Demotic Greek language, also called Romaic, Greek Demotiki, or Romaiki, a modern vernacular of Greece. It shows very few specifically local innovations in its phonology, although its verb morphology is... …forms the basis of standard Demotic. Such radical forms had occasional precedent in Renaissance attempts to write in Demotic, and reflected Psycharis' linguistic training as a Neogrammarian, mistrusting the possibility of exceptions in linguistic evolution. "pure [language]"), is a form of the Modern Greek language conceived in the early 19th century as a compromise between Ancient Greek and the Demotic Greek of the time. They were not present in traditional Demotic and only entered the modern language through Katharevousa (sometimes as neologisms), where they are used mostly in writing (for instance, in newspapers), but also orally, especially words and fixed expressions are both understood and actively used also by non-educated speakers. A computer, for instance, became ypologistí in Standard Modern Greek, a router dromologití, and a printer an ektypotís (unless you mean the profession, which is a typographos). Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Modern Greek features many letter combinations that were avoided in classical Demotic: Native Greek speakers often make mistakes in these "educated" aspects of their language; one can often see mistakes like προήχθη instead of προήχθην (I've been promoted), λόγου του ότι/λόγο το ότι instead of λόγω του ότι (due to the fact that), τον ενδιαφέρον άνθρωπο instead of τον ενδιαφέροντα άνθρωπο (the interesting person), οι ενδιαφέροντες γυναίκες instead of οι ενδιαφέρουσες γυναίκες (the interesting women), ο ψήφος instead of η ψήφος (the vote). [3]:X In contrast to this, Katharevousa employed older perfective forms and infinitives that had been for the most part lost in the spoken language[citation needed], but in other cases it employed the same aorist or perfective forms as the spoken language, but preferred an archaizing form of the present indicative, e.g. Roots and history: Demotic and Katharevousa. [3]:X Another feature of the evolution of Demotic was the near-extinction of the genitive plural, which was revived in Katharevousa and is now productive again in Demotic. Referring to Standard Modern Greek as Dimotiki or Demotic Greek (with a capital "D") also ignores the fact that today's Greek contains—especially in its written form and formal registers—numerous words, grammatical forms, and phonetical features that did not exist in the Dimotiki and which only entered the language through Dimotiki's merger with Katharevousa as part of the resolution of the Greek language question. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. However, the educated ones do not make mistakes often. A study of Greek speakers' ability to understand and produce two varieities of codes--Katharevousa (K) and Demotic (D)--is reported. Another feature was the merging of classical accusative and nominative forms, distinguishing them only by their definite articles, which continued to be declined as in Ancient Greek. The novel, written like Dillon's previous work in vivid demotic style, is a celebration of women. However, a number of other scholars rebelled against Katharevousa and supported Demotiki (from “Demos,” or community – ie the language of the community). Georgios Mistriotis regularly referred to katharevousa in 1908 as a bastion resisting external invasions and an anchor holding Greece steady, thus using metaphors of immobility, while the demoticists depicted the Greeks as thinking freely, dynamic and eager for action. In 1976 it was replaced by Demotic Greek as the official language. Synonyms . Katharevousa Greek, katharevousa Greek; Hypernyms . In some cases, the Demotic form is used for literal or practical meanings, while the Katharevousa is used for figurative or specialized meanings: e.g. The Rosetta Stone is a large almost complete fragment of a grey-pink granodiorite stela. WikiZero Özgür Ansiklopedi - Wikipedia Okumanın En Kolay Yolu . But after the restoration of political democracy in 1974, linguistic democracy followed suit, and Demotic—literally, the “popular” language—was given official sanction. In January 1976, by government order, it became the official language of the state, replacing Katharevusa Greek (q.v.) The work of these writers, which relied greatly on French models, looks back to the War of Independence and the glorious ancient past. The future tenses and the subjunctive and optative moods, and eventually the infinitive, were replaced by the modal/tense auxiliaries θα and να used with new simplified and fused future/subjunctive forms. Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Demotic_Greek&oldid=1002669812, Articles needing additional references from January 2012, All articles needing additional references, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2015, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 25 January 2021, at 15:15. The Gospel riots (Greek: Ευαγγελικά, Evangelika), which took place on the streets of Athens in November 1901, were primarily a protest against the publication in the newspaper Akropolis of a translation into modern spoken Greek of the gospel of St Matthew, although other motives also played a part. The Greek language question (Greek: το γλωσσικό ζήτημα, to glossikó zítima) was a dispute about whether the language of the Greek people (Demotic Greek) or a cultivated imitation of Ancient Greek (katharevousa) should be the official language of the Greek nation. 2 Many authors speak of a diglossia, though especially with reference to Katharevousa and Demotic. [citation needed], The verb system inherited from Ancient Greek gradually evolved, with the old future, perfect and pluperfect tenses gradually disappearing; they were replaced with conjugated forms of the verb έχω (I have) to denote these tenses instead. Ever since the times of Koiné Greek in Hellenistic and Roman antiquity, there was a competition between the naturally evolving spoken forms of Greek on the one hand, and the use of artificially archaic, learned registers on the other. Coordinate terms I had arrived at the boarding-school on the island of Spetsai (in katharevousa, the so-called "pure" form of Modern Greek; it is Spetses in the domotic) at the beginning of January 1952. '(John Fowles Issue) This division is reinforced by a second split, between two forms of the Greek language, katharevousaand demotic. In modern times it has been the standard spoken language and, by the 20th century, had become almost the sole language of Greek creative literature. For the English-speaking world the standard work for Ancient Greek was by Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott. [citation needed], For instance, Psycharis proposed changing the form of the neuter noun "light" το φως (gen. του φωτός) into το φώτο (gen. του φώτου). The 1821 bungled uprising. By contrast, Katharevousa continued to employ the ancestral form, εἰς, in place of σε. Although the vocabulary, phonology, and grammar of ancient Greek remain the basis of Demotic Greek, they have been considerably modified and simplified. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... …forms the basis of standard Demotic. This is a zoomed-in detail of the middle part of the Rosetta stone showing the Demotic text. It also heavily employs redundancy, such as μικρό κοριτσάκι (small little-girl) and ξανακοιμήθηκε πάλι (he-went-back-to-sleep again). [1] In this context Dimotiki describes the specific non-standardized vernacular forms of Greek used by the vast majority of Greeks throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. It was used officially until 1976, is still used in churches, and is a good Springboard to Ancient Greek. Originally, it was widely used both for literary and official purposes, though seldom in daily language. (Katharevusa continued to be used in some legal documents and other technical writings in which there was a large body of established literature.). Katharevusa definition, the puristic Modern Greek literary language (distinguished from Demotic). They were not present in traditional Demotic and only entered the modern language through Katharevousa (sometimes as neologisms), where they are used mostly in writing (for instance, in newspapers), but also orally, especially words and fixed expressions are both understood and actively used also by non-educated speakers. Many dialects go so far as to append the vowel -e (ε) to third-person verb forms: γράφουνε instead of γράφουν (they write). Today the two varieties, Demotic and Katharevusa, have merged to form a single unified language, Standard Modern Greek (Greek: Koini Neoelliniki). Compare with katharevousa ‘Like all European nations at the dawn of modern nationalism, Greece was not even sure of its language, and Greeks experimented with both … This standardized form of Dimotiki is today known formally as Standard Modern Greek. Foreign words and constructions that penetrated the language in large numbers reflect the influence of various foreign powers that held sway in postclassical Greece or that exerted influence there, from the foundation of the eastern Roman Empire (ad 325) through the Crusades to the Venetian and Turkish conquests. n. The puristic, archaizing form of Modern Greek, having morphological and lexical features borrowed from Koine. as the language for governmental and legal documents, in the courts and Parliament, in the schools, and in newspapers and other publications. Translation is a kind of transubstantiation; one poem becomes another. Demotic Greek (uncountable) The Modern Greek vernacular language. "puristic [language]"), is a conservative form of the Modern Greek language conceived in the early 19th century as a compromise between Ancient Greek and Dimotiki of the time. Katharevusa was used in government and judiciary documents as well as in most newspapers and technical publications. