Medieval Greek (Μεσαιωνική Ελληνική) is a linguistic term that describes the fourth period in the history of the Greek language. Its symbolic boundaries start with the transfer of the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Byzantium (Constantinople) in AD 330, and end with the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in AD 1453, spanning therefore more than a millennium. As Medieval Greek co-exists with the history of the Byzantine Empire, another term often used to describe the language of the period is Byzantine Greek. This article is an overview of the history of Greek. ... Greek ( IPA: or ελληνικά IPA: — Hellenic) is an Indo-European language with a documented history of 3,500 years, the longest of any other single language in that language family. ... The Greek alphabet is an alphabet that has been used to write the Greek language since about the 9th century BCE. It was the first alphabet in the narrow sense, that is, a writing system using a separate symbol for each vowel and consonant alike. ... The Proto-Greek language is the common ancestor of the Greek dialects, including the Mycenean language, the classical Greek dialects Attic-Ionic, Aeolic, Doric and North-Western Greek, and ultimately the Koine and Modern Greek. ... Mycenaean is the most ancient attested form of the Greek language, spoken on the Greek mainland and on Crete in the 16th to 11th centuries BC, before the Dorian invasion. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Distribution of Greek dialects, ca. ... Aeolic Greek is a linguistic term used to describe a set of rather archaic Greek sub-dialects, spoken mainly in Boeotia (a region in Central Greece), in Lesbos (an island close to Asia Minor) and in other Greek colonies. ... Arcadocypriot was an ancient Greek dialect spoken in Arcadia and Cyprus between ca. ... Attic Greek is the ancient dialect of the Greek language that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. ... Distribution of Greek dialects, ca. ... Distribution of Greek dialects, ca. ... Pamphylian is a little-attested dialect of Ancient Greek which was spoken in Pamphylia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor. ... Homeric Greek is the form of Ancient Greek that was used by Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey. ... Koine redirects here. ... Main article: Greek language Modern Greek (Νέα Ελληνικά or Νεοελληνική, lit. ... Main article: Greek language Modern Greek (Νέα Ελληνικά or Νεοελληνική, lit. ... Cappadocian, also known as Cappadocian Greek or Asia Minor Greek, is a dialect of the Greek language, formerly spoken in Cappadocia (Central Turkey). ... Cretan Greek (Cretan dialect, Greek: Κρητική διάλεκτος or Kritika Κρητικά) is a dialect of the Greek language, spoken by more than half a million people in Crete and several thousands in the diaspora. ... Main article: Greek language Modern Greek (Νέα Ελληνικά or Νεοελληνική, lit. ... Griko, sometimes spelled Grico, is a Modern Greek dialect which is spoken by people in the Magna Graecia region in southern Italy and Sicily, and it is otherwise known as the Grecanic language. ... Katharevousa (Greek Καθαρεύουσα, IPA: ) is a form of the Greek language, created during the early 19th century by Adamantios Korais (1748-1833). ... Pontic Greek is a form of the Greek language originally spoken on the shores of the Black Sea, the Pontus, today mainly in Greece. ... Tsakonian (also Tsakonic) (Standard Greek Τσακωνική Διάλεκτος — Tsakonic language — is a dialect of, or language closely related to, Standard Modern Greek, spoken in the Tsakonian region of the Peloponnese, Greece. ... Yevanic, otherwise known as Yevanika, Romaniote and Judeo-Greek, was the language of the Romaniotes, the group of Greek Jews whose existence in Greece is documented since the 4th century BCE. Its linguistic lineage stems from Attic Greek and the Hellenistic Koine (Κοινή Ελ&#955... Greek ( IPA: or ελληνικά IPA: — Hellenic) is an Indo-European language with a documented history of 3,500 years, the longest of any other single language in that language family. ... Motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent, c. ... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban... Byzantium, present day Istanbul, was an ancient Greek city-state, which according to legend was founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas or Byzantas (Βύζας or Βύζαντας in Greek). ... Map of Constantinople. ... Motto: دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem: Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1680, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299-1326) Bursa (1326-1365) Edirne (1365-1453) Constantinople (Istanbul) (1453-1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 Osman I  - 1918–1922 Mehmed VI... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ...

