Daring expats to speak Greek

Aiming to help expats learn to speak the language with help from locals, the Greek for Freak initiative was launched this week in Kissonerga, organiser Alice Moustier told the Sunday Mail.

The group met on Tuesday at the Tsiakkas tavern in the Paphos area, where around 74 people gathered in the hope of being able to sit down with Cypriots and learn Greek at a roundtable language exchange.

Moustier said the plan is for these nights to be held every first and third Tuesday of the month.

Cyprus, Moustier said, is now an international island. Many Russians, Germans and English live here. They speak their own language and continue to live their own culture while here and “some even dare to speak Greek”.

Rather than dismissing expats as people who live in a bubble, Moustier said there are curious people interested in culture who want to know more about Cyprus, its people and its language.

But, not that many Cypriots turned up to the first meeting, but those that did were open to helping the expats learn more Greek.

“The Cypriot people in the group are accepting and have an understanding that we need to learn Greek even at the beginner level,” she told the Sunday Mail. Those that attended were interested in the initiative, and open to helping the expats in Cyprus.

Moustier was a teacher before coming to Cyprus and has experience in language learning, having taught German as a foreign language in French-speaking Switzerland.

She said Greek is a difficult language to learn. “But once you get over the hurdle of the new letters, it starts to be fun,” she added.

Moustier says that many expats who are part of the group have been taking Greek classes for a long time, but it is difficult to practice, because people speak English directly to expats once they realise they are foreigners.

“And that’s what the roundtable is for. Even if Cypriots want to learn other languages, a tandem exchange is welcome at the roundtable. Whether Russians, Germans, French, English… everyone is welcome to improve their Greek skills and teach others their own language,” she said.

When learning a language, she added, it is important to use all the senses.

“We can remember sentences best through feelings and images. We have to taste, eat, sing, laugh, cry, see, touch, smell in order to really get to know another language and culture.”

All interested are invited to attend the meetings, and any questions about the meetings are welcome in the Facebook group Greek for Freak.

According to the group’s rules: “Participation costs €5 per person per meeting to buy the drink for the participating native speakers as a thank you.”