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Today the two varieties, Demotic and Katharevusa, have merged to form a single unified language, Standard Modern Greek (Greek: Koini Neoelliniki). Katharevousa is written in polytonic Greek script. [5], Ὡς Νεοελληνικὴ γλῶσσα νοεῖται ἡ διαμορφωθεῖσα εἰς πανελλήνιον ἐκφραστικὸν ὄργανον ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἑλληνικοῦ Λαοῦ καὶ τῶν δοκίμων συγγραφέων τοῦ Ἔθνους Δημοτική, συντεταγμένη, ἄνευ ἰδιωματισμῶν καὶ ἀκροτήτων. Demotic Greek or Dimotiki (Greek: Δημοτική Γλώσσα, Dimotikí Glóssa, [ðimotiˈci], lit. Exceptions are foreign loans like μπαρ (bar), and learned forms ύδωρ (from Ancient Greek ὕδωρ, water), and exclamations like αχ! Modern Greek; New Greek "Modern Greek language means the Demotic shaped into a pan-Hellenic instrument of expression by the Greek People and the esteemed writers of the Nation, coherent, without peculiar and extreme forms. Katharevousa is a litarary language that is between (Demotic) Greek and Ancient Greek. When a military dictatorship arose in 1967, the new conservatism extended to language, and Katharevusa was strictly imposed in the schools. Legally displaced in 1976 by Demotic Greek. A learned, archaising form of Modern Greek, the artificial Greek language based on Classical Greek, used for formal and official purposes, primarily written but not used for conversation. The learned registers employed grammatical and lexical forms in imitation of classical Attic Greek (). Therefore, he wrote his own name as Γιάνης, instead of Γιάννης. What does Katharevousa mean? >Demotic, the language of everyday life. All the same, proponents of Katharevousa won the argument in one major area: the replacement of foreign loan words in Demotic by “native” Greek neologisms (ahem). φτερό for the wing or feather of a bird, but πτέρυξ for the wing of a building or airplane or arm of an organisation.[3]:180:203. Syntactically, it favors parataxis over subordination. Corrections? Varieties of Modern Greek include Demotic, Katharevousa, Pontic, Cappadocian, Mariupolitan, Southern Italian, Yevanic, and Tsakonian. Originally, it was widely used both for literary and official purposes, though seldom in daily language. 3 basically Attic), while in their everyday communications, they … The Turkish domination, in particular, destroyed Greek literary continuity and development, and after Greece regained its independence in the early 19th century, many nationalists —wishing to meet the need for a uniform written language—developed an artificial, purified language, Katharevusa, as an approximation of the old classical norms. Behind 'The Magus. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). [3]:X Using one noun with an unmarked accusative article-noun phrase followed by σε contracted with the definite article of a second noun distinguishes between definite direct and indirect objects, whether real or figurative, e.g. Katharevousa synonyms, Katharevousa pronunciation, Katharevousa translation, English dictionary definition of Katharevousa. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. κρύπτω for Demotic κρύβω (I hide), which both have the same aorist form έκρυψα.[3]:XI. Legally displaced in Greece in 1976 by Demotic Greek. The following examples are intended to demonstrate Katharevousa's features in Modern Greek. Dimotiki is sometimes used interchangeably with "Standard Modern Greek" (Νέα Ελληνικά), but these two terms are not necessarily synonymous. The development of the Demotic script is generally divided into three periods, Early, Middle (Ptolemaic) and Late (Roman). Not only did Psycharis propagate the exclusive use of the naturally grown colloquial language, but he actually opted for simplifying the morphology of Katharevousa forms prescription. The first part is a historical account of the Katharevousa language, and part two discusses Kazantzakis’ role in furthering Demotic Greek. Predictably, Katharevousa became the formal language of the new state. Katharevousa (Greek: Καθαρεύουσα, pronounced [kaθaˈrevusa], literally "purifying [language]") is a conservative form of the Modern Greek language conceived in the early 19th century as a compromise between Ancient Greek and the Demotic Greek of the time. Eventually these ideas of radical demoticism were largely marginalized and when a standardized Dimotiki was made the official language of the Greek state in 1976, the legislation stated that Dimotiki would be used "without dialectal and extremist forms"—an explicit rejection of Psycharis' ideals. Katharevousa (Greek: Καθαρεύουσα, (Modern Greek: /kaθaˈrevusa/, lit. This was especially common with nouns of the third declension, such as πατρίς (hometown, fatherland) which became nominative η πατρίδα, accusative την πατρίδα in Demotic. ... fateful katharevousa in exchange for demotic greetings. The investigation was undertaken to provide evidence supporting or refuting the Greek government's decision to legislate Demotic as the official language of the country. Their melancholy sentimentality was not shared by Aléxandros…. "language of the people") is a term used in contrast with Katharevousa to describe the colloquial vernacular form of Modern Greek which had evolved naturally from Koine Greek and was spoken by the vast majority of Greeks in Greece during the time of diglossia in the modern Greek state from the time of its founding in 1821 until the resolution of the Greek language question in 1976. Demotic Greek or Dimotiki (Greek: Δημοτική Γλώσσα, Dimotikí Glóssa, [ðimotiˈci], lit. [1] Demotic refers particularly to the form of the language that evolved naturally from ancient Greek, in opposition to the artificially archaic Katharevousa, which was the official standard until 1976. Greek noun declensions underwent considerable alteration, with irregular and less productive forms being gradually replaced by more regular forms based on the old one: άντρας (man) for ancient ἀνήρ. «βάζω το χέρι μου στο ευαγγέλιο» or «...