Greek alphabet
Α α Alpha	Ν ν Nu
Β β Beta	Ξ ξ Xi
Γ γ Gamma	Ο ο Omicron
Δ δ Delta	Π π Pi
Ε ε Epsilon	Ρ ρ Rho
Ζ ζ Zeta	Σ σ ς Sigma
Η η Eta	Τ τ Tau
Θ θ Theta	Υ υ Upsilon
Ι ι Iota	Φ φ Phi
Κ κ Kappa	Χ χ Chi
Λ λ Lambda	Ψ ψ Psi
Μ μ Mu	Ω ω Omega
Obsolete letters
Ϝ ϝ Digamma	Ϻ ϻ San
Ϙ ϙ Qoppa	Ϡ ϡ Sampi
Ϛ ϛ Stigma	Ϸ ϸ Sho
diacritics

Main article: Greek language

Modern Greek (Νέα Ελληνικά or Νεοελληνική, lit. 'Neo-Hellenic', historically also known as Ρωμαίικα, lit. 'Romaic') refers to the fifth stage of the evolution of the Greek language, i.e. the varieties of Greek spoken in the modern era. Greek is spoken today by approximately 17 million people, mainly in Greece and Cyprus but also by minority and immigrant communities in many other countries. The start of the period of the Greek language known "Modern Greek" is symbolically assigned in the the fall of the Byzantine Empire (1453), although strictly speaking it has been shaped since at least the 11th century. During much of this time, the language existed in a situation of diglossia, with regional spoken dialects existing side by side with learned, archaic written forms. Most notably, during much of the 19th and 20th centuries, it was known in the competing varieties of popular Demotic and learned Katharevousa. Today, Standard Modern Greek, a standardised form of Demotic, is the official language of both Greece and Cyprus. This article is an overview of the history of Greek. ... Greek (, IPA: — Hellenic) has a documented history of 3,500 years, the longest of any single language within the Indo-European family. ... Because of technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... 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. ... Medieval Greek (Μεσαιωνική Ελληνική) is a linguistic term that describes the third period in the history of the Greek language. ... Main article: Greek language Modern Greek (Νέα Ελληνικά or Νεοελληνική, lit. ... Cappadocian (SIL: CPG; ISO 639-2: ine), also known as Cappadocian Greek or Asia Minor Greek is a Greek-Turkish mixed 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 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. ... 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... Image File history File links Greek_alphabet_alpha-omega. ... Because of technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... Alpha (uppercase Α, lowercase α) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. ... For other uses, see Nu. ... Beta (upper case Î’, lower case β) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Look up Ξ, ξ in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Gamma (uppercase Γ, lowercase γ) is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Omicron (upper case Ο, lower case ο, literally small o) is the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Look up Δ, δ in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Pi (disambiguation) Pi (upper case Π, lower case Ï€ or Ï–) is the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. ... For the 2005 hurricane, see Hurricane Epsilon. ... Rho (upper case Ρ, lower case ρ) is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Zeta (upper case Ζ, lower case ζ) is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. ... For other uses, see Sigma (disambiguation). ... Look up Η, η in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Tau (upper case Τ, lower case Ï„) is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... == // == Dimensionless temperature in transport phenomena. ... Upsilon (upper case , lower case ) is the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... For programming language, see Iota and Jot. ... The letter phi Phi (upper case Φ or ; lower case φ, , or ), pronounced fee in Greek and fai as in defy in English, is the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet. ... For other uses, see Kappa (disambiguation). ... Chi (upper case Χ, lower case χ) is the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Look up Λ, λ in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... For other uses, see Mu. ... Look up Ω, ω in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Digamma (upper case , lower case ) is an archaic letter of the Greek alphabet, used primarily as a Greek numeral. ... San (uppercase , lowercase ) was a letter of the Greek alphabet, appearing between Pi and Qoppa in alphabetical order, corresponding in position although not in name to the Phoenician tsade. ... Qoppa Qoppa is an obsolete letter of the Greek alphabet and has a numeric value of 90. ... Sampi (Upper case Ϡ, lower case ϡ) is an obsolete letter of the Greek alphabet and has a numeric value of 900. ... Stigma is a ligature of the Greek letters sigma and tau, sometimes used nowadays to represent the Greek numeral 6. ... Sho (uppercase , lowercase ) was a letter added to the Greek alphabet in order to write the Bactrian language. ... In the Greek alphabet, vowels can carry diacritics, namely accents and breathings. ... Greek (, IPA: — Hellenic) has a documented history of 3,500 years, the longest of any single language within the Indo-European family. ... Greek (, IPA: — Hellenic) has a documented history of 3,500 years, the longest of any single language within the Indo-European family. ... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... April 2 - Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (Ä°stanbul). ... 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. ... Katharevousa (Greek Καθαρεύουσα, IPA: ) is a form of the Greek language, created during the early 19th century by Adamantios Korais (1748-1833). ...

