Modern Greek Language, Basic Audio CD Course, Volume 1.

Includes 13 audio CD discs ( = 11? hours), and a 327-page textbook. This basic course introduces the modern spoken language to those who wish to acquire a working command of contemporary Greek. Outside of Greece, the language is spoken in Cyprus and parts of Albania, former Serbia, Bulgaria, and Turkey, as well as in the Greek communities in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Australia. The Greek presented in this course is representative of the "kathomilumeni" variety, that is, that of the "standard" speech of educated Greeks. It is neither colloquial nor strictly formal. In the written materials the Greek alphabet is used from the beginning. The first ten units in Volume 1 are written both in Greek characters and in English Romanized transcription; thereafter everything is written in Greek characters. Typically, each lesson includes a basic dialog and narrative, plus a series of response drills including substitution and transformation exercises. Each text also provides a Greek-English glossary. This course provides introductory materials in modern spoken Greek for the student who wishes to achieve a working command of the language currently spoken by educated Greeks. The style is neither entirely demotic (colloquial) nor strictly formal. The Greek orthography is used from the beginning so that the students learn to read what they have learned to say. The second and third levels carry the student further into the grammar and vocabulary of spoken Greek, and gradually introduce the more formal spoken and written forms known as 'katharevousa', used on formal occasions by all educated Greeks, and commonly encountered in the press. Level One has 16 audio CD discs, and Level Two has 12 audio CD discs.