| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Standard document translation | From UAH 600 |
| Written text translation | From UAH 600 |
| Consecutive interpreting | From UAH 5,000 |
| Apostille or legalisation | From UAH 1,900 |
| Notarial certification | On request |
The Greek language
The Greek language is primarily associated with Greece — a country whose linguistic and cultural tradition has developed over millennia. Today, it is used in public administration, education, the media, business and everyday communication.
For Greeks, the language holds special significance. It connects modern society with its ancient and Byzantine heritage, literature, the Orthodox tradition and historical memory. At the same time, it is not a language that exists solely in academic or historical contexts. It is used every day for work, study, drafting contracts, conducting negotiations, and creating contemporary content.
The Greek-speaking world is not limited to Greece itself.
Cyprus plays an important role, as Greek is one of its official languages. There are also significant Greek communities in the USA, Canada, Australia, Germany, the UK and other countries. For many families in the diaspora, it remains the language of communication at home, of cultural life and of connection with their historical homeland.
Greek is also one of the official languages of the European Union. It is used to draft documents for European institutions, regulatory materials and official communications.
In practical terms, this encompasses a wide range of situations in which translation is required: education and employment, family and property matters, cooperation with companies, international projects, and the preparation of personal and corporate documents.
The history of the Greek language: over three millennia of written tradition
The history of the Greek language is truly remarkable. It is one of the languages whose written tradition can be traced back over three millennia.
The earliest known written records date back to the second millennium BC. During the Mycenaean period, Greek was written in Linear B, which differed significantly from the modern alphabet.
The language acquired particular significance in the ancient period. It was used by Homer, Herodotus, Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle and other authors, whose works influenced the development of European literature, philosophy, history and science.
However, Ancient Greek was not entirely homogeneous: different regions had their own dialects.
Following the conquests of Alexander the Great, a common linguistic form—Koine—spread across vast territories of the Eastern Mediterranean. It became the medium of trade, administration, and inter-regional communication. Koine is also of particular significance to the Christian tradition: the majority of the New Testament was written in it.
During the Byzantine period, the Greek language continued to evolve. Pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary changed, yet the language remained a vital instrument of state, cultural and ecclesiastical life.
Even after the fall of Constantinople, its development did not cease. The living language continued to exist in everyday life, literature, education and religious circles, gradually acquiring the features of modern Greek.
Therefore, there is a considerable gap between the language of ancient authors and modern Greek. Nevertheless, the historical continuity remains clearly visible — above all in writing, vocabulary and cultural tradition.
How Greek differs from other European languages
It is difficult to confuse Greek with any other European language. Even someone who has never studied it usually recognizes the characteristic letters straight away — α, β, γ, δ, Ω.
Greek belongs to the Indo-European language family, but forms a separate branch within it. It is not a variant of a Slavic, Romance or Germanic language, although it has been in contact with various peoples for centuries and has borrowed vocabulary from them.
One of its main features is its Greek alphabet, whose history dates back to antiquity. Its symbols have long been used far beyond the scope of the language itself—in mathematics, physics, medicine and other sciences.
However, a familiar letter does not always correspond to the expected pronunciation. For example, the modern β sounds closer to the Ukrainian ‘v’, and different letters and letter combinations can represent identical or very similar sounds.
The grammatical structure is also interesting. Modern Greek has retained grammatical genders, cases and articles, whilst the verb system conveys a whole range of meanings — person, number, tense, mood and other characteristics of the action.
Another notable feature is stress, which is indicated graphically in modern writing and is essential for correct pronunciation.
The influence of Greek is particularly evident in international terminology. Democracy, philosophy, theatre, history, logic, biology, geography, diagnosis, therapy — these are just a small selection of words with Greek roots that have long since become familiar in other languages.
Because of this, Greek texts sometimes create an interesting sensation: the writing seems unfamiliar, yet individual roots are suddenly easy to recognize. For translation, however, this similarity does not always help — the modern meaning of a word may differ from the international term derived from it.
Modern Greek: Demotiki, Kafarévousa and the Cypriot variant
The modern literary standard has a rather complicated history.
Throughout the 19th century and much of the 20th, two linguistic traditions co-existed in Greece — Demotiki and Kafarévousa.
Dimotiki was close to the living spoken language. Kafarévousa, by contrast, was deliberately modeled on the Ancient Greek tradition and was used for a long time in public administration, legislation, education and official correspondence.
In effect, people could speak one form of Greek whilst reading official documents in another.
Over time, Dimotiki became the basis of the modern standard language. However, some of the vocabulary and constructions associated with Katharevousa have been retained, particularly in the legal, administrative and academic spheres.
This is precisely why old civil status records, court documents or archival records may differ noticeably from texts produced today.
A distinct linguistic sphere has developed in Cyprus. Standard Modern Greek is used in official contexts and education, whilst Cypriot Greek, with its own distinctive features of pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar, is widely used in everyday communication.
For a translator, these differences are important: sometimes the language of a document can reveal a great deal about the time and context in which it was produced.
Translation from and into Greek: where the challenges lie
The Greek alphabet is merely the most obvious aspect of translation. In practice, personal data, specialist terminology and the consistency of information across different documents require far greater attention.
A typical example is the use of first names and surnames. Their spelling in Ukrainian, Greek and international documents may differ due to varying transliteration systems. If a client already has a passport, degree certificate or other document with an established Latin spelling, this must be taken into account to avoid misunderstandings.
Subject-specific terminology is no less important.
A contract, a medical certificate, a university diploma, a court document and technical instructions all require different vocabulary and, consequently, different levels of professional expertise from the translator.
Archival and older documents require special attention. They may contain archaic constructions, abbreviations, handwritten passages, historical names of government bodies or terms that are used differently today.
A different approach is required for websites, presentations and marketing materials. Here, it is important not only to convey the information accurately, but also to make the text sound natural to the reader, whilst preserving the style, tone and communicative function of the original.
This is precisely why a high-quality translation is not merely a mechanical substitution of words. The translator must understand the content of the document, render the terminology correctly and structure the text so that it functions effectively in the new linguistic context.
Professional Greek translation at the STATUS KO Translation Center
The STATUS KO Translation Center provides translations from Greek into Ukrainian and other languages, as well as from Ukrainian into Greek and other languages. We work with private clients, companies, and organizations in Ukraine and abroad.
Typical requests include personal and official documents, contracts, certificates, diplomas and other educational documents, corporate materials, business correspondence, and legal, financial, medical and technical texts.
When working with documents, we pay particular attention to the spelling of first names, surnames, institutional names, job titles, and professional terminology. If a client has previously issued documents with an established spelling of personal details, these can be used as a guide for the translation.
For specialized materials, we select a translator with the appropriate linguistic and subject-matter expertise. This is particularly important for legal, medical, technical and other texts, where a single inaccurately rendered detail can alter the meaning of the document.
STATUS KO works in over 60 languages, enabling us to organize not only standard Greek–Ukrainian translations but also multilingual projects for international companies and private clients.
If you need a document, contract, website, or other material translated from or into Greek, please send it to the STATUS KO Translation Center. Our specialists will assess the scope of the work, determine the optimal format for the translation and provide you with a quote and a timeline.
