Английская Википедия:Greek to me

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Шаблон:Short description That's Greek to me or it's (all) Greek to me is an idiom in English referring to material that the speaker finds difficult or impossible to understand. It is commonly used in reference to a complex or imprecise verbal or written expression, that may use unfamiliar jargon, dialect, or symbols. The metaphor refers to the Greek language, which is unfamiliar to most English speakers, and additionally uses a largely dissimilar alphabet.

Origins

It may have been a direct translation of a similar phrase in Шаблон:Lang-la ("it is Greek, [therefore] it cannot be read"). The phrase is widely believed to have its origins among medieval scribes. While most scribes were familiar with Latin, few people in medieval Western Europe, even among the intellectual classes, were schooled in Greek. When copying classic manuscripts they would frequently encounter passages and quotations in Greek which they would have no way of translating, and as such would note the phrase in the margins.Шаблон:Citation Needed

Recorded usage of the metaphor in English traces back to the early modern period. It appears in 1599 in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, as spoken by Servilius Casca to Cassius after a festival in which Caesar was offered a crown: Шаблон:Quote

Here, Casca's literal ignorance of Greek is the source of the phrase, using its common meaning to play on the uncertainty among the conspirators about Cicero's attitude to Caesar's increasingly regal behaviour.

Shakespeare was not the only author of this period to use the expression. It was also used in 1603 by Thomas Dekker in his play Patient Grissel: Шаблон:Quote

The expression is almost exclusively used with reference to the speaker (generally "Greek to me"); Dekker's "Greek to him" is rare.

Variations

Other languages have similar formulations, some referring to Greek but many referring to foreign languages such as Chinese or Spanish. Many refer to a language with different alphabet or writing system.

This is an example of the usage of demonyms in relation to the ability of a people to be understood, comparable to the development of the words barbarian (one who babbles), Nemec (Slavic for "the mute one," indicating Germans).

In an article published by Arnold L. Rosenberg in the language journal Lingvisticæ Investigationes, he claimed that there was a popular "consensus" that Chinese was the "hardest" language, since various non-English languages most frequently used the Chinese language in their equivalent expression to the English idiom "it's all Greek to me". David Moser of the University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies reached a similar conclusion.

