ZBORNIK - Matica srpska

Webster dictionary says, the Greeks had a word for everything. A
second reason for this tremendous influence of Greek in English
and French is the flexibility of Greek words, which helps the production
of new words. Thirdly, the balance between vowels and
consonants, which contributes to euphony. Finally, the ability of
Greek language from Antiquity onwards to convey abstract meanings,
which have promoted the development of Western thought
and civilization. Accordingly, one can trace back in Hesiod the
words chaos, chasm, in Herodotus the word democracy, in Hippocrates
the medical terms therapy, prognosis, in Plato terms, such
as dialogue, criterion, idea, and in Aristotle the words syllogism,
energy etc. In modern medicine, in particular, approximately four
hundred basic medical terms create seventeen thousand derivatives.
Nowadays, English is the lingua franca, spoken in the majority
of contemporary countries. Thus, in view of many Greek words
used in English, Hellenic language has received an ecumenical character.
Recognizing the importance of Greek for other major languages,
Canada, USA, Europe, and Australia support the teaching of
ancient and modern Greek language and literature. A strong interest
in Greek language resulted from the fact that Hi-Technology Computers
accept only Greek as the most appropriate language for their
function, regarding it as a non-limited language, essential for sciences,
such as Informatics, Electronics and Cybernetics. CNN started
to distribute “Hellenic Quest", which is a program for the electronic
learning of Greek for English and Spanish speaking people. Moreover,
the Irvine University in California in the electronic programs
Ibycus and TLG registered six million Greek words and works of
more than eight thousand Greek authors till the 15 th century AD.
The scientists responsible for such an enterprise underlined the fact
that the knowledge of Greek will support their own culture. Therefore,
knowledge of Greek assists in better knowledge of English.
The long historical evolution of Greek is registered, documented
and interpreted in dictionaries of both ancient and modern Greek
languages. Typical examples are provided by the well-known Liddell
Scott-Jones and the Adrados' Ancient Greek and Spanish Dictionary
as well as the voluminous Demetracos' Lexicon of Greek
Language in 15 volumes.
Despite the rapid advancement in science and technology, it is
generally adopted that the world citizen of today has to maintain
close links with the traditional humanistic values which created
Western Civilization. Most likely, there are welcome perspectives of
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