ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on the most recent episode in the long history of meta-linguistic theorizing on Greek. It attempts an analysis of the discourse employed in a body of work by a number of contemporary Greek scholars (mainly linguists), with particular reference to the question of the continuity of the Greek language and its ideological use and abuse. This question has assumed central importance in Greek metalinguistic discourse since the official demise of diglossia in Greece after 1974, which called for a revisiting of traditional preoccupations and concerns. I would like to suggest that the contestation of ideologies over post-diglossia Greek depends on conventional polarities and dichotomies, which hinder a renewed understanding of the language in its contemporary dimensions.