History

The Jireček Line

When the capital of the Roman Empire was transferred to Constantinople in the 4th century AD, the official language of the state continued to be Latin, yet the literary and spoken language of the entire Eastern part of the Empire continued to be Greek. Greek was also the language of the church and education, while the university preserved a diglossia between the two. Even though this new Greco-Latin diglossia lasted more than two centuries, the Byzantine emperors had been favouring the official use of Greek over Latin since the beginning. Latin was preserved on inscriptions and coinage until the 11th c. AD. The separation of the mixed or non Greek-speaking populations of the Western part of the Empire, accelerated the Hellenisation of the Eastern one. Later, when Greek dynasties of emperors established themselves on the Byzantine throne and changed the official language of the public services, Greek displaced Latin completely. The Greeks of the Eastern Roman Empire retained the Roman name, and the medieval Greek state of Byzantium continued to refer to itself as "Ρωμανία" (Rome), long after the city of Rome and the western half of the Roman Empire were overrun by barbarians. Eventually "Romans" (Ρωμαίοι) became a synonym for "Greeks" (Έλλην); the name "Ρωμαίοι" (Romans) was used as a title of prestige, which symbolised the awe of the old Roman Empire, and typically declared the land claims of the Byzantine state. I, the creator of this image, hereby release it into the public domain. ... I, the creator of this image, hereby release it into the public domain. ... The Jireček Line The Jireček Line is an imaginary line that divided in the ancient Balkans, until the 4th century, the influences of the Latin (in North) and Greek (in South) languages. ... Motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent, c. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... In linguistics, diglossia is a situation where, in a given society, there are two (often) closely-related languages, one of high prestige, which is generally used by the government and in formal texts, and one of low prestige, which is usually the spoken vernacular tongue. ... This is a list of Byzantine Emperors. ... The Western Roman Empire is the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 286. ... Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered around its capital in Constantinople. ... Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered around its capital in Constantinople. ... The Greeks have been known by a number of different names throughout history. ... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... Motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent, c. ...