Classification

Greek forms an independent branch of the Indo-European languages. Within Greek, all surviving forms of Modern Greek, except the Tsakonian dialect, are descendants of the common supra-regional (Koiné) as it was spoken in late antiquity. As such, they can ultimately be classified as descendants of Attic, the dialect spoken in and around Athens in the classical era. Tsakonian, an isolated dialect spoken today by a dwindling community in the Peloponese, is a descendant of the ancient Doric dialect. Some other dialects have preserved elements of various ancient non-Attic dialects, but Attic Koiné is nevertheless regarded by most scholars as the principal source of all of them. The Indo-European languages comprise a family of several hundred related languages and dialects [1], including most of the major languages of Europe, the Americas as well as many spoken in the Indian subcontinent (South Asia), the Iranian plateau (Southwest Asia), and Central Asia. ... Tsakonian is a Greek language spoken in the Tsakonian region of the Peloponnese, Greece. ... Koine redirects here. ... Attic Greek is the ancient dialect of the Greek language that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. ... Nickname: City of Athena or Cradle of Democracy Location of the city of Athens (red dot) within the Prefecture of Athens and Periphery of Attica Coordinates: Country Greece Peripheries Attica Prefecture Athens Founded circa 2000 BC Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis Area    - City 38. ... Greece and the Peloponnese The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus (Greek: Πελοπόννησος Peloponnesos) is a large peninsula in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth. ... Distribution of Greek dialects, ca. ...

Further information: Greek language

Greek (, IPA: — Hellenic) has a documented history of 3,500 years, the longest of any single language within the Indo-European family. ...

Geographic distribution

Modern Greek is spoken by about 17 million people mainly in Greece and Cyprus. There are also Greek-speaking populations in Georgia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia, Egypt, Turkey, Palestine, Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Southern Italy. The language is spoken also in many other countries where Greeks have settled, including Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden, Norway, United Kingdom, and the United States. The Holy Land or Palestine Showing not only the Old of Judea and Israel but also the 12 Tribes Distinctly, and Confirming Even the Diversity of the Locations of their Ancient Positions and Doing So as the Holy Scriptures Indicate, a geographic map from the studio of Tobiae Conradi Lotter... 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...

Official status

Greek is the official language of Greece where it is spoken by about 99.5% of the population. It is also, alongside Turkish and English, the official language of Cyprus. Because of the membership of Greece and Cyprus in the European Union, Greek is one of the 20 official languages of the European Union. An official language is a language that is given a privileged legal status in a state, or other legally-defined territory. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The languages of the European Union are languages used by people within the member states of the European Union. ...

Varieties

The main dialects of Modern Greek are: A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ...

• Demotic Greek (Δημοτική): As shown in Ptochoprodromic poems, already before the 11th century, the vernacular, "Roman" language of the Byzantines, notably in mainland Greece, Asia Minor and Constantinople. Demotic Greek is now the official language of the Hellenic Republic (Greece) and Cyprus, and is therefore also referred as the "Koine Modern Greek" (common modern Greek) or less strictly as "Modern Greek". Demotic Greek has various regional varieties, which are moderately different from each other and have a quite high degree of mutual intelligibility. They are divided into two main categories, Northern and Southern dialects.

Examples of Northern dialects are Rumelian, Epirote, Thessalian, Macedonian, Thracian.

The Southern category is divided into groups that include dialects from:

1. Megara, Aegina, Old Athens, Cyme and Mani Peninsula
2. Peloponnese (except Mani), Cyclades and Crete, Ionian Islands, Northern Epirus
3. Dodecanese and Cyprus.

Demotic Greek has officially been taught in monotonic Greek script since 1982. Polytonic script remains popular in intellectual circles.

• Katharevousa (Καθαρεύουσα): A semi-artificial sociolect promoted in the 19th century at the foundation of the modern Greek state, as a compromise between Classical Greek and modern Demotic. It was the official language of modern Greece until 1976. Katharevousa is written in polytonic Greek script. Also, while Demotic Greek contains loanwords from Turkish, Italian, Latin, and other languages, these have for the most part been purged from Katharevousa.

• Tsakonian (Τσακωνικά): Spoken today only by 10 villages around the city of Sparta in the region of Laconia in Southern Peloponnese. Tsakonian evolved directly from Laconian (ancient Spartan) and therefore descends from the Doric branch of the Greek language. It has no heritage from Hellenistic Koine and is significantly different from all its daughter dialects (such as Demotic and Pontic).