Language	Phrase	Pronunciation	Translation	Target language / meaning
English	It's Double Dutch.			Double Dutch (Tutnese)
	That's Greek to me.			Greek
	Chicken scratch.			illegible writing
Albanian	Mos fol kinezce.		Do not speak Chinese.	Chinese
Afrikaans	Dis Grieks vir my.		It's Greek to me.	Greek
Arabic	يتحدث باللغة الصينية	yataḥaddaṯ bil-luġah aṣ-Ṣīnīyah Шаблон:IPA-ar	He's speaking Chinese.	Chinese The verb in the example can be conjugated in other forms.
Arabic, Syrian Colloquial	يحكي كرشوني	yaḥki Karšūni Шаблон:IPA-ar	He's speaking Syriac.	Syriac, using the Garshuni (Arabic) script as a reference to it. The verb in the example can be conjugated in other forms.
Arabic, Egyptian Colloquial	بيتكلم بالهندي	byatkallam bel-hendi Шаблон:IPA-arz	He's speaking Hindi.	Hindi The verb in the example can be conjugated in other forms.
Asturian	Suename chinu Ta'n chinu.		It sounds like Chinese to me. It's in Chinese.	Chinese
Bulgarian	Все едно ми говориш на патагонски.	Vse edno mi govoriš na patagonski. Шаблон:IPA-be	It's as if you're talking in Patagonian.	"Patagonian"
Cantonese	鬼畫符 / 鬼画符	gwai2 waak6 fu4 Шаблон:IPA-yue	Ghost script?	No specific set phrase, treated like any ordinary language, eg. "Is this ghost script?" "Is this written in Martian?"
	火星話 / 火星话	fo2 sing1 waa6 Шаблон:IPA-yue	Martian
Catalan	Com si diguessis Llúcia	Шаблон:IPA-ca	As if you say Lucy; not referring to a language
Cebuano	Linatin		Latin	Latin, a language used in rituals by holy men such as Catholic priests, faith healers, and talisman owners.
	Ininsik		Chinese	Chinese
Chavacano	Aleman ese comigo.		It's German to me.	German
Croatian	To su za mene španska sela.	Шаблон:IPA-sh	These are to me the Spanish countryside.	Spanish
Czech	To je pro mě španělská vesnice.	Шаблон:IPA-cs	This is a Spanish village to me.	Spanish
Danish	Det rene volapyk.	Шаблон:IPA-da	This is pure Volapük	Volapük, a 19th century constructed language
	Det er en by i Rusland.		This is a town in Russia.	Russian
	Kaudervælsk		Romansh	Romansh, a Rhaeto-Romance language spoken in Switzerland
Dutch	Dat is Chinees voor mij.	Шаблон:IPA-nl	That is Chinese to me.	Chinese
	Ik snap er geen jota van.		I don't understand one iota of it. Reference to Matthew 5:18.	Greek
Esperanto	Tio estas volapukaĵo.	Шаблон:IPA	It's all Volapük.	Volapük, a 19th century constructed language
Estonian	See on mulle hiina keel.		This is Chinese to me.	Chinese
Filipino	Parang Intsik		It looks like Chinese.	Chinese
Finnish	Täyttä hepreaa.	Шаблон:IPA-fi	It's all Hebrew.	Hebrew
	Kuulostaa siansaksalta		Sounds like pig's German	gibberish
	harakanvarpaita (refers to undecipherable writing)		Magpie's toes	unintelligible writing (gibberish)
French	C'est du chinois. C'est de l'hébreu. C'est du russe.	[s‿ɛ dy ʃinwa] [s‿ɛ də l‿ebʁø] [s‿ɛ dy ʁys]	It's Chinese. It's Hebrew. It's Russian.	Chinese Hebrew Russian
German	Das kommt mir spanisch vor.		That sounds like Spanish to me. (usually meant to indicate something is fishy)	Spanish
	Spreche ich Chinesisch?		Am I speaking Chinese?	Chinese
	Fachchinesisch		specialty Chinese (meaning technical jargon)	Chinese
	Kauderwelsch		trade Romance	Mediterranean Lingua Franca
	Das sind böhmische Dörfer für mich	Шаблон:IPA-de	These are Bohemian villages to me	Czech, Bohemia being a region of the neighbouring Czech Republic that is nearest to Germany.
	Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof		All I understand is "train station."