Evolution from Hellenistic to Medieval Koine

The cultural and linguistic center of the Greek World during the Byzantine era, as it had once been Athens, was Constantinople. The capital acted as a linguistic center on Byzantine Hellenism, for both literary (Atticist) and popular-vulgar (spoken) forms of speech. The diglossia in Byzantium was defined by the medieval literary Koine, which had elements of archaism (equivalent to the Hellenistic Atticism), and the spoken or popular Koine which was the authentic successor of Koine Greek. In the way that Western scholars used Classical Latin for their literary work, the Byzantines tended to use archaisms with elements of Atticism, and usually tried to imitate in their works, in speech and manner, the great attic writers-models of the classical period. Paul the Silentiary wrotes at the time of Justinian I his "Description of Hagia Sophia" (Έκφρασιν του Ναού της Αγίας Σοφίας) with iambs and Homeric hexameters that were characterised as a dark and poetic language. The historians Procopius and Critobulus imitated Thucydides while Anna Komnene had a general Atticist literary style. The members of the Church up until the 4th c. AD followed the example of the Apostles and use the Medieval Koine. However from the 4th century and forth, the language of the church became Atticistic due to the intervention of the Cappadocian Fathers who had been educated in Greek schools of rhetoric. In that respect, the Church was using the older language of the Greeks in order to fight off their older pagan religion. By that time most of the popular masses had already been converted to Christianity, however the introduction of the Atticistic language attracted also rich Greek pagans of higher social status. Thus the Atticist rhetoric helped the Byzantine state to fight off the heresies, and the vernacular Koine enhanced the literary speech with elements from the spoken language. While there was a constant interaction and mutual influence between the written (namely the widely diffused text of the Gospels) and the spoken language, both vary significantly depending on the time or place that they were spoken, written or recorded. Thus, while the spoken language of the early centuries is still similar to the Hellenistic Koine , from the eight century onwards it takes up a form much nearer to Modern Greek, even though in vernacular texts, in their most part written down by educated monks and literati, the language is distorted so as to match the rules of classical Greek grammar. Athens (Greek Αθήνα Athína) is the capital and largest city of Greece. ... Map of Constantinople. ... In linguistics, diglossia is a situation where, in a given society, there are two (often) closely-related languages, one of high prestige, which is generally used by the government and in formal texts, and one of low prestige, which is usually the spoken vernacular tongue. ... Atticism literally means favouring the Athenians. ... Koine redirects here. ... Paul the Silentiary, also known as Paul Silentiarus was a Byzantine peot noted for his ecphrases which descibed the Hagia Sophia as if it were a meadow of marble (due to the many colours of marble employed in its construction). ... Justinian depicted on one of the famous mosaics of the Basilica of San Vitale. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... An iamb is a metrical foot used in various types of poetry. ... Hexameter is a literary and poetic form, consisting of six metrical feet per line as in the Iliad. ... Procopius of Caesarea (in Greek Προκόπιος, c. ... Bust of Thucydides residing in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. ... Anna Komnene or Comnena (Greek: Άννα Κομνηνή, Anna KomnÄ“nÄ“), (December 1, 1083 – 1153). ... Atticism literally means favouring the Athenians. ... The Cappadocian Fathers are the 4th century church fathers Basil the Great, Gregory Nazianzen, and Basils brother Gregory of Nyssa, who made major contributions to the definition of the Trinity finalized at the First Council of Constantinople in 381 and the Nicene Creed. ... Rhetoric (from Greek , rhêtôr, orator, teacher) is generally understood to be the art or technique of persuasion through the use of oral language and written language; however, this definition of rhetoric has been contested since rhetoric emerged as a field of study in Universities. ... Heathen redirects here. ... Pagans may mean: Paganism, a belief in natural religion. ... Rhetoric (from Greek , rhêtôr, orator, teacher) is generally understood to be the art or technique of persuasion through the use of oral language and written language; however, this definition of rhetoric has been contested since rhetoric emerged as a field of study in Universities. ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the ‘catholic’ or orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ... The literal meaning of the Greek word koine (κοινή) is common. It is used in several senses: Koiné Greek (Κοινή Ἑλληνική), a Greek dialect that developed from the Attic dialect (of Athens) and became the spoken language of Greece at the time of the Empire of Alexander the Great. ... Main article: Greek language Modern Greek (Νέα Ελληνικά or Νεοελληνική, lit. ...

Vocabulary

Due to the long-term diglossia between Latin and Greek, Medieval Greek borrowed various linguistic elements from the Latin language, many of which survive in Modern Greek — most having to do with administration, politics, public life, as well as everyday objects. A number of Latin words and popular phrases can be traced in Medieval Greek include the following (bold marking signifies assimilation to the language and survival into Modern Greek): In linguistics, diglossia is a situation where, in a given society, there are two (often) closely-related languages, one of high prestige, which is generally used by the government and in formal texts, and one of low prestige, which is usually the spoken vernacular tongue. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Main article: Greek language Modern Greek (Νέα Ελληνικά or Νεοελληνική, lit. ...

Common phrases

• άνω φηλικίσιμε!, ano filikisime < Annos Felicissimos!
• βαίνε, vene < Bene (Venisti!)
• τούμβικας!, tumvikas < tu vincas!
• ιμούλτος άννος! immultos annos < in multos annos!

Court titles

Αύγουστος (Avgoustos, Augustus), Καίσαρ (kesar, Caesar), πρίγκιψ (Prinkips, Prince), κόμης (Komis, Count), μάγιστρος (magistros, magister), κοιαίστωρ (quaestor), σιλεντιάριος, παλάτιον (palation, palace), κουροπαλάτης, ακτουάριος, καγκελλάριος (kankellarios, chancellor), σακελλάριος, τιτουλάριος (titoularios, title-bearer), οφφικιάλος (offikialos, an official).

