International Greek Language Day (9 February)

[Ross Clark]

Why this day? It's the "commemoration day" (deathday, in fact) of
Dionysios Solomos (1798-1857), who (some of you may not know) is
considered Greece's national poet. He wrote a "Hymn to Liberty" (Ὕμνος
εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν), which, suitably musicked, became the national
anthem of Greece (1865) and Cyprus (1966). But there's more, to do with
the establishment of a Modern Greek literary language:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysios_Solomos

Greek has the longest period of written use of any language in the
Western world. "Over 3,500 years", says Crystal, which means he's
counting in Mycenean (Linear B). But even if we insist on a continuous
tradition using the same script, it would be (say) 2,800, still the
longest.

Crystal goes on about the many words of Greek origin in English, but we
all know about that.

[HenHanna]

Post by Ross Clark
Why this day? It's the "commemoration day" (deathday, in fact) of
Dionysios Solomos (1798-1857), who (some of you may not know) is
considered Greece's national poet. He wrote a "Hymn to Liberty" (Ὕμνος
εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν), which, suitably musicked, became the national
anthem of Greece (1865) and Cyprus (1966). But there's more, to do with
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysios_Solomos
Greek has the longest period of written use of any language in the
Western world. "Over 3,500 years", says Crystal, which means he's
counting in Mycenean (Linear B). But even if we insist on a continuous
tradition using the same script, it would be (say) 2,800, still the
longest.
Crystal goes on about the many words of Greek origin in English, but we
all know about that.

The word "oxymoron" itself is an oxymoron, which makes its etymology
(word origin) quite interesting!



Here's the breakdown:

Origin: Ancient Greek
Etymological components:

oxys (ὀξύς): meaning "sharp, keen, pointed"

moros (μωρός): meaning "dull, stupid, foolish"



Literal meaning: "sharp-dull" or "pointedly foolish"
While the word itself seems contradictory, it perfectly captures the
essence of what an oxymoron is - a figure of speech that combines
opposite meanings.



Additional points:

The term "oxymoron" first appeared in Latinized Greek (oxymōrum) around
400 AD.

The actual Greek compound word "ὀξύμωρον" (oxymoron) doesn't seem to
exist in any known ancient Greek texts.