Australian English, despite its short linguistic history as a national variety of British English, exhibits a wide range of Greek influences. These influences are often unique, as well as characteristic of its own sociocultural and historical structure. The influences from both Standard Modern Greek, Ancient Greek and the Greek ethnolect that has evolved in Australia, deriving from the long Greek immigration and settlement in this country, especially since the 1950s and 1960s appear in everyday matters (foodstuffs, beverages, entertainment, etc.). These influences are found in many fields, such as the scientific (botany, zoology, medicine, etc.), military, social, geographical, tourist, immigration and others (Kanarakis, 2008 (2nd ed.), pp. 324-329).

Many of the linguistic transfers (loans) to Australian English from Greek are indirect via British English, but also in recent times via USA English, while others are direct because of the straight cross-linguistic contact of Australian English with the two aforementioned aspects of Greek.

Indirect transfers to Australian English from Greek, especially through British English, constitute material charged with cultural, social, political and ecclesiastical meanings and concepts, a fact which has played a role in its linguistic flexibility and lexical richness. It is important to note that, unfortunately, some lexicographers sometimes erroneously credit transfers (loan words) to the Latin language instead of to Greek. According to John C. Smock, “the relative contributions of Latin and Greek to the English vocabulary had come to be misunderstood greatly to the disadvantage of Greek…. Most learned Latin words were taken from Greek and … were Latin in about the same sense that blasé, contretemps, and nouveau riche are English” (1931, p. xii).

Regarding direct transfers, two notable sources have been the long and quantitatively high immigration from Greece to Australia and Australian tourism to Greece. Both include words, especially since the 1950s and 1960s, on everyday matters, such as foodstuffs and meals (filo/phyllo (pastry), kalamari), beverages (retsina), handicraft (flokati), etc.

There are also those words which pre-existed in British English but which acquired new meanings in Australian English or were directly received to render names of plants, animals and phenomena exclusively Australian.

All this linguistic polymorphism, that is the occurrence of many different forms of both direct and indirect Greek influence, covers the entire history of Australia as a nation, and at the same time it exhibits influences from Standard Modern Greek (SMG), as well as quite largely from Ancient Greek (words and word stems).

In general, the Greek transfers (direct and indirect) to Australian English are encountered on both the morphological (word formation) and lexical levels.

A.  The morphological level includes transfers occurring due to word synthesis and derivation.

1. Synthesis occurs when there are combinations of word elements.

For example:

Combination of two Greek elements

  Greek adjective + Greek adjective > Australian English noun

 F.e.  μέλας /mélas/ (black) + λευκός /lefkós/ (white) > melaleuca (Aus. plant) [1814]

Combination of a Greek element with an Australian English element

        Greek noun + Australian English noun > Australian English noun

F.e.  λύρα /líra/ (lyre)  +  bird  > lyre-bird [1824]

Compound words: Aus. Eng. noun and Gr. noun linked by the connective vowel <-o> [1]

F.e.  coal + <-o-> + πόλις /pólis/ > coalopolis (term attributed to the Australian coal     mining city of Newcastle) [1891]

Combination of synthesis and suffixation      

        Greek noun + Latin noun + Greek suffix > Australian English noun

 F.e. Gr. τένων /ténon/ + Lat. synovia/sinovia (liquid greasing the joints and tenons) +

       Gr. -ίτις /ítis/ > Aus. Eng. tenosynovitis (teno) [1984]

2. Derivation occurs due to the processes of prefixation and suffixation resulting in the formation of new English words based on Greek transfers. An example of prefixation is the Greek prefix αντί- /antí-/ (in the opposite direction) in anticlockwise and an example of suffixation is the Greek suffix -ισμός /ismós/ (-ism) in truism, etc. Another process producing exclusively Australian English words from Greek ones is abbreviation.[2]

F.e. Gr. ευκάλυπτος /efkáliptos/ > Aus Eng. eucalyptus (oil) > eucy or euky [1977]           

B.  The lexical level consists of independent transfers and of semantic neologisms, that is, new words.

1. Independent transfers occur when Australian English has borrowed many independent Greek words either directly from Greek or indirectly through other languages, both in adjusted and unadjusted forms. An example of an adjusted direct Greek transfer is cleft-y/-ie or clift-y/-ie (< Gr. κλέφτης /kléftis/ (robber) < κλέπτης /kléptis/ < κλέπτω /klépto/ (I rob)) [1918].

An adjusted indirect Greek transfer through Latin is the word monotreme [3] (< Neolatin monotrema < Greek μονό- /monó-/ (one) + τρήμα /tríma/ (hole) [1835]). 

In contrast, unadjusted direct transfers from Greek to Australian English especially after World War II, occurred mainly through Greek immigrants but also Australian tourists to Greece. Unadjusted transfers before the mid-twentieth century are mainly scientific terms (zoological, botanical, chemical, etc.). Additionally, several Greek names (anthroponyms, mythological names, names of places, trees, plants, etc.) have enriched the Australian lexicon. Such names have been given to Australian towns and topographic features (Olympus, Labyrinth, Scamander, etc.) and people (Daphne, Orpheus, Achilles, Hector, Orpheus, Diamantina, Theodore, etc.).

