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Standard Modern Greek
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Standard Modern Greek

Greek language
Also known as: Koini Neoelliniki
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Standard Modern Greek, also known as Koini Neoelliniki or "Common Modern Greek," is the official language of Greece and Cyprus. It evolved from Koine Greek, which itself developed from local varieties during the Byzantine period.12

Modern Greek has been significantly simplified and modified from Ancient Greek, incorporating vocabulary and grammatical structures influenced by various foreign powers throughout history. For a long time, Greece experienced a linguistic "diglossia" between the spoken vernacular, Demotic Greek, and an artificial, purified written form called Katharevusa. In 1976, Demotic became the official language, and the two varieties have since merged to form Standard Modern Greek.32

The Greek language uses its own alphabet, which has been in continuous use since the Hellenistic period and has influenced other writing systems, including the Latin alphabet.4

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7 Britannica Sources
  1. Greek language - Local dialects
  2. Greek language - The Greek alphabet
  3. Greek language - Phonology
  4. Modern Greek
  5. Demotic Greek language
  6. Greek language - Morphology and syntax
  7. Greek language - Standard Modern Greek

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