Greek in the United States today

Abstract

The purpose of the presentation is to offer a brief overview of Greek spoken as a heritage Language in the United States. In the first part I will demonstrate its characteristics and everyday use as well as the sociolinguistic profiles of Greek Heritage Speakers, while in the second part, I will focus on Greek language teaching in the United States and how this is shaped by the new Curriculum for Teaching Greek as a Heritage Language: A framework for teachers (Gavriilidou & Mitsiaki 2022), which was funded by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

Short Bio

Zoe Gavriilidou (BA, D.E.A., Ph.D.) is a Professor of Linguistics at the Department of Greek Philology at Democritus University of Thrace and Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago. She served as President of The European Association of Lexicography, Vice Rector of Academic Affairs and Student Welfare, Dean of the School of Classics and Humanities, and Chair of the Department of Greek at the same University. She was the supervising coordinator of the THALES Project on Language Learning Strategies (total grant 600.000 euros) and of the Project on Heritage Greek (budget 100.000 euros) and she has been a member of the experts’ committees for the revision of curricula in Greece and Cyprus in primary and secondary education. Her main areas of research interest include lexicography, language learning strategies, heritage languages, language teaching, and language policies.

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