• Pontic (Ποντιακά): Originally spoken in the Pontus region of Asia Minor until most of its speakers were displaced to mainland Greece during the great population exchange between Greece and Turkey that followed the Destruction of Smyrna. It hails from Hellenistic and Medieval Koine but preserves characteristics of Ionic since ancient colonisations.

• Cappadocian (Καππαδοκικά): A dialect close to and of the same fate as Pontic. Hails directly from the Alexandrian and Byzantine tongues, and its speakers settled in mainland Greece during the great population exchanges.

• Southern Italian (Κατωιταλικά or Griko): Spoken by around 15 villages in the regions of Calabria and Apulia. The Southern Italian dialect is the last living trace of Hellenic elements in Southern Italy that once formed Magna Graecia. It hails directly from the Dorian settlers who colonised the area from Sparta and Corinth in 700BC, and therefore hails from the Doric branch of ancient Greek. It has evolved independently from Hellenistic Koine, but was heavily influenced from the Medieval Greek which itself hails from the Attic. Thus, Griko and Common Modern Greek are mutually intelligible to some extent, but the first shares many common characteristics with the Tsakonic (also in the Doric dialect branch).

• Yevanic: A recently extinct language of Romaniote Jews. The language was already in decline for centuries until most of its speakers were killed in the Holocaust. Afterward, the language was mostly kept by remaining Romaniote emigrants to Israel, where it was displaced by Modern Hebrew.

Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to... Map of Constantinople. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Map of Rumelia as of 1801 Rumelia (turkish: Rum: Roman El: Land Rumeli: Lands of Rome), the area that was the East Roman or Byzantine Empire, a name commonly used, from the 15th century onwards, to denote the part of the Balkan Peninsula subject to the Ottoman Empire. ... Epirus (Greek Ήπειρος, Ípeiros; see also List of traditional Greek place names), is a province or periphery in northwestern Greece, bounded by West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, by the province of Sterea Ellada (Central Greece) to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and... Map showing Thessaly periphery in Greece Thessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalía; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. ... Thrace (Bulgarian: , Greek: , Latin: , Turkish: ) is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. ... Megara (Greek: Μέγαρα; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is an ancient city in Attica, Greece. ... Coordinates 37°45′ N 23°26′ E Country Greece Periphery Attica Prefecture Piraeus Population 13,552 source (2001) Area 87. ... Nickname: City of Athena or Cradle of Democracy Location of the city of Athens (red dot) within the Prefecture of Athens and Periphery of Attica Coordinates: Country Greece Peripheries Attica Prefecture Athens Founded circa 2000 BC Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis Area    - City 38. ... Cyme can refer to: Cyme, a botanical term a for a class of flower clusters (see inflorescence) characterized by the terminal flower in the cluster blooming first. ... Map of Greece highlighting the Mani peninsula. ... The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus (Greek: Πελοπόννησος Peloponnesos; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a large peninsula in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth. ... The Cyclades (Greek Κυκλάδες) are a Greek island group in the Aegean Sea, south-east of the mainland of Greece; and an administrative prefecture of Greece. ... For the famous World War II battle, see: Battle of Crete For other uses, see Crete (disambiguation). ... The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: Ionioi Nisoi, Ιόνιοι Νήσοι; Ancient Greek: Ionioi Nesoi, Ιόνιοι Νήσοι) are a group of islands in Greece. ... Northern Epirus (Greek: Βόρειος Ήπειρος Vorios Ipiros) is the name by which the Greeks call the region of southern Albania which is home to Tosk Albanians, Greeks, Aromanians and other ethnic groups. ... The Dodecanese (Greek: Δωδεκάνησα, Dodekánisa, meaning twelve