Greek language – is an independent branch of the Indo-European group of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history; other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were previously used. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script, and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Coptic, and many other writing systems.

In its modern form, it is the official language of Greece and Cyprus and one of the 23 official languages of the European Union. The language is spoken by at least 13 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, and immigrant communities in numerous parts of the world.

The Greek alphabet has been in continuous use for the past 2,760 years or so since about 750 BC. It was developed from the Canaanite/Phoenician alphabet and the order and names of the letters are derived from Phoenician. The original Canaanite meanings of the letter names were lost when the alphabet was adapted for Greek. For example, alpha comes for the Canaanite aleph (ox) and beta from beth (house).

At first, there were a number of different spellings of the alphabet used in various different Greek cities. These local alphabets, known as epichoric, can be divided into three groups: green, blue and red. The blue group developed into the modern Greek alphabet, while the red group developed into the Etruscan alphabet, other alphabets of ancient Italy and eventually the Latin alphabet. Greek alphabet was the first one to include vowels.

Today the Greek alphabet is used only to write Greek, however at various times in the past it has been used to write such languages as Lydian, Phrygian, Thracian, Gaulish, Hebrew, Arabic, Old Ossetic, Albanian, Turkish, Aromanian, Gagauz, Surguch and Urum.

HQ-translate Greek translation services

Our highly-qualified, experienced Greek translators’ base ensures both delivery excellence and cultural sensitivity. Combining the cultural diversity with our highly-qualified linguists – you have a potent combination, not easily matched.

We are continuously and scrupulously reviewing work performance of our affiliated translators, benchmarking with those language professionals who want to join our team and have considerable experience. References are readily available.

Our Greek translators’ team consists of Greek native speakers who are experts in particular applied sector/industry. In the most complex situations we consult technical experts or the client in order to provide accurate translation for each and every term and expression.

Greek team at HQ-translate is small enough to stay close to our customers but skilled enough to handle the most demanding assignments, particularly in tight time-to-go conditions.