Miscellaneous vocabulary questions

How can I best learn new vocabulary items? What aids are there and what pitfalls should be avoided? How does a beginner learn to use a lexicon?
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gladyswiley
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Joined: January 4th, 2025, 1:55 pm

Miscellaneous vocabulary questions

Post by gladyswiley »

Hello,
Most of the vocabulary from chapter 3 of my text is pretty straightforward, but I have a few questions still. Hope that someone can help me.

1. η αίθουσα - this seems to mean "room" in a very general sense. Correct?

2. η γραμματεία means front desk, right? And ο/η γραμματέας means receptionist, right?

3. Are το δίπλωμα and το πτυχίο used interchangeably for "degree", or do they have different meanings?

4. My understanding is that η καφετέρια = coffee shop while το κυλικείο = cafeteria (like at a school). Is this correct?

Thanks in advance!
Jonathan Robie
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Joined: May 5th, 2011, 5:34 pm
Location: Durham, NC
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Re: Miscellaneous vocabulary questions

Post by Jonathan Robie »

Hi Gladys,

I don't actually know modern Greek, we mostly do biblical Greek here. I think the following is likely to be accurate for modern Greek, but I generated it with phpBB3 and I would double check what it says before trusting it too much:

1. η αίθουσα
Yes, "η αίθουσα" generally means "room," but it is often used for specific types of rooms, such as a classroom, lecture hall, or conference room. It carries a formal or specific connotation compared to "το δωμάτιο," which is the more general term for "room" in everyday use (e.g., a room in a house).

2. η γραμματεία and ο/η γραμματέας
- η γραμματεία means "front desk" or "administrative office." It refers to the area or department handling administrative tasks, often in schools, universities, or organizations.
- ο/η γραμματέας means "secretary" or "receptionist," depending on the context. This refers to the person performing administrative or clerical duties, often including managing appointments, answering calls, or handling correspondence.

3. το δίπλωμα and το πτυχίο
These terms are not completely interchangeable and have different nuances:
- το δίπλωμα generally refers to a "diploma" or a certificate of completion for studies, training, or a qualification (e.g., a driver's license or a diploma from a vocational school).
- το πτυχίο specifically means a "degree," typically from a university or higher education institution (e.g., a bachelor's degree or master's degree).
While they can overlap in some contexts, "πτυχίο" is the proper term for an academic degree.

4. η καφετέρια and το κυλικείο
Your understanding is correct:
- η καφετέρια typically refers to a "coffee shop" or café where people can buy coffee, snacks, and light meals, often as a standalone business.
- το κυλικείο refers to a "cafeteria" or "canteen," usually within a school, workplace, or institution, and it typically serves meals and snacks in a more utilitarian or informal setting.
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;
http://jonathanrobie.biblicalhumanities.org/
Eeli Kaikkonen
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Joined: June 2nd, 2011, 7:49 am
Location: Finland
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Re: Miscellaneous vocabulary questions

Post by Eeli Kaikkonen »

A suggestion to Jonathan: while you use and cite an answering bot, could you show us the questions you fed to it, too? AI chat is a new thing and not everyone can use them, so it might be useful to show how to get relevant information from them.

A suggestion to Gladys: at least some of your questions are just simple dictionary stuff, so maybe you should find some good resources and learn to use them routinely. A good old google search can find some, for example "modern greek dictionary online". Or give google the Modern Greek word + "meaning", for example "κυλικείο meaning". It finds this:

https://www.wordreference.com/gren/%CE% ... E%AF%CE%BF

It looks pretty good if you learn to use it.

You can also try a monolingual dictionary, although it's of course difficult to use at first. For example:

https://www.greek-language.gr/greekLang ... %CE%BF&dq=

If you can't read the definitions in Greek, you can copy it and use the Google translator or some other online translator, or use a web browser's page translator (Firefox translated that one pretty well).
Jonathan Robie
Posts: 4226
Joined: May 5th, 2011, 5:34 pm
Location: Durham, NC
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Re: Miscellaneous vocabulary questions

Post by Jonathan Robie »

Eeli Kaikkonen wrote: January 5th, 2025, 7:32 am A suggestion to Jonathan: while you use and cite an answering bot, could you show us the questions you fed to it, too? AI chat is a new thing and not everyone can use them, so it might be useful to show how to get relevant information from them.
I said "answer these questions about modern Greek:", then pasted in the original post.
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;
http://jonathanrobie.biblicalhumanities.org/
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