στη φωτιά» (lit. [citation needed], One of the most radical proponents of a language that was to be cleansed of all "educated" elements was Giannis Psycharis, who lived in France and gained fame through his work My Voyage (Το ταξίδι μου, 1888). νησί from νήσιον (island) from ancient νῆσος (island). While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. It shows very few specifically local innovations in its phonology, although its verb morphology is less conservative than that of the island dialects.…, …moved gradually away from the Demotic (“popular”), or commonly spoken, language toward the Katharevusa (“purist”) form institutionalized by Koraïs. Katharevousa (Καθαρεύουσα) is 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. This post is to allow for voting for the creation of a Katharevousa course in Duolingo. Demotic Greek differs from varieties of Ancient Greek and learned forms inherited from the same in several important ways. Demotic Greek (Greek: δημοτική [γλώσσα] [ðimotiˈci], "[language] of the people") or dimotiki is the modern vernacular form of the Greek language.The term has been in use since 1818. are right. [2] During this long period of diglossia Katharevousa and Dimotiki complemented and influenced each other, as is typical of diglossic situations. Both answer to Does it make sense to learn Katharevousa Greek? The term demotic Greek (with a lowercased d) is also a term used generally to refer to any variety of the Greek language which has evolved naturally from Ancient Greek and is popularly spoken. Dimotiki became standardized over time and it was this standardized form of Dimotiki which in 1976 was made the official language of Greece. I don’t have that much more to add, just some random observations. [citation needed], A derivative feature of this regularization of noun forms in Demotic is that the words of most native vocabulary end in a vowel, or in a very restricted set of consonants: s and n (ς, ν). [1] It is not wrong to call the Greek language of today "a demotic Greek", but such terminology may lead to confusion with the semi-standardized Dimotiki which was in use during the period of diglossia in Greece and is not identical to today's Standard Modern Greek. ", Examples of Modern Greek features that did not exist in Dimotiki. Demotic Greek also borrowed a significant number of words from other languages such as Italian and Turkish, something which katharevousa avoided. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Demotic-Greek-language. In asmuch as diglossia strictly means two languages, Greek scholars, who regard Greek as one language, prefer the term dimorphia. In some cases, the Demotic form is used for literal or practical meanings, while the … It was the official language of modern Greece until 1976. Compare with katharevousa. Demotic writing descended from Egyptian Hieratic writing, the manuscript writing system which was used alongside Hieroglyphics, and it was later used in place of both of these scripts. A decree was carved on this stela using 3 ancient texts in 3 separate blocks; hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek.This decree was passed by a council of priests. Moreover, Psycharis also advocated spelling reform, which would have meant abolishing most of the six different ways to write the vowel /i/ and all instances of double consonants. Omissions? and answer to Does it make sense to learn Katharevousa Greek? Katharevousa (Greek: Καθαρεύουσα, [kaθaˈrevusa], lit. (ach!, oh!) It became the official Modern Greek in 1976 when Katharevousa was replaced, and was written in polytonic script until 1982, and in monotonic script after 1982. It was a deliberate archaization. The terms δημοτική (demotic, ‘the people’s language’) and καθαρεύουσα (katharevousa, ‘the purifying language’) were hardly used at this time (i.e. Island ) generally divided into three periods, Early, middle ( Ptolemaic and. Purposes, though especially with reference to Katharevousa and Dimotiki complemented and influenced each other, is! Contrast, Katharevousa continued to employ the ancestral form, εἰς, place!, Southern Italian, Yevanic, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica learned employed. Özgür Ansiklopedi - Wikipedia Okumanın En Kolay Yolu term dimorphia rules, there were two language systems spoken in.... 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