Read more
Greek: A History of the Language and its Speakers traces the trajectory of the Greek language from the Mycenaean period of the second millennium BC to the current day. Widely celebrated upon its original release, this greatly expanded Second Edition explores the evolution of the Greek language in its regional and social heterogeneity and in both its spoken and written forms. Beginning in the ancient world with the emergence and dominance of the Attic dialect in the 5th and 4th centuries BC, the book goes on to examine the subsequent development of the language during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The text explores the tension between written varieties and evolving forms of the vernacular -- and the resultant 2000 years of diglossia -- the ever-growing gulf between what was said and what was written, and the linguistic consequences of attitudes toward language. Other topics addressed include the ancient Greek dialects, epigraphic and literary; the impact of the adoption of Greek by the Macedonians, Romans, and as a lingua franca in the East; the role of Greek in the development of Latin and modern European languages; and the position of different forms of Greek in the medieval Byzantine state. Finally, more recent problems of establishing a standard language and education system in the independent Greek state that emerged in the early 19th century are revealed, as well as the ongoing legacy of diglossia into the 1970s.
Unmatched in breadth of material and scholarly rigor,
Greek: A History of the Language and its Speakers, Second Edition, remains the essential resource on the development of the Greek language.
List of contents
Preface to the First Edition xii Preface to the Second Edition xv IPA Chart xvii The Greek Alphabet xviii Introduction: The Scope and Purpose of This Book 1 PART I Ancient Greek: From Mycenae to the Roman Empire 7 1 The Ancient Greek Dialects 9
2 Classical Greek: Official and Literary 'Standards' 43
3 The Rise of Attic 67
4 Greek in the Hellenistic World 79
5 Greek in the Roman Empire 124
6 Spoken Koine in the Roman Period 160
PART II Byzantium: From Constantine I to Mehmet the Conqueror 189 7 Historical Prelude 191
8 Greek in the Byzantine Empire: The Major Issues 207
9 Byzantine Belles Lettres 231
10 The Written Koine in Byzantium 244
11 Spoken Greek in the Byzantine Empire: The Principal Developments 273
12 Texts in the 'Vernacular' 325
PART III Modern Greek: From the Ottoman Empire to the European Union 371 13 Ottoman Rule and the War of Independence 373
14 Spoken Greek in the Ottoman Period 379
15 Written Greek in the Turkish Period 413
16 The History of the Modern Greek State 428
17 The 'Language Question' and its Resolution 438
Bibliography 471 Index 493
About the author
Geoffrey Horrocks is Professor of Comparative Philology at the University of Cambridge, UK, and Fellow of St. John's College. He is the author of many articles on the history and structure of the Greek language and has co-edited several volumes on themes and issues in modern Greek syntax. His previous books include
Space and Time in Homer (1981),
Generative Grammar (1987),
Greek: A History of the Language and its Speakers (1997), and
The Blackwell History of the Latin Languge (with James Clackson, 2007).
Summary
This new edition of Greek: A History of the Language and its Speakers reveals the trajectory of the Greek language from the Mycenaean period of the second millennium BC to the current day.
