Opinions - Testimonies

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• Jacqueline de Romilly, professor at the Sorbonne (1957), first woman professor at the Collège de France (1973), member of the French Academy (1988), honorary Greek citizen (1995) and Ambassador of Hellenism (2000):
  
  Dear Sir, I strongly wish that accents be preserved... read it
• ✝Peter Fraser, emeritus lecturer at Oxford University:
  
  I was glad to hear about your Movement for the reintroduction of the polytonic system of accentuation... read it
• Alain Segonds, directeur de recherche du CNRS, directeur général des Éditions Les Belles Lettres:
  
  Cher ami, j'avais longuement traîné à vous écrire sur cette délicate question [des accents], non que... read it
• Gregorios Sifakis, prof. emeritus of classical Greek philology at the University of Thessaloniki and New York University:
  
  Why do I insist on the polytonic accentuation system? A short—as well as precise—answer would be:... read it
• Zyranna Zateli, writer:
  
  I use accents and breathings in my writing because, first of all, I like them and love them... read it
• Vangelis Hadzigiannidis, writer:
  
  I remember I was in the swimming pool for my weekly hydrotherapy session, when... read it
• Yorgos Brounias, writer:
  
  I would say, now that I’m asked about it—because before I considered it as a fact without too many explanations—... read it
• Carlos Steel, professor of ancient philosophy, University of Leuven:
  
  I am a scholar in ancient Greek philosophy and an editor of ancient Greek texts in numerous prestigious international series... read it
• Concetta Luna, researcher at Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa (Italy):
  
  Like millions of other Italians who went through the Classical Lyceum (high school), I learned ancient Greek... read it
• Philippe Brunet, professor of ancient Greek at Rouen university:
  
  The decision to switch from the polytonic to the monotonic system belongs to the Greeks and I have no right to interfere into their choices, but I can... read it
• François Patte, mathematician-sanskritist, professor at Paris V University:
  
  Some years ago I went to see a greek newspaper and was very astonished... read it
• Vernon E. Kooy, Retired Philosopher and Font Designer - Hastings, Nebraska, USA:
  
  By legislating in favor of the monotonic system, Greek has been “dummied down” short and simple... read it
• Phidias N. Bourlas, computer engineer:
  
  Twenty years later I found my beloved, lost, polytonic system again!... read it
• Chrissostomos Papaspyrou, chemist/linguist, educator at the Athens Special Lyceum for the Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing:
  
  I’m deaf. When I was three years old, I permanently lost my hearing. I don’t remember anymore... read it
• Nikos Dimitriadis, classical scholar:
  
  The goal of the Organization for the Internationalization of Greek Language is to widespread... read it
• Dimitrios Filippou, engineer:
  
  First of all I have to say that I am not a follower of the polytonic system, but... read it
• Nikolaos Ventouras, computer engineer:
  
  The arguments of both the (so-called) progressists as of the (so-called) rightists all start from the same viewpoint starting with the dialog between the two parlamentaries and the orthodox church and going all the way until the last comment on the ultimate blog. Friends and ennemies of polytonism focalize their efforts on the argument of usefulness. The former seek to present it as very useful, capable even of curing dyslexia (!), the latter present it as an outdated leftover which is of no use anymore.

  Indeed, this is the main argument of progressive critique: that the content of communication remains the same with or without accents, which makes them useless. As a reply to which, the polytonic wing tries to invent scenarios of usefulness, from the development of linguistic capabilities to the combat of dyslexia. In the future they may even add that it keeps children away from the street.

  I’m astonished by the amount of public consensus on the fact that if we have to defend or to ostracize a part of our civilization we will do it on the sole criterion of usefulness. At what point of our journey did we lost the trail and decided that civilization is a accounting-like give-and-take?

