Greek: A History of the Language and its Speakers, Second Edition reveals the trajectory of the Greek language from the Mycenaean period of the second millennium BC to the current day. * 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

Table of Contents

Preface to the First Edition. Preface to the Second Edition. IPA Chart. The Greek Alphabet. Introduction: The Scope and Purpose of This Book. Part I: Ancient Greek: From Mycenae to the Roman Empire. 1. The Ancient Greek Dialects. 2. Classical Greek: Official and Literary 'Standards'. 3. The Rise of Attic. 4. Greek in the Hellenistic World. 5. Greek in the Roman Empire. 6. Spoken Koine in the Roman Period. Part II: Byzantium: From Constantine I to Mehmet the Conqueror. 7. Historical Prelude. 8. Greek in the Byzantine Empire: The Major Issues. 9. Byzantine Belles Lettres. 10. The Written Koine in Byzantium. 11. Spoken Greek in the Byzantine Empire: The Principal Developments. 12. Texts in the 'Vernacular'. Part III: Modern Greek: From the Ottoman Empire to the European Union. 13. Ottoman Rule and the War of Independence. 14. Spoken Greek in the Ottoman Period. 15. Written Greek in the Turkish Period. 16. The History of the Modern Greek State. 17. The 'Language Question' and its Resolution. Bibliography. Index.

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).

Reviews

"Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers." (Choice, 1 February 2011) "The text is likewise to be recommended to individuals interested in the effects of politics, military history, and culture on the history of language. In fact, perhaps one of Horrocks' greatest achievements is the skill with which he demonstrates the special value of the history of Greek, thinking about the Greek language in terms of breadth and depth that are unusual among linguists working on Greek." (Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 9 May 2011) This second takes account of reviews of the first and of the 2006 Greek translation." (Book News Inc, November 2010)