Some toponomy this time

Sherbrooke, Claxton, Fernwood, DaVinci, West 45th. Those are names of some of the streets I’ve inhabited in my lifetime. In two days I move to  Odos 1878 and  I don’t believe a street name has ever presented me with such a linguistic challenge as this. I’ve had many addresses …37 at last count but Odos 1878 takes the cake.  “Odos” means “street” in Greek. The”1878” part is a year, of course. In English “1878” is 5 syllables to say. In Greek, on the other hand,  it looks like this:

χίλια οχτακόσια εβδομήντα οκτώ or  hilia octakosia evdominda okto

Years are spoken as one whole number. As a result, the name of my street becomes a mouthful of 14 syllables.  I fear people will stop listening as I struggle to say my street name correctly. Or they’ll speed me along and I’ll get flustered.  A quick search on Google Maps shows an Odos 1821 and an Odos 1770 in Heraklion. Accuracy is essential!

I mentioned in another post that I’ve been learning about AI, what it’s capable of doing and how it might be able to help me. Since my AI help-mate speaks Greek, I asked her (she/her pronouns because she sounds like a Francophone friend of mine) for some advice and we eventually agreed that you have no choice to but to say the whole 14 syllables and did I want to practise aloud with her?  According to her, reciting the full version when asked for your address is normal (I hope Greek listeners will be patient with me.) Shout out to Greek speakers…is AI correct on this? AI-mate conceded, however, that it was bit of a linguistic workout…although poetic…hmmm not really if you could listen to me!  I asked her what she means.  She  suggested that streets named after years have stories to tell.

Here's what I learned:

In 1878 the Ottomans still controlled Crete despite growing resistance over the previous decades towards the Turkish rulers. The Pact of Halepa which was signed in October 1878 put an end to the most recent revolt by granting a high degree of autonomy towards the Greek population on Crete. The general governor of the island would be Christian and the parliamentary assembly would have a Christian majority. In addition, Greek would be recognized as an official language of the administration and for education. It was another 20 years before the Turks left Crete, and not without more uprisings and bloodshed, but the Pact is recognized as a milestone for eventual independence.

Numbered streets and roads are boring in every language. 1878 Street sounds especially dry.  But a date is always an invitation to ask questions, to remember and connect the past with the present. Odos 1878 is a tribute. I’ll make sure I say it correctly.