Geoffrey Horrocks is Professor of Comparative Philology at the University of Cambridge, UK, and Fellow of St. John's College. He is the author of many articles on the history and structure of the Greek language and has co-edited several volumes on themes and issues in modern Greek syntax. His previous books include Space and Time in Homer (1981), Generative Grammar (1987), Greek: A History of the Language and its Speakers (1997), and The Blackwell History of the Latin Languge (with James Clackson, 2007).

"Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers." (Choice, 1 February 2011) "The text is likewise to be recommended to individuals interested in the effects of politics, military history, and culture on the history of language. In fact, perhaps one of Horrocks' greatest achievements is the skill with which he demonstrates the special value of the history of Greek, thinking about the Greek language in terms of breadth and depth that are unusual among linguists working on Greek." (Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 9 May 2011)This second takes account of reviews of the first and of the 2006 Greek translation." (Book News Inc, November 2010)

• Preface to the First Edition xii Preface to the Second Edition xvIPA Chart xviiThe Greek Alphabet xviiiIntroduction: The Scope and Purpose of This Book 1PART I Ancient Greek: From Mycenae to the Roman Empire 71 The Ancient Greek Dialects 92 Classical Greek: Official and Literary ‘Standards’ 433 The Rise of Attic 674 Greek in the Hellenistic World 795 Greek in the Roman Empire 1246 Spoken Koine in the Roman Period 160PART II Byzantium: From Constantine I to Mehmet the Conqueror 1897 Historical Prelude 1918 Greek in the Byzantine Empire: The Major Issues 2079 Byzantine Belles Lettres 23110 The Written Koine in Byzantium 24411 Spoken Greek in the Byzantine Empire: The Principal Developments 27312 Texts in the ‘Vernacular’ 325PART III Modern Greek: From the Ottoman Empire to the European Union 37113 Ottoman Rule and the War of Independence 37314 Spoken Greek in the Ottoman Period 37915 Written Greek in the Turkish Period 41316 The History of the Modern Greek State 42817 The ‘Language Question’ and its Resolution 438Bibliography 471Index 493