	Polnisch rückwärts		Polish [spoken] in reverse	Polish
Greek, Standard Modern	Αυτά μου φαίνονται κινέζικα.	Шаблон:IPA-el	This strikes me as Chinese	Chinese
	Αυτά μου φαίνονται αλαμπουρνέζικα.	Шаблон:IPA-el	These seem to me gobbledygook.	"Alaburnese" (similar to gibberish)
Greek, Cypriot	Εν τούρτζικα που μιλάς;	Шаблон:IPA	Are you speaking Turkish?	Turkish
Hebrew	זה סינית בשבילי	Шаблон:IPA-he	It's Chinese to me!	Chinese
	כתב חרטומים	Шаблон:IPA-he	The script of a pharaoh's magicians (i.e. hieroglyphics)	Hieroglyphics
Hindi, Urdu	क्या मैं फ़ारसी बोल रहा हूँ? کیا میں فارسی بول رہا ہوں؟	Kyā maĩ fārsī bol rahā hū̃?	Am I speaking Persian?	Persian
Hungarian	Ez nekem kínai.	Шаблон:IPA-hu	It's Chinese to me.	Chinese
Icelandic	Hrognamál	Шаблон:IPA-is	"fish-egg language"
	Þetta er hebreska fyrir mér.	Шаблон:IPA-is	This is Hebrew to me.	Hebrew
Indonesian	(Tulisan) Cakar ayam		Chicken feet	gibberish Refers to unreadable writing.
	Bahasa planet		(Other-)planet language	alien language
Italian	Questo per me è arabo/aramaico/ostrogoto/turco/cinese	Шаблон:IPA-it, Шаблон:IPA-it, Шаблон:IPA-it, Шаблон:IPA-it, Шаблон:IPA-it	This is Arabic/Aramaic/Ostrogoth/Turkish/Chinese to me	Arabic, Aramaic, Ostrogoth, Turkish, Chinese
Japanese	珍紛漢紛	Chinpun kanpun Шаблон:IPA-ja	"Ching chong"	formal speech Refers to the "Chinese" sound of incomprehensible Chinese loanwords.
Javanese	ꦕꦺꦏꦺꦂꦥꦶꦛꦶꦏ꧀	Шаблон:IPA-jv	Chicken scratch	illegible handwriting
	ꦧꦱꦮꦭꦺꦴꦟ꧀ꦝ	Шаблон:IPA-jv	Dutch language	Dutch
Korean	횡설수설하고 있다	Hoengseolsuseolhago itta	They are speaking horizontally and vertically.	gibberish, especially for unrecognizable spoken language or incoherence.
	괴발개발 (refers to unreadable writing)	Goebalgaebal	Cat's footprints and dog's footprints	gibberish
	아무 말이나 한다	Amu marina handa	They are speaking out random words.	gibberish
	외계어를 한다	Oegyeeoreul handa	They are speaking in an alien language.	alien language
	개소리를 한다	Gaesorireul handa	They are making a dog's sound.	gibberish
Latin	Graecum est; nōn legitur	Шаблон:IPA-la	[It] is Greek; [it is] not legible/[it is] illegible	Greek
Latvian	Tā man ir ķīniešu ābece	Шаблон:IPA-lv	This is Chinese alphabet book to me	Chinese
Lithuanian	Tai man kaip kinų kalba.	Шаблон:IPA-lt	It's Chinese to me	Chinese
Lojban	ti itku'ile ga'a mi		It's Ithkuil to me	Ithkuil
Macedonian	За мене тоа е шпанско село.	Za mene toa e špansko selo. Шаблон:IPA-mk	It is for me a Spanish village.	Spanish
Malay	(Tulisan) Cakar ayam		Chicken feet	gibberish Refers to unreadable writing.
Mandarin	看起來像天書。/ 看起来像天书。	Kànqǐlái xiàng tiān shū Шаблон:IPA-cmn	Looks like a book from Heaven	"Heaven's language" Refers to an unknown writing system, or god's language, c.f. A Book from the Sky.
	這是鬼畫符嗎？ / 这是鬼画符吗？	Zhè shì guǐhuàfú ma? Шаблон:IPA-cmn	Are these ghost-drawn marks?	"ghost language" Refers to very poor, incomprehensible handwriting.
	聽起來像鳥語。/ 听起来像鸟语。	Tīngqǐlái xiàng niǎoyǔ. Шаблон:IPA-cmn	Sounds like bird language.	"bird language" (bird song) Refers to incomprehensible speech.
	火星文	Huǒxīng wén Шаблон:IPA-cmn	Martian writing	"Martian" Usually refers to comically unconventional writing, but is also often used in the same context of unintelligible words or text.
Low Saxon	Dat kümmt mi spaansch vör.	Шаблон:IPA	That seems like Spanish to me.	Spanish
Norwegian	Det er helt gresk for meg.	Шаблон:IPA	It's complete Greek to me	Greek
Persian	مگه ترکی حرف میزنم؟	Шаблон:IPA-fa	Am I speaking Turkish?	Turkish