islands; see also List of traditional Greek place names) are a group of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, off the southwest coast of Turkey. ... Monotonic orthography is the simplified way for spelling modern Greek introduced in 1982. ... Katharevousa (Greek Καθαρεύουσα, IPA: ) is a form of the Greek language, created during the early 19th century by Adamantios Korais (1748-1833). ... In linguistics, a sociolect is the language spoken by a social group, social class or subculture. ... The History of Greece extends back to the arrival of the Greeks in Europe some time before 1500 BC, even though there has only been an independent state called Greece since Turkey, Italy and Libya. ... Polytonic orthography for Greek uses a variety of diacritics (πολύ = many + τόνος = accent) to represent aspects of Ancient Greek pronunciation. ... 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. ... Coordinates 37°4′ N 22°26′ E Country Greece Periphery Peloponnese Prefecture Laconia Population 18,184 source (2001) Area 84. ... Laconia (; see also List of traditional Greek place names), also known as Lacedaemonia, is a prefecture in Greece. ... The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus (Greek: Πελοπόννησος Peloponnesos; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a large peninsula in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth. ... Doric, a synonym of Dorian, may refer to any of the following: The Dorians, one of the ancient Hellenic races, Doric Greek, the dialect of the former, the Doric order and its distinctive Doric column, in ancient Greek architecture, the Dorian mode in music, also called the Doric mode, or... Demotic (disambiguation) The term Demotic can refer to: The Demotic Greek dialect of the Greek language. ... Pontic Greek is a Greek language which was originally spoken on the shores of the Black Sea, the Pontus. ... 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. ... 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... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to... Agora of Smyrna Smyrna (Greek: Σμύρνη) is an ancient city (today Ä°zmir in Turkey) that was founded at a very early period at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. ... Koine Greek refers to the 2nd stage in the history of the Greek language. ... Medieval Greek (Μεσαιωνική Ελληνική) is a linguistic term that describes the third period in the history of the Greek language. ... Distribution of Greek dialects, ca. ... Cappadocian (SIL: CPG; ISO 639-2: ine), also known as Cappadocian Greek or Asia Minor Greek is a Greek-Turkish mixed language, formerly spoken in Cappadocia (Central Turkey). ... Location map of the Griko-speaking areas in Salento and Calabria Griko, sometimes spelled Grico, is a language combining ancient Greek, Byzantine Greek and Italian elements. ... Calabria (Latin: Bruttium or Brutium), is a region in southern Italy which occupies the toe of the Italian peninsula south of Naples. ... This article is about the Italian region. ... Magna Graecia around 280 b. ... Fifth century BCE hoplite, or heavy-armed soldier, possibly the Spartan king Leonidas, a Dorian, who died holding the pass at the Battle of Thermopylae. ... Coordinates 37°4′ N 22°26′ E Country Greece Periphery Peloponnese Prefecture Laconia Population 18,184 source (2001) Area 84. ... Corinth, or Korinth (Greek: Κόρινθος, Kórinthos; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a Greek city-state, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. ... Medieval Greek (Μεσαιωνική Ελληνική) is a linguistic term that describes the third period in the history of the Greek language. ... A typical attic. ... 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... Romaniote may refer to: The Romaniote people The Romaniote language This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust The Holocaust was Nazi Germanys systematic genocide (ethnic cleansing) of various ethnic, religious, national, and secular groups during World War II. Early elements include the Kristallnacht pogrom and the T-4 Euthanasia Program established by Hitler that killed some 200,000 people. ... The Modern Hebrew language is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. ...

