History of the Greek Language 2

The course is taught in a two-year cycle and is offered to 2nd and 3rd year students. The contents:

1.Mycenian Greek and linear B. Greece in the 2nd millenium BC. The emergence of Minoan script and its adoption by Greeks. The signs and the orthograpy of linear B. Phonological and morphological properties of Mycenean Greek. The end of the Mycenean period, the retreat of linear B and its traces in Ancient Cyprus.

2. Homeric language and the language of epic poetry in general.
The emergence and the spread of epic poetry; the epic tradition after the end of the Mycenean period. The influence of the written form of Greek on the language of Homeric poems. Phonological and morphological phenomena resulting from metrical rules and dialectal characteristics of epic poetry. The syntax of epic poetry, particularly in terms of linguistic variation.

3. The emergence, the development and the spread of the Greek alphabet.
The Greek language in the »dark centuries«. The cultural revival and the colonization of the 8th/7th century BC and their consequences for the Greek language. The Phoenician writing system as a transition from syllabic to alphabetic script. The adaptation of the Phoenician script to the Greek language. Introduction of new letters. Variations of the Greek alphabet in Classical and earlier periods. The adaptation of the Greek alphabet to Latin and the creation of the Latin alphabet.

4. Dialectology of the Greek language in the archaic and classical period.
Population movements in the »dark centuries« as a basis for dialectal variety. The main dialect groups and their internal diversity. The main characteristics of each dialect group. The breakdown of Classical dialects in the 4th and in the 3rd century BC. The use of the dialects in Ancient Greek literature.

5. Hellenistic koine. The historical circumstances leading into its emergence. The sources for studying the spoken language of the Hellenistic/Roman period. Phonological, morphological and syntactical changes in Hellenistic/Roman Greek. The relation between Hellenistic, Byzantine and Modern Greek.

In the 3rd year, the course contains a seminary reading of an original Ancient Greek text.

Temeljna študijska literatura:
E. Schwyzer, Griechische Grammatik, München 1965, str. 4-168 COBISS.SI-ID – 27305058
A. Bartonek: Handbuch des mykenischen Griechisch; Heidelberg 2003, str. 51-439 COBISS.SI-ID – 24485986
K. Bentein et al., ur., Variation and Change in Ancient Greek Tense, Aspect and Modality, Leiden in Boston 2017 Variation and Change in Ancient Greek Tense, Aspect and Modality: EBSCOhost (uni-lj.si) R. Browning, Medieval and Modern Greek, Cambridge 1983. COBISS.SI-ID – 23557986
J. Clackson, Language and Society in the Greek and Roman Worlds, Cambridge 2015. COBISS.SI-ID – 68753250
A-F. Christidis, ur., Ιστορία της ελληνικής γλώσσας. Solun 2001. COBISS.SI-ID - 39634530
J. Chadwick: Linear B and Related Scripts, London 1995, str. 6-57 COBISS.SI-ID – 878688
P. Chantraine, Grammaire homérique, Tome II; Pariz 1948, str. 1-340 COBISS.SI-ID – 31571298
G. Horrocks, Greek: A History of the Language and its Speakers, London 1997 (ponatis 2010). COBISS.SI-ID – 45483618
Giannakis, G., ur. Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Language and Linguistics, Leiden 2014. Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Language and Linguistics — Brill (uni-lj.si)
A. J. H. Wace – F. H. Stubbings, A Companion to Homer, London 1970, 75-178 COBISS.SI-ID – 44869730