To my fellow Hellenes residing in Western countries: How many times have you confidently spoken Greek to a native speaker at church or while visiting the fatherland, and needed to switch back to English because you just can’t keep up with the rest of the conversation?

If you’re anything like me, a few more times than you’d care to admit.

The Greek language, which has been spoken continuously – uninterrupted – for thousands of years by both Hellenes and βάρβαροι alike, has played an extremely significant role in shaping world languages, culture, philosophy, art, and more. As members of the Greek Diaspora, we have always been proud of our language.

In fact, at no point in time have Greeks ceased to speak Greek. There are even those who argue that the reason a single Hellenic language endures is because there has been a continuous line of Greeks speaking it all throughout recorded history. I find it incredible how every grammatical feature of ancient Greek can still be used in modern Greek, even if many of these devices have long since fallen out of fashion.

Now, this next section may be controversial, but I stand by it wholeheartedly: the Greek language is sacred to Greeks. It was no mistake that God allowed the Holy Gospel to spread our language across the entire world – I am referring, of course, to the well-known fact that the New Testament was first written in Greek. Likewise, it was no mistake that Jesus Christ was born in a Greek-speaking, Hellenistic world.

Additionally, let it be remembered that the Greeks of the Diaspora, since ancient times, have continued to preserve and spread the language. Even though they lived outside the physical boundaries of the πατρίδα, many retained Greek fluency as well as if they had remained in the homeland.

Today, things are quite a bit different. Many Diasporic Greeks are still patriotic – a praiseworthy commonality, to be sure – but if you ask them to speak Greek at length, many of them will struggle.

This phenomenon is, in many ways, unsurprising given the rise in globalization and historic assimilation pressures within Western countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia. However, the simple fact remains that many contemporary Greek Diasporans have not learned the language of their ancestors. Nonetheless, I believe that native language retention in these countries is still a conscious choice.

It’s gotten to the point where many Greek-Americans don’t know a single word of Greek despite knowing they hold Greek ancestry. Others know a few common phrases – Γεια σου, τι κάνεις, Ελλάδα, μαλακά, κτλ… but it’s a far cry from what a generation or two back could muster.

There are approximately seven million Greeks living in the Diaspora (to say nothing of the many Crypto-Greeks, so-called Turks and other Balkans of Hellenic descent who don’t even know their true genetic composition) and the majority of these Diasporic groups do not speak Greek fluently.

I myself did not grow up speaking fluent Greek, so please understand there is no distaste or judgement emanating from my words. I understand the burden one must undertake to reclaim the language of their parents, grandparents and forgotten relatives. As I learned Greek, I had to force myself to use it at any and every opportunity.

What’s more, I began from a pretty typical entry point: I became proud to be Greek first. From there, I learned the importance of making conscious efforts to practice repeatedly.

Naturally, I’m writing this article to implore my fellow Greeks to do the same, to prove to ourselves and the world that we are true Greeks. We are here. We are patriotic, we love our έθνος, our history, our family, and our rich ancestry. We’re also not going anywhere. We will will continue our traditions, our manner of speaking, our κόσμο Θεωρία, and our Greek spirit – regardless of what the spirit of the age says.

As the rest of the world insists we globalize (“Why bother re-learning your native language?”) we Greeks, to be worthy of our ancestors, must say, “Όχι!”