Katharevousa

History of the Greek language (see also: Greek alphabet)

Proto-Greek (c. 3000–1600 BC)

Mycenaean (c. 1600–1100 BC)

Ancient Greek (c. 800–330 BC) Dialects: Aeolic, Arcadocypriot, Attic-Ionic, Doric, Locrian, Pamphylian, Homeric Greek, Macedonian

Koine Greek (c. 330 BC–330)

Medieval Greek (330–1453)

Modern Greek (from 1453) Dialects: Calabrian, Cappadocian, Cheimarriotika, Cretan, Cypriot, Demotic, Griko, Katharevousa, Pontic, Tsakonian, Maniot, Yevanic *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 conservative form of the Modern Greek language conceived in the early 19th century as a compromise between Ancient Greek and Dimotiki of the time. 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. 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. 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 the term katharevousa is in a work by the Greek polymath Nikephoros Theotokis, in 1796.

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 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. Much of the vocabulary of Katharevousa and its grammatical and syntactical rules have influenced Dimotiki, so that the project's emphasis has made an observable contribution to the language as it is used today. Modern Greek is a combination of the original Dimotiki and the traditional Katharevousa as stressed in the 19th century, with the continuing influence of Koine Greek.^{[citation needed]} 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 many others, rather than borrowing words from other languages.

Text sample

This is a text sample of Katharevousa from the Great Greek Encyclopedia, published in 1930. The text has to do with Adamantios Korais' relations with the Greek Church. It is rendered in Dimotiki and translated into English.

• Katharevousa: Ἡ δ' ἀπὸ τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἀποδημία του ἐγένετο πρόξενος πολλῶν ἀδίκων κρίσεων περὶ προσώπων καὶ πραγμάτων καὶ πρῶτα πρῶτα τῆς περὶ ᾗς ἀνωτέρω ἔγινε λόγος πρὸς τὸν κλῆρον συμπεριφορᾶς του. Ἂν ἔζη ἐν Ἑλλάδι καὶ ἤρχετο εἰς ἐπικοινωνίαν πρὸς τὸν κλῆρον καὶ ἐγνώριζεν ἐκ τοῦ πλησίον ὄχι μόνον τὰς κακίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἀρετὰς αὐτοῦ, ὄχι μόνον πολὺ θὰ συνετέλει εἰς διόρθωσίν τινων ἐκ τῶν κακῶν ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ ἐχόντων, ἀλλὰ καὶ δὲν θὰ ἤκουεν ὅσα ἤκουσεν ἐκ τῶν ὑπερβολικῶν κατὰ τοῦ κλήρου ἐκφράσεών του.

• Modern Standard Greek: Η αποδημία του από την Ελλάδα έγινε πρόξενος πολλών άδικων κρίσεων για πρόσωπα και πράγματα και πρώτα πρώτα, για την οποία έγινε λόγος παραπάνω, της συμπεριφοράς του προς τον κλήρο. Αν ζούσε στην Ελλάδα και ερχόταν σε επικοινωνία με τον κλήρο και γνώριζε από κοντά όχι μόνο τις κακίες, αλλά και τις αρετές αυτού, όχι μόνο θα συντελούσε πολύ στη διόρθωση μερικών από τα κακά που υπάρχουν στην Εκκλησία, αλλά και δεν θα άκουγε όσα άκουσε εξαιτίας των υπερβολικών εκφράσεών του εναντίον του κλήρου.

• English: His expatriation from Greece was a cause for many unjust judgements about situations and people and mainly for his behaviour towards the clergy, which was discussed above. If he had lived in Greece and been in contact with the clergy and known closely not only its turpitude but also its virtues, not only would he have contributed a lot to fixing some of the problems within the Church, but he would not have listened to what he listened to due to his exaggerated sentiments against the clergy.

See also

• Demotic Greek
• Diglossia
• Greek diacritics
• Greek alphabet
• Greek language question
• Greek orthography
• Linguistic purism