Acquisition of Greek phonology: an overview

Abstract

Modern Greek (henceforth Greek) is the descendent of Ancient Greek. It is spoken by most inhabitants of Greece (approximately 11 million speakers) and is the official language of Greece. The linguistic situation in Greece has been characterized by diglossia from the middle of the 19th century until 1976. The two varieties of Greek diglossia are called Katharevousa and Dhimotiki. Katharevousa was created during the early 19th century and was the midpoint between Ancient and Modern Greek. It had many archaized forms of modern words and an archaic grammar. Dhimotiki was the variety spoken by Greeks in their daily lives and it became the official language in 1976 when Katharevousa was officially abolished. However, remnants of Katharevousa have remained in the Greek language, particularly in its written form.