Demotic as Koiné (Standard) Modern Greek

Koiné Modern Greek (Κοινή Νεοελληνική) refers to the idiom of Demotic that was chosen as the official language of the Hellenic Republic and Cyprus. In English it is usually referred to as Standard Modern Greek. In its pure form it is spoken mainly in the urban parts of Greece, while its various idioms are the vernacular language of most rural Greece and the Greek Diaspora throughout the world. Koiné Modern Greek evolves from the Southern Demotic idioms, mainly the ones of Peloponnese. An idiom is an expression (i. ... Demotic (disambiguation) The term Demotic can refer to: The Demotic Greek dialect of the Greek language. ... Look up Vernacular in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The term: diaspora (in Greek, διασπορά – a scattering or sowing of seeds) is used (without capitalization) to refer to any people or ethnic population forced or induced to leave their traditional ethnic homelands; being dispersed throughout other parts of the world, and the ensuing developments in their dispersal and culture. ... Demotic (disambiguation) The term Demotic can refer to: The Demotic Greek dialect of the Greek language. ... The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus (Greek: Πελοπόννησος Peloponnesos; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a large peninsula in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth. ...

In short, Koiné Modern Greek is the natural continuation of Koine Greek, an ancient Greek dialect (known also as the "Alexandrian language") which came into existence after the conquests of Alexander the Great and the Hellenization of the known world. Hellenistic Koiné had assimilated many elements from various different Greek dialects (such as Ionic, Doric and Aeolic) but its nucleus had always been Attic (the dialect of Athens). Hellenistic Koine had been spoken in several different forms in the region of Greece and the Greek speaking world during the entire Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods, until it took the shape of Demotic in the Middle Ages. Koine redirects here. ... Alexander the Great (Greek: ,[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC–June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), was one of the most successful military commanders in history. ... Hellenisation (or Hellenization) is a term used to describe a cultural change in which something non-Greek becomes Greek (Hellenic). ... Ionic Greek was a sub-dialect of the so called Attic-Ionic dialectal group of the ancient Greek language, which was itself a member of the Greek branch of Indoeuropean language family. ... Doric, a synonym of Dorian, may refer to any of the following: The Dorians, one of the ancient Hellenic races, Doric Greek, the dialect of the former, the Doric order and its distinctive Doric column, in ancient Greek architecture, the Dorian mode in music, also called the Doric mode, or... Linguists use the term Aeolic 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. ... Attic Greek is the ancient dialect of the Greek language that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. ... Nickname: City of Athena or Cradle of Democracy Location of the city of Athens (red dot) within the Prefecture of Athens and Periphery of Attica Coordinates: Country Greece Peripheries Attica Prefecture Athens Founded circa 2000 BC Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis Area    - City 38. ... The term Hellenistic (established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen) in the history of the ancient world is used to refer to the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks, however scattered geographically, to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of whatever ethnicity, and from the political dominance... The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. ... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ...

After Greece gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, the same dual-language status of the late Byzantine Empire was re-adapted. The vernacular speech was Demotic (a term similar to "popular") and the official state dialect was Katharevousa ("purified"). Demotic was the language of daily use, and the latter was an archaic form (closer to Attic), used for official documents, literature, newscasting and other formal purposes. In 1976 Katharevousa was replaced by Demotic as the official language of the Greek state. During its long history the Greek language had assimilated some foreign vocabulary from various languages such as Latin, Italian, and Turkish, a great part of which was cleansed after its long-lasting co-existence with Katharevousa. 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. ... Demotic (disambiguation) The term Demotic can refer to: The Demotic Greek dialect of the Greek language. ... Katharevousa (Greek Καθαρεύουσα, IPA: ) is a form of the Greek language, created during the early 19th century by Adamantios Korais (1748-1833). ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...

Phonology

Main article: Modern Greek phonology

A series of radical sound shifts, which the Greek language underwent mainly during the period of Koine, has led to a phonological system in Modern Greek that is significantly different from that of Ancient Greek. Instead of the rich vowel system of Ancient Greek, with its four vowel-height levels, length distinction, and multiple diphthongs, Modern Greek has a very simple system of five vowels. This came about through a series of mergers, especially towards /i/ (iotacism). In the consonants, Modern Greek has two series of fricatives in lieu of the Ancient Greek voiced and aspirated voiceless plosives. Modern Greek has not preserved length distinctions, either in the vowels or in the consonants. This page presents a sketch of the phonology of Standard Modern Greek. ... Sound shift can refer to: Chain shift Vowel shift This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... 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. ... Iotacism is the process by which a number of vowels and diphthongs in Ancient Greek converged their pronunciation to sound like iota in Modern Greek. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... Phoneticians define phonation as use of the laryngeal system to generate an audible source of acoustic energy, i. ... In phonetics, aspiration is the strong burst of air that accompanies the release of some obstruents. ... Phoneticians define phonation as use of the laryngeal system to generate an audible source of acoustic energy, i. ... A stop or plosive or occlusive is a consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract. ...

Orthography

Main article: Greek orthography

The Greek vowel letters with their pronunciation are: <α> /a/, <ε> /e/, <η> /i/, <ι> /i/, <ο> /o/, <υ> /i/, <ω> /o/. There are also vowel digraphs which are phonetically monophthongal: <αι> /e/, <ει> /i/, <οι> /i/, <ου> /u/, <υι> /i/. The three digraphs <αυ>, <ευ> and <ηυ> are pronounced /av/, /ev/ and /iv/ except when followed by unvoiced consonants, in which case they are pronounced /af/, /ef/ and /if/ respectively. When <υ> occurs before a vowel (and not immediately after another vowel), it is pronounced /j/. The orthography of the Greek language ultimately has its roots in the adoption of the Greek alphabet in the 9th century BC. Early Greek writing was phonetic, and different in each dialect. ...

Modern Greek has also four diphthongs: <αη> (or <άη>) /aj/, <αϊ> (or <άι>) /aj/, <οη> (or <όη>) /oj/ and <οϊ> (or <όι>) /oj/ (diphthongs can better be transcribed using the IPA non-syllabic diacritic under /i/ instead of the approximant /j/).

The Greek letters <β> and <δ> are pronounced /v/ and /ð/ respectively. The letter <γ> is generally pronounced /ɣ/, but before the mid or close front vowels, it is pronounced [ʝ] (or [ʑ] in some dialects, notably those of Crete and the Mani).

