The Codification of Modern Greek Language

Abstract

From ancient times, and especially with an attitude of reverence for the classical Greek language during a time of major changes, Greek for centuries has shown significant stylistic differences between a learnèd, formal, or “high” variety and a more colloquial, informal, or “low” variety. These differences affected all domains of the language: sounds, grammar, and vocabulary. These differences continued through medieval Greek and into modern times but became institutionalized and politicized in the time around the Greek Revolution of 1821 and the founding of the modern Greek nation state and were present throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These differences created a modern situation known as “diglossia,” the coexistence of functionally distinct forms of the language, giving the so-called “language question”—in Greek, το γλωσσικό ζήτημα—a controversy over which form of the language is considered more appropriate as the national language and thus the language of education, government business, and higher discourse. In pitting proponents of the “high” variety (καθαρεύουσα or “puristic” Greek), against advocates of the “low” variety (δημοτική or “demotic” Greek), the language question has been a significant aspect of the Greek sociolinguistic scene. This chapter discusses Greek diglossia from both a modern synchronic perspective, regarding its consequences for Greek society, and a diachronic perspective, examining the historical bases giving this situation. The story told here of modern Greek’s codification and standardization is the story of the language question and the interaction between καθαρεύουσα and δημοτική.