Greek A History of the Language and its Speakers [Hardcover]

• Offers a complete linguistic treatment of the history of the Greek language
• Updated second edition features increased coverage of the ancient evidence, as well as the roots and development of diglossia
• Includes maps that clearly illustrate the distribution of ancient dialects and the geographical spread of Greek in the early Middle Ages

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 tl#z