3rd International Conference on the Koine, koines, and the formation of Standard Modern Greek
November 8th-9th, 2024
Teloglion Fine Arts Foundation, A.U.Th., Thessaloniki, and via internet
The Institute of Modern Greek Studies [Manolis Triandaphyllidis Foundation] of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, within the framework of the annual international conferences on the study of the Greek language in its entire historical and geographical range, organizes the “3rd International Conference on the Koine, koines, and the formation of Standard Modern Greek” on November 8-9, 2024, in Thessaloniki. The Conference will be organized in a hybrid way, i.e. both in person and via internet. The aim of the conference is to examine the problems associated with the emergence of koines in Greece, as well as in the other Balkan countries, giving the opportunity to revisit the theoretical problems in question and re-examine aspects of the Hellenistic Koine.
Keynote speakers:
Paul Kerswill (University of York, Great Britain), and
Marina Terkourafi (Leiden University, The Netherlands),
leading scholars on issues related to the conference’s focus areas.
This conference brings to completion the third three-year cycle of the Institute’s conferences dedicated to the study of the Greek language across time and space; the qualitative characteristics of these conferences, which are gradually being consolidated, include: (a) promotion of topics and issues which previous conferences, at least in Greece, had tended to ignore (ancient, medieval and modern Greek etymology, Balkan etymology, emergence of Standard Modern Greek, Koine, etc.), and recontextualisation of well-known issues (language contact in the Balkans and (comparatively) in Asia Minor); (b) participation of eminent experts, both Greek and foreign from different areas of research, which should help us to achieve a multifaceted approach to the issues in question; (c) increased involvement of students (both undergraduate and postgraduate) from universities across Greece.
A conference should aim to address long-standing questions in its field, and also to widen the scope of investigation, directing interest towards less well-studied, or indeed unstudied issues. The issues to be discussed come under four main topics:
1. Hellenistic Koine
Where was the Hellenistic Koine originally formed? What was the role of earlier forms of literary koine in its formation? Did the influence of other dialects on Attic involve spoken or written language? Was the spoken Koine homogeneous, like the written Koine? What was the role of local koines in the formation of the Koine, especially its spoken forms? To what extent was its development affected by the process of standardization? Are the phonological and morphological simplifications that characterize the Koine the result of the process that led to its emergence (koineization), or are they natural, internal developments of Attic? Are the linguistic criteria used to determine its dialect basis adequate?
2. Theoretical issues
What is the relationship of the Koine with koines? What are the most appropriate criteria for a typology of koines? What is the position and role of local koines before and after the formation of the Koine? What are the consequences of bilingualism for the formation of a koine? What is the role of historical, social and political developments in the formation of a koine? What are the motives for contesting the dialectal basis of a koine?
3. Standard Modern Greek
When and where was the Standard Modern Greek formed? Is it based on one or more dialects (monodialect-basis theory and polydialect-basis theory)? When did the economic and political conditions (strong economic, political and cultural centres) and demographic characteristics that favour the appearance of a koine appear? What are the linguistic criteria that can help us to identify its dialect basis? What was the role of the archaizing and demotic written traditions in determining the choice of its basic characteristics? What is the role of local koines? What are the distinctive features of the emergence of Standard Modern Greek, if any? How does the emergence of Standard Modern Greek fit into the wider Balkan landscape?
4. Koines in the Balkans and other countries
Are there common elements in the formation of koines in the various Balkan languages? What are the advantages of a comparative investigation of the formation of koines in countries with a similar historical and political background? Are there features which distinguish the formation of koines in the Balkan languages from relevant processes in the languages of Western Europe? What is the relationship between the formation of koines in the Balkan languages and debalkanisation?
This conference is the ninth one in a series of annual international conferences on the study of the Greek language in its entire historical and geographical range organized by the Institute of Modern Greek Studies, alternately devoted to (a) Greek etymology (2015, 2018, 2022), (b) Language contact in the Balkans and Asia Minor (2016, 2019, 2023), and (c) Koine, koines and the formation of Standard Modern Greek (2017, 2021, 2024).