Polish	To dla mnie chińszczyzna.	Шаблон:IPA-pl	To me it's Chinese	Chinese
	Siedzieć jak na tureckim kazaniu	Шаблон:IPA-pl	Sit as in a Turkish sermon	Turkish
	Czeski film	Шаблон:IPA-pl	Czech movie (this one refers to an incomprehensible situation rather than words, coined after a wave of absurdist movies in Czech cinematography)	Czech
Portuguese	Isto para mim é chinês.	Шаблон:IPA-pt	This is Chinese to me	Chinese (Portugal)
	Isto para mim é grego.	Шаблон:IPA-pt	This is Greek to me	Greek (Portugal)
Romanian	Parcă e chineză.	Шаблон:IPA-ro	It's like Chinese.	Chinese
	Ești turc?	Шаблон:IPA-ro	Are you Turkish?	Turkish
	Nu înțeleg o iotă.	[nu ɨnˈt͡se.leɡ o jo.tə]	I don't understand one iota of it. Reference to Matthew 5:18.	Greek
Russian	Это для меня китайская грамота.	Eto dlja menjá kitájskaja grámota. Шаблон:IPA-ru	That's Chinese writing to me.	Chinese, but emphasis is put on reading rather than speaking. The phrase is often applied when not understanding branches of knowledge like chemistry, maths or computing due to lack of familiarity.
	Как курица лапой.		Like [scribbled by] chicken feet.	gibberish Refers to very poor, incomprehensible handwriting.
Serbian	То су за мене шпанска села. To su za mene španska sela.	Шаблон:IPA-sh	These are to me a Spanish village.	Spanish
	К'о да кинески причаш. K'o da kineski pričaš.		Like speaking in Chinese	Chinese
Slovak	To je pre mňa španielska dedina.	Шаблон:IPA-cs	That is a Spanish village to me.	Spanish
Slovene	To mi je španska vas	Шаблон:IPA-sl	That is a Spanish village to me.	Spanish
Spanish	Está en chino/arameo/ruso. Me suena a chino/arameo/ruso.	Шаблон:IPA-es, Шаблон:IPA-es Шаблон:IPA-es, Шаблон:IPA-es	This is in Chinese/Aramaic/Russian. It sounds like Chinese/Aramaic/Russian to me.	Chinese, Aramaic, Russian
	No entiendo ni jota	Шаблон:IPA-es	I don't understand one iota of it. Reference to Matthew 5:18.	Greek
Swedish	Det är rena grekiskan.	Шаблон:IPA-sv	It's pure Greek	Greek
Turkish	Konuya Fransız kaldım.	Шаблон:IPA-tr	I am French to the topic.	French, as from the viewpoint of a French person who doesn't understand any Turkish.
	Anladıysam arap olayım.	Шаблон:IPA-tr	let me blacken, get dark skin ("turn into Arab") if I understood it (in Turkish "arap olayım" is used in idioms in similar sense to "God strike me down if ...", to emphasize that something is not true) (informal, old-fashioned, offensive)	None (Arab doesn't refer to nationality or language, but skin color)
Ukrainian	Це для мене китайська грамота.	Tse dlja mene kitajs'ka gramota. Шаблон:IPA-uk	That's Chinese writing to me.	Chinese
Venetian	Par mi xe turco.	Шаблон:IPA-vec	To me this is Turkish.	Turkish
Vietnamese	Nhìn/nghe như tiếng Miên.		(It) looks/sounds like Khmer	Khmer
Yiddish	תּרגום־לשון טערקיש אָץ־קוצץ־לשון מלאָכים־לשון חרטמים־לשון	targem-loshn terkish ots-koytsets-loshn malokhim-loshn khartumim-loshn	targum language (i.e. that of Aramaic translations of the Bible) Turkish gibberish the language of angels the language of a pharaoh's magicians (i.e. hieroglyphics)	Aramaic / Turkish / gibberish / angelic language / Hieroglyphics

See also

• Greeking
• Gringo, originally meaning a foreign language as unintelligible as Greek

External links

• Omniglot: "Translations of It's all Greek/Chinese/Hebrew/Arabic to me in many languages".
• Translations of "it's all Greek to me" on Wordreference.comШаблон:Dead link
• Шаблон:Cite web