  In school we do not learn only ancient Greek. We also learn literature and poetry. What is the use of literature and poetry? You will reply that they are useful for enculturation, for the development of the individual person, etc. But how do they do this? By their contents or by their form? If we apply here the arguments we read against polytonism (it does not carry valuable information, contents can be transmitted without accents, etc.), it is like saying that in art only content matters. This statement is so naive that even a progressist would hardly make it. But how different is it from the statement that accents are void of content or the statement that learning ancient Greek is useless since it suffices to translate ancient texts into modern Greek to transmit their contents?

  Language as art, as beauty and as artifact, its form and its morphology, are they important for us or does transmission of information suffice? If it is sufficient, why not abandon Greek completely and adopt the English language? (I know of course that some people would not object on that. We cannot forbid anyone to “γεμίσαι τὴν κοιλίαν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν κερατίων ὧν ἤσθιον οἱ χοῖροι” = to longe to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating [Luke 15:16]). Furthermore, dear progressive friends, are you sure that content can be communicated independently from form? William Blake said: “I have heard many People say, ‘Give me the Ideas. It is no matter what Words you put them into.” To this I reply, “Ideas cannot be Given but in their minutely Appropriate Words.’”

  Whatever is valid for words, isn’t it also valid for their ornaments? Our poet says: “the eternal presence of the Greek people on whichever shore of the Aegean managed to establish an orthography, where every omega, every upsilon, every acute accent and every iota subscript, is not but a turn, a downward slope, a bend of the stern of a floating vessel, a wavy vineyard, a church yard, white or red blots, here or there, from dove-cots or pots of geraniums” (Od. Elytis). There is quite a difference between this and the progressive or nationalistic discourse where accents have to prove their value by working, like the poor guys of “Arbeit macht frei”.

  The utilitarianism of progressists and nationalists, i.e. (euro)left-wingers and rightists, shows that they have understood very little about the secrets of language and about what is on stake here. It is interesting to observe that the domination of contents upon form is the main characteristic of the once-upon-a-time socialistic realism. And funnily enough it is also the main characteristic of “American realism”, that is: of the nowadays dominant culture, with an emphasis on linear narration, “dry facts”, “story-telling” and “economics of information”.

  All that reminds me of that ancient mathematician who, when asked by the richman to which he was teaching “what will be the use of all the things he was learning”, called the servant and told him: “give him a penny since he always needs to make profit from whatever he learns”.

• Yannis Gekas, private sector employee:
  
  I was born after the establishment of the monotonic system and so I was taught polytonic... read it
• Andreas Stalidis, mathematician - analyst:
  
  I will not speak about the reasons why the polytonic system should be re-introduced. There are well-argumented analyses on that, by worthy people... read it
• Yorgos Valsamis, director of ellopos.net:
  
  The wealth of the Greek language grown through all the periods of Greek history, doesn’t mean just a larger amount of words... read it
• Katerina Sokratidou, employee in a shipping agency:
  
  When the monotonic system was introduced I was in secondary school, which means that I have already been taught accents for about 7 years. At start... read it
• Nikos Theodorou, mathematician:
  
  I got acquainted with the polytonic system very young, in primary school, when my mother... read it
• Jacob J. Adams, high school student:
  
  Our world is one of many choices.  We choose what to eat and what to wear.  We choose our careers and hobbies.... read it
• Hadjinikolaou Dimitrios, teacher of English language:
  
  Why I do not approve of monotonous, spiritless spelling. ... read it
• Avgoustinos Tsirimokos, reporter:
  
  ... read it
• Nikolaos Papadopoulos, sports teacher:
  
  ... read it
• Archimidis Anagnostou, (doctor, microbiologist):
  
  ... read it
• Ioannis Vamvakas:
  
  EN1... read it
• Dimitris Tabaoglou Computer engineer:
  
  EN1... read it
• Maria Kontarini, employee in the private sector, retired:
  
  EN1... read it
• Dimitris Armaos, Philologist, poet, essayist:
  
  EN1... read it
• Yannis Flytzanis, Student in Law:
  
  ... read it
• Athina Antoniadou, Conservation of antiquities:
  
  ... read it