Greek translation
Greece or Cyprus,
monotonic by default
Modern Greek uses the monotonic system, introduced for official use in 1982, with a single accent mark and no breathing marks. Polytonic text survives in historical, scholarly and ecclesiastical material. Greek is an official language in Greece and Cyprus, so project context matters as much as script.
Greek has its own 24-letter alphabet, four cases, three genders and a rich verb system. Names and technical terms appear in Greek and Latin forms across a file set, and dates, amounts and registry details must match the institution or market the document is for.
Language and locale facts
Greek
conventions to specify
Greek has its own alphabet and an accent system that differs from older printed Greek. The jurisdiction and register should be confirmed before any typesetting begins.
| Convention | Greek |
|---|---|
| Script | Greek alphabet of 24 letters; final sigma ς at the end of words |
| Accents | Monotonic: one accent (tonos), dialytika on ϊ and ϋ; all-capital words normally carry no tonos |
| Punctuation | The question mark looks like a semicolon (;); the semicolon is a raised dot, the ano teleia (·) |
| Quotation marks | Guillemets « … » are standard |
| Numbers | Decimal comma, full stop between thousands |
| Date | DD/MM/YYYY; months in lower case |
| Romanisation | ELOT 743 is the national standard for Latin forms of Greek names; its use should be specified |
| Address | Formal plural εσείς or informal εσύ; the formal form is the business default |
Typical source material
Greek documents
and their translation focus
Greek-language work frequently serves trade and company administration, so records and invoices carry names that must stay identical from file to file.
| Material | Translation focus |
|---|---|
| Company records and trade documents | Greek and Latin name forms fixed; registry numbers, dates and amounts copied exactly |
| Contracts and legal texts | Greek or Cypriot legal terms chosen for the jurisdiction; formal register kept |
| Technical and shipping documents | Equipment and logistics terminology kept consistent; units checked |
| Websites and software | Mixed Greek and Latin text checked for lookalike letters, sorting and search; capitals without accents |
Language-specific checks
Details that change
the finished translation
Greek checks concern accents, jurisdiction and two-script names.
Monotonic accents by default
Contemporary Greek normally uses monotonic accents. Older or specialist material may need polytonic text, so the intended register must be clear before typesetting.
Greece or Cyprus
Greek-language work may target Greece or Cyprus. Institutional titles, legal terms and some vocabulary differ, so jurisdiction is not inferred from the language alone.
Lookalike letters and two scripts
Greek Α, Β and Ο look like Latin A, B and O but are different characters. Mixed files can fail search and sorting, and names need an approved Greek form and an ELOT 743 Latin form.
Greece or Cyprus, monotonic text and Greek name forms
A Greek brief names the jurisdiction, Greece or Cyprus, and confirms modern monotonic orthography unless the material is historical or ecclesiastical. Names are the other main task: personal and company names need a Greek rendering and a Latin form that stay fixed across the file set. ELOT 743 is the Greek national standard for romanising Greek text, which is worth naming when Latin forms are required.
Each text goes to a native Greek translator living in the target country and is then revised by a second qualified linguist under the agency’s ISO 17100 process. Trade documents are usually handled through business translation, and Greek web content through website translation.
Buyer questions
Questions about
Greek translation
Does Greek translation cover Cyprus as well as Greece?
Greek is the main language of Greece and an official language of Cyprus. The intended jurisdiction and audience should be stated, because a text for Cyprus can involve different institutional, legal or product context from one for Greece, even though the written language is the same standard Modern Greek.
What is monotonic Greek, and when does it matter?
Modern Greek normally uses the monotonic system, with one accent mark, rather than the older polytonic system found in some historical, scholarly or ecclesiastical material. Contemporary business and technical texts generally use modern monotonic Greek unless the source or audience requires otherwise.
How are names romanised in Greek documents?
Greek names are commonly given a Latin form following ELOT 743, the Greek national romanisation standard, which passports and many official records use. Where a company or person already has an established Latin spelling, that spelling takes priority. The brief should state which approach applies so every document in a set matches.
Why does the Greek question mark look like a semicolon?
Greek writes its question mark as ;, the same shape as the Latin semicolon. The Greek semicolon is a raised dot, the ano teleia. Converting punctuation with Latin rules, or pasting text between systems, can swap them. Reviewers check punctuation in Greek text after conversion, especially in interfaces and generated documents.
How is Greek text written in capitals?
In monotonic Greek, words in all capitals normally carry no accent marks, except dialytika where needed. Software that capitalises text can leave accents in place or remove them inconsistently, and some Greek capitals look like Latin letters. Headings and uppercase labels should be checked in the final layout.
Which documents are typically translated into Greek?
Typical requests are contracts, company records, invoices, technical documentation, product information and websites. The brief should say where the text will be filed, sold or read, since institutions in Greece and Cyprus use different forms. Editable source files and approved name spellings reduce queries during translation and revision.