The Fascinating Evolution of the Greek Language Through Time

Greek is one of the oldest recorded living languages of the world, with a truly rich history that spans over 3,000 years.

While Ancient Greek and Modern Greek represent very different stages of the development of this fascinating language, they are still fundamentally connected, thus we still talk about one language with various stages, rather than two completely different languages.

In this article, we will explore the key similarities and differences between Ancient and Modern Greek in terms of writing, pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary to see how much ”ancient” is the Greek language that the Greeks speak today.

The Development of the Greek Language

When we talk about Ancient Greek we refer to the language that was used in Greece approximately from the 9th century BC to the 6th century AD. It encompassed a long range of various dialects, including Attic, Ionic, Doric, and Aeolic, which later developed into the Koine Greek. Koine Greek (Koine being Greek for ”Common”) became the common dialect during the Hellenistic period following the conquests of Alexander the Great. It was also the language that was used to spread Christianity, as it was the language in which the Apostles mostly spread Jesus’ message across the Roman Empire.

Over time, Koine Greek evolved into what is known as Medieval Greek and, eventually, Modern Greek, which is now the official language of two countries in the world, Greece and Cyprus. Throughout its development, the Modern Greek language has been heavily influenced by other languages, such as Italian and Ottoman Turkish but never lost its originality and connection to the ”true” ancient Greek dialects of the past.

The Greek Writing System

Both Ancient and Modern Greek use the Greek alphabet, which has remained largely unchanged over the course of time and through the centuries.

The modern Greek language uses a total of 24 letters, each with a capital and lowercase form, similar to the Latin alphabet. In contrast, the Ancient Greek language used only capital letters, with no lowercase. The lowercase Greek letters were developed much later by medieval scribes. This happened because the writers wanted a faster, more convenient cursive writing style as they were using ink and quill.

In Ancient Greek, diacritics were also used to mark accents and breathings, whereas Modern Greek has a simplified monotonic orthography with only one accent mark that is called ”tonos” in Greek.

Pronunciation of the Ancient and Modern Greek languages

Pronunciation is one of the most significant differences between Ancient and Modern Greek. Many diphthong vowel sounds in Ancient Greek became monophthongs in Modern Greek, and the vowel length distinction has been lost in the modern version of the language. Some consonants are also pronounced differently; for example, the Greek letter beta was pronounced as [b] in Ancient Greek whereas it is now pronounced as [v] in Modern Greek (a phenomenon known as betacism).

Additionally, the pitch accent system used in Ancient Greek has evolved into a stress accent system in Modern Greek. Two ancient Greek inscriptions in the form of rhyming poetry have prompted new insights into the way the language was spoken in those times.

Ultimately, it is not possible to determine exactly how any ancient language sounded when spoken. But one clue has always been the changing of spellings over time — especially in those writings and inscriptions from more ordinary people rather than professional scribes.

Classicist Tim Whitmarsh from the University of Cambridge sees patterns and tendencies in these writings that point to just how the ancient language must have sounded. “In popular texts, spelling is more likely to be adapted to the sound of the word and less likely to be tethered to some conservative idea of ‘proper’ spelling,” he states.

Grammar of the ancient and Greek language

The ancient Greek language had a more complex grammatical structure compared to Modern Greek.

In Ancient Greek, for example, nouns and adjectives had three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter), three numbers (singular, plural, dual), and five cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative).

In comparison, the Modern Greek language has nouns and adjectives with three genders, two numbers (singular and plural, with no dual), and four cases (nominative, genitive, accusative, vocative, with no dative).

Ancient Greek verbs had four moods (indicative, subjunctive, optative, imperative), while Modern Greek has three (indicative, subjunctive, imperative, with no optative).

Furthermore, the Ancient Greek language had infinitives and participles, which are not present in Modern Greek, as they have been replaced completely by subjunctive constructions using particles like ”na”.

Vocabulary

The vast majority of the modern Greek vocabulary is derived directly from Ancient Greek, with many words being identical or very similar between the two forms of the Greek language. However, some words have changed meaning over time and despite the fact that are still being used, the speakers understand something different than what an ancient Greek would do. An example of this is the word ”symmoria”. In ancient Greek, this widely used word meant a collectivity of people. However, in modern Greek, the word means ”gang,” indicating a change in meaning.

Modern Greek has also incorporated numerous loanwords and influences from other languages, such as Latin, and their linguistic children such as Italian and French. Obviously, the Ottoman conquest has also left its mark with many Turkish words also making it all the way to today’s Greek vocabulary.

Interestingly, some Ancient Greek words are only used in formal, legal, or scientific contexts in Modern Greek, in a similar way that we see ancient Greek words in English.

The Ancient and the Greek Language

It is crucial for us all to understand that Ancient Greek and Modern Greek are not two separate languages but two different stages of the same language. Each one of these versions has its own, unique and fascinating characteristics. Despite the differences in fundamental areas such as pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary, the two forms still share many similarities. This is proof of the fundamentally rich history and evolution of Greece. This is the reason why learning either Ancient or Modern Greek provides a strong foundation for understanding the other, as they are essentially two forms of the same language.

Related: The Unique Eccentricities of the Modern Greek Language