The letters <θ>, <φ> and <χ> are pronounced /θ/, /f/ and /x/ respectively. The letter <χ>, before mid or close front vowels, is pronounced [ç] (or [ɕ] in some dialects, notably those of Crete and the Mani). The letter <ξ> stands for /ks/ and <ψ> stands for /ps/. The digraphs <γγ> and <γκ> are generally pronounced /g/ in everyday speech, but are pronounced [ɟ] before the front vowels /e/ and /i/. When these digraphs are preceded by a vowel, they are pronounced /ŋɡ/ in formal speech ([ŋɟ] before the front vowels /e/ and /i/. The digraph <γγ> may be pronounced /ŋɣ/ in some words ([ŋʝ] before the front vowels /e/ and /i/.

Grammar

Main article: Modern Greek grammar

Modern Greek is still largely a synthetic language. It is one of the few Indo-European languages that has retained a synthetic passive. Noticeable changes in grammar (compared to classical Greek) include the loss of the dative case, the optative mood, the infinitive, the dual number, and the participles (except the past participle); the adoption of the gerund; the reduction in the number of noun declensions, and the number of distinct forms in each declension; the adoption of the modal particle θα (a contraction of ἐθέλω ἵνα > θέλω να > θε' να > θα) to denote future and conditional tenses; the introduction of auxiliary verb forms for certain tenses; the extension to the future tense of the aspectual distinction between present/imperfect and aorist; the loss of the third person imperative, and the simplification of the system of grammatical prefixes, such as augmentation and reduplication. Some of these features are shared with other languages spoken in the Balkan peninsula (see Balkan linguistic union). This article presents a sketch of the grammar of Standard Modern Greek, as spoken in present-day Greece and Cyprus. ... A synthetic language, in linguistic typology, is a language with a high morpheme-to-word ratio. ... In grammar, voice is the relationship between the action or state expressed by a verb, and its arguments (subject, object, etc. ... The dative case is a grammatical case generally used to indicate the noun to whom something is given. ... The optative mood is a grammatical mood that indicates a wish or hope. ... In grammar, the infinitive is the form of a verb that has no inflection to indicate person, number, mood or tense. ... Dual forms exist in some languages in addition to singular and plural forms of nouns and pronouns; the latin term is dualis. ... In linguistics, a participle is a kind of verbal adjective; it indicates that the noun it modifies is a participant in the action that the participle refers to. ... In linguistics, a gerund is a kind of verbal noun that exists in some languages. ... In linguistics, declension is the inflection of nouns, pronouns and adjectives to indicate such features as number (typically singular vs. ... Modal particles are always uninflected words, and are a type of grammatical particle. ... In linguistics, an auxiliary (also called helping verb, auxiliary verb, or verbal auxiliary) is a verb whose function it is to give further semantic or syntactic information about the main or full verb which follows it. ... In linguistics, the augment is a syllable added to the beginning of the word in certain Indo-European languages, most notably Greek (the augment survives and has been generalised in Modern Greek), Armenian, and the Indo-Iranian languages such as Sanskrit, to form the perfect, preterite, or aorist tenses. ... Reduplication, in linguistics, is a morphological process in which the root or stem of a word, or only part of it, is repeated. ... Balkan linguistic union or Balkansprachbund is a name given to the similarities in grammar, syntax, vocabulary and phonology found in the languages of the Balkans, which belong to various Indo-European branches, such as Albanian, Greek, Romance and Slavic. ...

Because of the influence of Katharevousa, however, Demotic is not commonly used in its purest form, and archaisms are still widely used, especially in writing and in more formal speech, as well as in a few everyday expressions like the dative εντάξει ('OK', literally 'in order') or the third person imperative ζήτω! ('long live!'). In language, an archaism is the deliberate use of an older form that has fallen out of current use. ...

Writing system

Greek alphabet
Α α Alpha	Ν ν Nu
Β β Beta	Ξ ξ Xi
Γ γ Gamma	Ο ο Omicron
Δ δ Delta	Π π Pi
Ε ε Epsilon	Ρ ρ Rho
Ζ ζ Zeta	Σ σ ς Sigma
Η η Eta	Τ τ Tau
Θ θ Theta	Υ υ Upsilon
Ι ι Iota	Φ φ Phi
Κ κ Kappa	Χ χ Chi
Λ λ Lambda	Ψ ψ Psi
Μ μ Mu	Ω ω Omega
Obsolete letters
Ϝ ϝ Digamma	Ϻ ϻ San
Ϙ ϙ Qoppa	Ϡ ϡ Sampi
Ϛ ϛ Stigma	Ϸ ϸ Sho
diacritics