When polysyllabic Greek anthroponyms are transferred into Australian English there is often the tendency to adjust them in the process of Australianization or translation usually into one or two syllable nouns.

Australianization

F.e. Κωνσταντίνος               /konstantínos/               >           Con

Καλλιόπη                      /kaliópi/                        >           Callie

Αθανάσιος                    /aθanásios/                    >           Athas

Καλογερόπουλος          /kaleγerópoulos/           >           Kalos

Ραφτόπουλος                /raftópoulos/                 >           Rafty, etc.

Translation

F.e. Τραμουντάνας              /tramuntánas/                >           North

Αγγελής                        /angelís/                        >           Angel

Ραφτόπουλος                /raftópoulos/                 >           Taylor

Διαμαντής                     /ðiamandís/                   >           Diamond

Γεωργαντόπουλος        /γeorγandópoulos/        >          Georgeson, etc.

Indicative examples of unadjusted transfers through other languages, such as Latin, are, for example:

acacia (Australian family of trees [1903]) (< Latin acacia < most probably from Ancient Greek ακακία /akakía/ (harmlessness) < adj. άκακος (harmless))

epacris (Australian shrub or small tree [1804]) (< Neolatin epacris < Greek επ(ί)- /ep(í)-/ (on) + άκρις /ákris/ (edge))

eucalyptus (eucalyptus tree [1788]) (< New Latin eucalyptus < Greek ευ- (well) + καλύπτω (I cover))

menura (Australian bird with crescent spots on its tail [1800]) (< Neolatin menura < Greek μήνη /míni/ (crescent) < μήν (-ας) /mín (-as)/ (original meaning “moon”) + ουρά /urá/ (tail)), and others.

2. Semantic neologisms include new words of Greek origin, such as, among others, the terms platypus, echidna and Eureka.

The term platypus (< Gr. πλατύπους /platípus/ < πλατύς /platís/ (flat) + πους /pus/ (foot)) was transferred directly to Australian English to indicate the semi-aquatic burrowing monotreme mammal of Australia [1799].

Echidna, another Australian monotreme mammal originally known as the “spiny anteater”, was acquired by Australian English through Latin echidna < Greek έχιδνα /éhiðna/ (< έχις /éhis/ (snake).

Eureka, Archimedes’ famous exclamation, became the place name of a gold mine in the state of Victoria [1853] where an armed clash took place between gold miners and the British army [1854].

Concluding remarks

The contribution of Greek (SMG and Ancient Greek) to Australian English over time, resulting from the cross-linguistic contact of Greek with Australian English, is of particular interest. The impact of Greek (both direct and indirect) is reflected primarily on the morphological and lexical levels. Significantly, this phenomenon of interlanguage transference, a natural and age-old process among languages in contact, does not destabilize or undermine the identity of a language, and in this case of Australian English. To the contrary it reveals an opening towards the cultures of other peoples, as well as a willingness for the exchange of meanings, ideas and learning in general.

References

Bouffartigue, J. and Delrieu, A-M. (1993). Trésors des racines grecques [Greek roots in the French language] (A. Mozer, Trans.). Athens: Eleftherotypia Publications. (Original work published 1981).

Chadwick, J. (1967). The decipherment of Linear B (2nd ed.). London: Cambridge University Press.

Chadwick, J. (1987). Linear B and related scripts. London: British Museum Publications.

Contossopoulos, N. G. (1998).  Glosses kai dialekti tis Evropis [Languages and dialects of Europe] (2 Vols.). Athens: Grigoris Publications.

Crystal, D. (2013). English as a classical language.

http://www.davidcrystal. com/?fileid =-4042.

Hooker, J. T. (1994). Isagogi sti grammiki B [Linear B: An introduction] (H.E. Maravelias, Trans.). Athens: Morfotiko Idryma Ethnikis Trapezis. (Original work published 1980).

Joseph, B. D., The Indo-European language family: The linguistic evidence. In A.-F. Christidis (Ed.), A history of Ancient Greek: From the beginnings to late antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007, pp. 161-169.

Kanarakis, G. (2008). Diaglossikes epidrasis stin angliki kai i symvoli tis ellinikis glossas [Interlanguage influences on English and the contribution of the Greek language] (2nd ed.). Athens: Grigoris Publications.

Katzner, K. (2003). The languages of the world. London: Routledge.

Langacker, R. W. (1968). Language and its structure: Some fundamental linguistic concepts. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World.

Smock, J. C. and Long, P. W. (Ed.). (1931). The Greek element in English words. New York: The MacMillan Company.

For information visit Emeritus Professor George Kanarakis, Charles Sturt University, Australia at https://peridotpublications.com/