Katharevousa Information
*Dates (beginning with Ancient Greek) from Wallace, D. B. (1996). Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. p. 12. ISBN 0310218950.
Katharevousa (Greek: Καθαρεύουσα, [kaθaˈrevusa], lit. "puristic [language]"), is a form of the Greek language conceived in the early 19th century as a compromise between Ancient Greek and the Modern Greek of the time, with a vocabulary largely based on ancient forms, but a much-simplified grammar. Originally, it was widely used both for literary and official purposes, though seldom in daily language. In the 20th century, it was increasingly just for official and formal purposes, until Dimotiki became the official language of Greece in 1976 and Andreas Papandreou abolished the polytonic system of writing in 1981.
Katharevousa was conceived by the intellectual and revolutionary leader Adamantios Korais[citation needed]. A graduate of the University of Montpellier, Korais spent most of his life as an expatriate in Paris. Being a classical scholar, he was repelled by the Byzantine and later influence on Greek society and was a fierce critic of the clergy and their alleged subservience to the Ottoman Empire[neutrality is disputed][citation needed]. He held that education was a prerequisite to Greek liberation.
Part of its purpose was to mediate the struggle between the "archaists" favouring full reversion to archaic forms, and the "modernists". The name "Katharevousa" implies a pure form of Greek as it might hypothetically have evolved from ancient Greek without external influences.
History
The first known use of term katharevousa is in a work by the Greek polymath Nikephoros Theotokis, in 1796.[1]
Katharevousa was widely used in public documents and whatever was conceived as work of formal activity by Greek scholars. In modern Greek colloquial connotation, the word katharevousa has simply come to mean "formal language".
In later years, Katharevousa was used for official and formal purposes (such as politics, letters, official documents, and newscasting), while Dimotiki (δημοτική), 'demotic' or popular Greek, was the daily language. This created a diglossic situation whereby most of the Greek population was excluded from the public sphere and advancement in education unless they conformed to Katharevousa. In 1976, Dimotiki was made the official language and in 1981 Andreas Papandreou abolished the polytonic system of writing; by the end of the 20th century full Katharevousa in its earlier form had become obsolete. However, many grammatical and syntactical rules that Katharevousa had adopted, and much vocabulary from the Katharevousa strand, have come into contact with Dimotiki during the two centuries of its existence, so that the project's emphasis has made an observable contribution to the language as it is used today.[2] One may suggest that the Modern Greek of today is no longer the Dimotiki of old, but rather set midway between it and the traditional Katharevousa as stressed in the 19th century, with the continuing influence of Koine Greek. Amongst Katharevousa's later contributions is the promotion of classically based compounds to describe items and concepts that did not exist in earlier times, such as "newspaper", "police", "automobile", "airplane", "television" and much else, rather than borrowing words directly from other languages.
See also
- Demotic Greek
- Diglossia
- Greek diacritics
- Greek language question
- Greek orthography
- Linguistic purism
References
- ^ The Phenomenon of Diglossia: Language and National Identity, interview with Peter Mackridge
- ^ www.translexis.demon.co.uk
Categories: Varieties of Modern Greek | Linguistic purism | Language revival | Standard languages | Greek language
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