Names

Μαγναύρα (from Latin magna aula, "great hall")^{[1] [2]}, Γερμανός, etc.

Nouns

Αξούγγιον (axyggion, xigi, animal fat), βερίκοκον (verikokon, apricot), βίγλα (vigla, sentry), βούκα/μπούκα (bouka, point of entry, mouth), γούλα, εξέμπλιον, καλαμάριον (kalamarion, squid), καλλίγιον, κάγκελον (kankellon, railing), κάρβουνον (karvounon, coal), κουβούκλιον (kouvouklion, cubicle), στέρνα (sterna, cistern), λουκάνικον (loukanikon, sausage), λωρίον (> λουρί) (lorion, strap), μάγκιψ, μάγουλον (magoulon, cheek), μακελλάρης (makellaris, butcher), μανίκιον (manikion, sleeve), μαρούλιον (maroulion, lettuce), μενσάλιον, μίλλιον (million, mile), μουλλάριον (moularion, mule), οσπίτιον (ospition, house), παλούκιον (paloukion, stake or pike), πανάριον (panarion, breadbasket), πέδικλον, πουγγίον (poungion, purse), σέλλα (sella, saddle), σέρβουλον, σκαμνίον (skamnion, sitting stool), σκουτέλλιον, στάβλος (stavlos, stable), ταβέρνα (taverna, tavern), τάβλα (tavla, table), φλάσκα (flaska, flask), φόρος (foros, forum, later: tax), φούρκα (fourka, pitchfork), φούρνος (fournos, furnace), λάβαρον (lavaron, banner), βούλλα (voula, bulla, seal), τίτλος (titlos, title), αντιμήνσιον, κανδήλιον (kandilion, candle), μανουάλιον (manoualion, manual), φαιλόνιον (felonion, a priestly vestment), καλένδαι (kalendai, kalends), βίσεκτος/δίσεκτος (visektos, disektos, a leap year), etc.

Adjectives

Βαρβάτος (varvatos, bearded), βένετος, μπλάβος (blavos, blue) etc.

Verbs

Ακκομβίζω, βουλλώνω (boulono, to seal), καβαλικεύω (kavalikevo, to mount a horse), κανακεύω (kanakevo, to dote), μισσεύω (missevo, to emigrate), πλουμίζω (ploumizo, to embellish), φουρνίζω (fournizo, to bake) etc.

Suffixes

• -aton: Μαγιστράτον, μανδάτον, δουκάτον etc.

• -atos: Αμυγδαλάτος, καρυδάτος, κυδωνάτος, πιπεράτος etc.

• -arios: Νοτάριος, σχολάριος etc.

• -poullos/poullon: Κομητόπουλλος, Τουρκόπουλλος, Αρχοντόπουλλον, Φραγκόπουλλον etc. (from Latin pullus, 'young animal', 'chick')

• -isios: Καστρήσιος, κολονήσιος, βουνήσιος etc. (also spelled -ίσιος; from Latin -ensis,^[3] a suffix denoting a place of origin)

• -anos: Δέκανος, Πάγανος etc.

• -alion: Μανουάλλιον, Μενσάλλιον, τριβουνάλιον etc.

Phonology

In phonology, both rare and common innovations described in Koine Greek become more generalised. Koine redirects here. ...

• The vowel η has already been merged with ι, except in Pontus and Cappadocia, where it preserved its ancient accent (νύφε, κεπίν, τίμεσον, Ελλένικος, θελυκό, πεγάιδι).

• The vowel υ and the diphthong οι, which during Hellenistic Koine had taken the sound of the French 'u', also merge with ι in the 10th century, except some local dialects such as the ones of Aegina and Megara in the Saronic Islands and Cumae in Italy (κιούτομαι, χιούρος, τσιουλία, Κούμη).

• The vowel ω is in restricted cases converted into ου (ζουμιν, κλουβίν, κουνούπιν, κουπίν, αλωπού, μαιμού, Γιλλού).

