Language is just as rich as confusing. Who hasn't ever felt they couldn't understand a single word of what they were reading (or hearing)? That's when you feel that language sounds Greek to you.
Apparently, the expression is a literal translation from the Medieval Latin “Graecum est; non legitur” ("it is Greek, so it can't be read"). It became popular during the Middle Ages, when the monk scribes who weren't familiar with Greek wrote this down next to the texts they were unable to read or translate.
Through time, “this is Greek to me” or “this sounds Greek to me” found its way into general language and we use it to refer to something (language-wise) which is totally incomprehensible. It can be a Physics textbook, a medical report, or even your mobile phone manual.
The expression is widely used nowadays not only in English, but in most modern languages. In fact, if you check the link below, you're sure to have a good laugh! Difficult words sound Greek to the English, Chinese to the Spanish (“me suena a chino”, or the genuine “¡háblame en cristiano!”), or rural Spanish to the Croatians!
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario