Rembetika (with a side of ouzo): A new Method for learning Greek

This method for learning the language of Greece is one that I'm enjoying a great deal! It's the latest endeavor of this high-strung perfectionist who will only believe she speaks Greek when it exits her mouth in perfectly fluent chains of speech. As it turns out, the ouzo is integral to the method, as it seems to get me closer to that perfection with each sip.

Rembetika, an historical Greek music steeped in culture and history, is hard to define. But suffice it to say that the lost love, sorrowful tales and tragically flawed humans, depicted in Rembetika lyrics are simple and straightforward with many opportunities for learning idioms and colloquial Greek.  I discovered this at the taverna, Piperi, in Parga, Greece, with friends, Cathy and Hanne. Hanne, mentioned that she has been using Rembetika to help her improve her Greek language.

Sotiria Bellou

The Piperi Taverna group usually consists of several musicians and one female singer whose voice renders my husband, Nick, soppy with emotion and nostalgia (not an easy feat). The singer's voice, to him, is that of Sotiria Bellou which takes him back to his 1960s school days in Athens when apparently he was spending much time hanging out in tavernas listening to Rembetika and pining over its lyrics.

Likewise, the Piperi Taverna music awakens its patrons with songs that release inhibitions from even the most repressed among us. During the hottest summer nights of Parga, there are always impromptu additions to the music, by overenthusiastic patrons who might start drumming on the table or, in bursts of emotion, try to out-sing the singer in an ouzo-soaked shouting voice. While these shows of enthusiasm are extremely entertaining, I prefer the actual melodic voice of the singer, and I enjoy singing along quietly if I've figured out the lyrics, or if I haven't, just making up my own.

This brings me back to the Ouzo/Rembetika language lessons.
Much of Rembetika can now be either downloaded to a device or found on Youtube. Thank you technology! Thus, not long ago, I began listening to one line at time as I elicited my Greek-speaking husband to translate it to English. He's a patient man but analyzing language is not one of his favorite activities. "If I wanted to become a translator, I would have . . . well, I wouldn't have, because I'd never want to be a translator." Those words were never spoken, but I could see them in his expression.

Then, Jim Potts, the very talented British author of several books and of the blog, Corfu Blues and Global Views suggested I find Gale Holst's book, Road to Rembetika: Music of a Greek Subculture, Songs of Love, Sorrow and Hashish because the last 60 pages are songs in Greek with the English translation. I ordered it from Amazon and it was in my hands a few days later. Might I add that it was delivered to Margariti, the village that had fewer than a handful of telephone lines, no running water, and primitive transport when I'd first gotten there in 1983?  Again, I say:

Thank you technology!

So, with my book in hand, my downloaded songs and my bottle of ouzo, I'm determined to be fluent by .  .  .  well, let's just say, soon. I might not be flawlessly fluent yet, but I'm working on it!

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