Main article: Greek alphabet

Modern Greek is written in the late Ionic variant of the Greek alphabet. It is regarded as the first alphabet in the narrow sense, giving full representation to vowels on a par with consonants, unlike its predecessor, the Phoenician alphabet (also called an "abjad"). Its oldest discovered inscriptions date to the 8th or 9th Century BC. It assumed its final form in Athens in 403 BC, and displaced other regional variants because of its use for the Attic Koine dialect during the Hellenistic era. Image File history File links Greek_alphabet_alpha-omega. ... Because of technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... Alpha (uppercase Α, lowercase α) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. ... For other uses, see Nu. ... Beta (upper case Β, lower case β) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Look up Ξ, ξ in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Gamma (uppercase Γ, lowercase γ) is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Omicron (upper case Ο, lower case ο, literally small o) is the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Look up Δ, δ in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Pi (disambiguation) Pi (upper case Π, lower case π or ϖ) is the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. ... For the 2005 hurricane, see Hurricane Epsilon. ... Rho (upper case Ρ, lower case ρ) is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Zeta (upper case Ζ, lower case ζ) is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. ... For other uses, see Sigma (disambiguation). ... Look up Η, η in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Tau (upper case Τ, lower case τ) is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... == // == Dimensionless temperature in transport phenomena. ... Upsilon (upper case , lower case ) is the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... For programming language, see Iota and Jot. ... The letter phi Phi (upper case Φ or ; lower case φ, , or ), pronounced fee in Greek and fai as in defy in English, is the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet. ... For other uses, see Kappa (disambiguation). ... Chi (upper case Χ, lower case χ) is the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Look up Λ, λ in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... For other uses, see Mu. ... Look up Ω, ω in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Digamma (upper case , lower case ) is an archaic letter of the Greek alphabet, used primarily as a Greek numeral. ... San (uppercase , lowercase ) was a letter of the Greek alphabet, appearing between Pi and Qoppa in alphabetical order, corresponding in position although not in name to the Phoenician tsade. ... Qoppa Qoppa is an obsolete letter of the Greek alphabet and has a numeric value of 90. ... Sampi (Upper case &#992;, lower case &#993;) is an obsolete letter of the Greek alphabet and has a numeric value of 900. ... Stigma is a ligature of the Greek letters sigma and tau, sometimes used nowadays to represent the Greek numeral 6. ... Sho (uppercase , lowercase ) was a letter added to the Greek alphabet in order to write the Bactrian language. ... In the Greek alphabet, vowels can carry diacritics, namely accents and breathings. ... Because of technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... Ionic Greek was a sub-dialect of the so called Attic-Ionic dialectal group of the ancient Greek language, which was itself a member of the Greek branch of Indoeuropean language family. ... A Specimen of typeset fonts and languages, by William Caslon, letter founder; from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... The Phoenician alphabet dates from around 1400 BC and is related to the Proto-Canaanite alphabet. ... An abjad is a type of writing system where there is one symbol per consonantal phoneme, sometimes also called a consonantary. ... Attic Greek is the ancient dialect of the Greek language that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. ... 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. ... The term Hellenistic (established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen) in the history of the ancient world is used to refer to the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks, however scattered geographically, to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of whatever ethnicity, and from the political dominance...

The Greek alphabet consists of 24 letters, each with a capital and lowercase (small) form, and Sigma has a special final form: Α α, Β β, Γ γ, Δ δ, Ε ε, Ζ ζ, Η η, Θ θ, Ι ι, Κ κ, Λ λ, Μ μ, Ν ν, Ξ ξ, Ο ο, Π π, Ρ ρ, Σ σ ς (word-final form), Τ τ, Υ υ, Φ φ, Χ χ, Ψ ψ, Ω ω. For other uses, see Sigma (disambiguation). ... Alpha (uppercase Α, lowercase α) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Beta (upper case Î’, lower case β) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Gamma (uppercase Γ, lowercase γ) is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Look up Δ, δ in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For the 2005 hurricane, see Hurricane Epsilon. ... Zeta (upper case Ζ, lower case ζ) is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Look up Η, η in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... == // == Dimensionless temperature in transport phenomena. ... For programming language, see Iota and Jot. ... For other uses, see Kappa. ... Look up Λ, λ in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Mu. ... For other uses, see Nu. ... Look up Ξ, ξ in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Omicron (upper case Ο, lower case ο, literally small o) is the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... For other uses, see Pi (disambiguation) Pi (upper case Π, lower case Ï€ or Ï–) is the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Rho (upper case Ρ, lower case ρ) is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Sigma (upper case &#931;, lower case &#963;, alternative &#962;) is the 18th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Tau (upper case Τ, lower case Ï„) is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Upsilon (upper case , lower case ) is the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... The letter phi Phi (upper case Φ or ; lower case φ, , or ), pronounced fee in Greek and fai as in defy in English, is the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Chi (upper case Χ, lower case χ) is the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Look up Ω, ω in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In addition to the letters of the alphabet, Greek has a number of diacritical signs, most of which were eliminated from official use in Greece in 1982 as no longer corresponding to the modern pronunciation of the language. See Monotonic orthography for the simplified modern set, and Polytonic orthography for the traditional set. Monotonic orthography is the simplified way for spelling modern Greek introduced in 1982. ... Polytonic orthography for Greek uses a variety of diacritics (πολύ = many + τόνος = accent) to represent aspects of Ancient Greek pronunciation. ...

