The Most Similar Languages to Greek

Modern Greek is a unique language, part of the Indo-European language family. It is primarily spoken in Greece and Cyprus. According to the eLinguistics.net analysis using specific software modules to assess linguistic relationships, the five languages most similar to Greek are French, Albanian, Venetian, Armenian, and Italian.

1. French (39.1)
   The modern Greek language has borrowed heavily from French, due to their cultural and political dominance in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Furthermore, during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Greek texts were translated into Latin and then into French, having a lasting impact on the language.
2. Albanian (37.2)
   Albania is on Greece’s northern border. They have borrowed words from each other due to close geographical and historical contact. They share features like the postposed definite article and certain syntactic structures. However, these languages still have significant differences from each other.
3. Venetian (37.1)
   Venetian is another Romance language on this list. As part of the Venetian Empire, many Greek words entered the Venetian dialect, especially related to maritime and trade activities. Venice controlled various Greek territories from the 13th to the 17th centuries, resulting in significant linguistic and cultural exchange.
4. Armenian (36.5)
   Despite their differences, both Greek and Armenian languages belong to the Indo-European family, sharing ancient linguistic roots. There has been historical contact between Armenians and Greeks, particularly in Byzantine and Ottoman periods. Both regions were early centers of Christianity.
5. Italian (34.4)
   Greek has contributed to Italian vocabulary, especially in fields like science, philosophy, and art. Renaissance Italy was heavily influenced by Greek classical texts and philosophy. This had a deep impact on Italian language and culture. While Greek is not a Romance language, they share some common ancestral vocabulary and grammatical structures.

(to be considered for the list, the language must be spoken by at least one million people)