• The vowel ε is occasionally converted to ι when it is succeeded by α and ο, and during the 13th century it loses its accent (μηλέα>μυλιά, λεοντάριν>λιοντάριν), everywhere except in Pontus, Cappadocia, the Ionian Islands and Southern Italy.

• The vowel ο is gradually neglected from the termination -ιον, -ιος (καλαμάριν, κουβάριν, σακκίν, χαρτίν, κύρις).

• The phonetic combination of ου-ε is occasionally pronounced as ο (μόδωκε, οπόχουν, πόναι, οπόκαμεν, πόλειπες).

• Consonants κ and π are occasionally converted to χ and φ when succeeded by τ (νύχτα, προσεχτικά, σουδαχτικά, εκλεχτοί, εφτά, λεφτός, φτωχός, βαφτίζω).

• Consonants θ is occasionally converted to τ when preceded by φ and χ (εγεύτη, φτοράν, φτόνος, παρευτύς, εταράχτησαν, να συναχτούν, να δεχτούμε, μάχεστε, επιάστη).

• The vowel υ from diphthongs αυ and ευ, which from the time of Koine Greek had already acquired the sound of φ and β, now they're occasionally silenced when succeeded by μ (θάμα, ψέμα), and are converted to π when succeeded by σ (απεζέψασιν, επλέψασιν, ωδήγεψαν, να θεραπέψουν, ανάπαψη).

• The vowel υ in the combination υν is converted to μ (εύνοστος>έμνοστος, χαύνος>χάμνος, ελαύνω>λάμνω).

• The nasal consonants μ and ν stop being pronounced when succeeded by voiceless fricatives (νύφη, άθος, πεθερός).

• The terminating -ν continues to be pronounced (καλαμάριν, κουβάριν, σακκίν, χαρτίν) and in several occasions appears equivalently (γάλαν, οξύγαλαν, πράμαν, εγίνοτον, επνίγην, εκτίστην).

Pontic Greek is a Greek language which was originally spoken on the shores of the Black Sea (Pontus). Pontics linguistic lineage stems from Attic Greek, and contains influences from Byzantine Greek, Turkish influence and some Persian and Caucasian borrowings. ... Cappadocian Greek (SIL: PCG; ISO 639-2: ine) was a Greek language of Cappadocia, now in Central Turkey. ... Koine Greek refers to the 2nd stage in the history of the Greek language. ... Coordinates 37°45′ N 23°26′ E Country Greece Periphery Attica Prefecture Piraeus Population 13,552 source (2001) Area 87. ... Megara (Greek: Μέγαρα; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is an ancient city in Attica, Greece. ... The Saronic Islands are so named because they lie in the Saronic Gulf just off the Greek mainland. ... Cumae (Cuma, in Italian) is an ancient Greek settlement lying to the northwest of Naples in the Italian region of Campania. ... Traditional rural Pontic house A man in traditional clothes from Trabzon, illustration Pontus is the name which was applied, in ancient times, to extensive tracts of country in the northeast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) bordering on the Euxine (Black Sea), which was often called simply Pontos (the main), by... Map showing Cappadocia as a province of the Armenian Empire under Tigranes the Great Photo of a 15th Century map showing Capadocia. In ancient geography, Cappadocia (or Capadocia) (from Persian: Katpatuka meaning the land of beautiful horses, Greek: Καππαδοκία; see also List of traditional Greek place names; Turkish Kapadokya) was an... The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: Ionioi Nisoi, Ιόνιοι Νήσοι; Ancient Greek: Ionioi Nesoi, Ιόνιοι Νήσοι) are a group of islands in Greece. ... Southern Italy, often referred to in Italian as the Mezzogiorno (a term first used in 19th century in comparison with French Midi ) encompasses six of the countrys 20 regions: Basilicata Campania Calabria Puglia Sicilia Sardinia Sicilia although it is geographically and administratively included in Insular Italy, it has a... Koine redirects here. ... Fricatives (or spirants) are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. ...

Notes

References

• Andriotis, N. History of the Greek language.
• Tonnet, Henri. Histoire du grec moderne.

External link

• Use of Greek in the Byzantine Empire