Examples

Some common words and phrases

Listen to the words below. (help· info) Image File history File links Greek. ...

• Greek (man): Έλληνας, IPA /ˈelinas/
• Greek (woman): Ελληνίδα /eliˈniða/
• Greek (language): Ελληνικά /eliniˈka/
• hello: γεια /ʝa/ (informal, literally "health"). More formal: χαίρετε /ˈçerete/.
• good morning: καλημέρα /kaliˈmera/
• good evening: καλησπέρα /kaliˈspera/
• good night: καληνύχτα /kaliˈnixta/
• good-bye: χαίρετε /ˈçereˌte/ (formal), αντίο /aˈdi.o/ (semi-formal), γεια σου /ˈʝasu/ or γεια σας /ˈʝasas/ (informal)
• please: παρακαλώ /parakaˈlo/
• I would like ____ please: θα ήθελα ____ παρακαλώ /θa ˈiθela ____ parakaˈlo/
• sorry: συγγνώμη /siˈɣnomi/
• thank you: σ' ευχαριστώ /s-efxariˈsto/
• that: αυτό /afˈto/, εκείνο /eˈcino/
• this: αυτό /afˈto/, (ε)τούτο /(e)ˈtuto/
• how much?: πόσο; /ˈposo/
• how much does it cost?: πόσο κοστίζει; /ˈposo koˈstizi/
• yes: ναι /ne/
• no: όχι /ˈoçi/
• I don't understand: δεν καταλαβαίνω /ˈðe(ŋ) ɡatalaˈveno/ (sandhi - see above) or /ˈðeŋ ɡatalaˈveno/
• I don't know: δεν ξέρω /ˈðe(ŋ) ˈɡzero/ (sandhi - see above) or /ˈðeŋ ˈksero/
• where's the bathroom?: πού είναι η τουαλέτα /το μπάνιο /το λουτρό; /ˈpu ˈine i tuaˈleta /toˈbaɲo /to luˈtro/
• generic toast: εις υγείαν! /is iˈʝi.an/ (literally "to health"), or, more colloquially: γεια μας! /'ʝamas/ (literally "our health")
• juice: χυμός /çiˈmos/
• water: νερό /neˈro/
• wine: κρασί /kraˈsi/
• beer: μπίρα /ˈbira/
• milk: γάλα /ˈɣala/
• Do you speak English?: Μιλάτε Αγγλικά; /miˈlate a(ŋ)ɡliˈka/
• I love you: σ' αγαπώ /saɣaˈpo/
• Help!: Βοήθεια! /voˈiθia/
• You are pretty: Είσαι κουκλίτσα! /ise kuklitsa/ (literally "you are a little doll")

Sandhi is a cover term for a wide variety of phonological processes that occur at morpheme or word boundaries. ... Sandhi is a cover term for a wide variety of phonological processes that occur at morpheme or word boundaries. ...

References

Wikibooks has more on the topic of

Modern Greek

• Ανδριώτης (Andriotis), Νικόλαος Π. (Nikolaos P.) (1995). Ιστορία της ελληνικής γλώσσας: (τέσσερις μελέτες) (History of the Greek language: four studies). Θεσσαλονίκη (Thessaloniki): Ίδρυμα Τριανταφυλλίδη. ISBN 960-231-058-8. 

• Vitti, Mario (2001). Storia della letteratura neogreca. Roma: Carocci. ISBN 88-430-1680-6. 

Image File history File links Wikibooks-logo-en. ... Wikibooks logo Wikibooks, previously called Wikimedia Free Textbook Project and Wikimedia-Textbooks, is a wiki for the creation of books. ... Coordinates 40°38′ N 22°57′ E Country Greece Periphery Central Macedonia Prefecture Thessaloniki [1] Population 363,987 source (2001) Metropolitan area population 1. ...