Month-long celebration of the Greek language to be held in Australia

The Speak Greek in March project will involve consultations planned with media outlets, schools, teachers, community organizations and other stakeholders

An ambitious initiative has been proposed aiming to promote the use of the Greek language inside the home environment by the Greek community in Australia, according to an article published by Neos Kosmos newspaper.

More specifically, by designating March 2015 as ‘Speak Greek’ month, Mike Zafiropoulos AM, the father of the idea who is also the former general manager of SBS and chair of Channel 31, hopes to challenge worrying trends in the use of Greek within families.

“Greek as a language spoken at home is gradually declining in Australia,” he told Neos Kosmos. “These days, first generation Greek Australians are hardly one third of the Greek community, so there’s been a natural decline, because of inter-marriages, and the second generation finding it easier to use English in their communications.”

The Speak Greek in March project will involve consultations planned with media outlets, schools, teachers, community organizations and other stakeholders, Neos Kosmos reports.