HISTORY OF THE GREEK LANGUAGE

The history of the language, which Greeks speak is engraved upon its same words which are spoken and sung now for a thousand years from millions of lips, bring up to us the same history of the Greek nation.

THE ANCIENT GREEK LANGUAGE

From place to place, Ancient Greeks spoke differently. Namely, the language took another form; it obtained a particular form called a dialect. In Sparta, they had the Doric dialect, in Athens, the Attic and elsewhere another dialect. But this did not prevent them from communicating and exchanging views easily, because the differences between the dialects were not that great.

THE GREEK OR ALEXANDRIAN KOINE

The Koine language shaped up, after the classical era, between the century, which began around 300 BC and 300 AD. This language, which slowly became the Koine language of the Greeks, came from the Attic dialect and certainly from Athens around 500-400 BC, namely the time, which Athenians had reached the greatest peak.

So the Attic dialect can become the Koine language, it was needed to take words from other dialects, at the time when Alexander the Great was conquering the East. This common language, with time, became the languages of the East. They spoke it and wrote it everywhere: in Syria, in Asia Minor, in Persia, in Egypt and elsewhere. It became the international language of that time.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE KOINE WITH ANCIENT GREEK AND MODERN GREEK

This language, with time and its distribution lost its old form and introduced innovation which foretold the language spoken today. The language of 3 AD century had many components of the language today. Hence the Koine of the time of Christ completed the first appearance of Modern Greek.

THE LANGUAGE IN THE BZANTINE YEARS

The changes continued and with the Byzantine years. At that time, they generalised even more. Thus we find many words in the form that they are today. Later, when the Byzantium ends, the alive language does not differ almost not at all from the Modern Greek of today, as the Greeks know from the folk’s songs.

THE MODERN GREEK LANGUAGE

Today's language has unique virtue: it expresses ability, flexibility, artificial strength, productive capacity, which means that the necessities, it composes and produces words, which expresses everything.

THE GREEK LANGUAGE

The Greek language has a great history. It has the greatest history of all the European languages. Written monuments of the language prove that it existed from the second century BC, the literature from 2500 years ago. Ancient and modern literature has been written in Greek. With this language, the people of the Greek nation can express themselves; tell stories, its proverbs and folk songs.

It is a treasure. But we have a debt to conquer, to this linguistic treasure of ours. And to succeed, we need help. Anyone who can learn this language, as well as the language, will benefit from it.  It will train your mind and will make you see things clearer.  Greek should be kept alive!


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