The limits of my language mean the limits of my world. (Die Grenzen meiner Sprache bedeuten die Grenzen meiner Welt.)
We estimate that Greek is spoken as a first language by just over 12 million people in at least 31 territories. Outside of Greece and Cyprus, the largest populations are in the United States, Germany, Australia (many in Melbourne), the United Kingdom and Canada. Other smaller populations are spread throughout Europe.
Greek is an ancient language; an early form, Mycenaean Greek, has been found on the ‘Linear B’ tablets dating from around the 13th century BC.