accept what you get and believe, and hope that it will soon get better...