ABSTRACT
I. We frequently speak of Greek dialects but hardly ever try to explain what is the meaning of 'dialect' in this phrase. If we did, we would be reminded that dialects should not be discussed without making reference to their ethnolinguistic background. In general it seems impossible to call a dialect a dialect (rather than a language) and to study its development without considering the speakers of that dialect and the way in which they understood their linguistic situation or reacted to it. In the specific case of Greek the concept of dialect is so nebulous that a study of the ethnolinguistic data is especially relevant. What follows offers a few considerations which bear on the problem. r
2. We start with one of the best known passages of the late Byzantine grammarian, Gregory of Corinth, who lived in the twelfth century A.D. and wrote a manual Ilepi 8taA.eKtrov [On Dialects] marked by little originality and much repetition. 2 It contains a definition of dialect which sounds singularly modern in its formulation:
AuiA.eK'tO~ ecrnv i8iroJlU yA.rocrcrT]~, ij 8taA.eKt6~ ecrn A.e~t~ t8tov XUPUKtflpa t01tOU eJl<pUtVOUO"U "a dialect is a special form of a language or a dialect is a form of speech which indicates the special character of a place". It is noticeable that nineteenth or twentieth century dictionaries echo the sentiment and sometimes even the wording. It is also remarkable that the same dictionaries tend to use as exemplification of the use of the word 'dialect' (an obvious
Greek borrowing) phrases or sentences which refer to ancient Greek dialects. 3
In current speech a dialect is now seen as a form of language which can be given a specific geographic or social definition. By contrast a language is seen as standardized and spoken over a wider area or by a larger group of people. In our modern literate world languages are likely to be both spoken and written, while dialects may simply exist in spoken form; we speak of dead languages, meaning presumably languages which are known only in written form, hardly ever of dead dialects. Until the recent wave of 'ethnicity' a language tended to have higher status than a dialect: the Sardinians were proud to speak a Romance language, not an Italian dialect.
