希腊语(Greek language)
主要通行於希腊的印欧诸语言。其发展历史可分为四个阶段︰古代希腊语、古希腊共同语、拜占庭希腊语和现代希腊语。古代希腊语又分为迈锡尼希腊语和古典标准希腊语，後期发展出许多方言（例如爱奥尼亚语、阿提卡语）。第二阶段的古希腊共同语（希腊化的希腊语）兴起於西元前4世纪亚历山大大帝时期，共同语加上简化的语法，在希腊化时代广为传播。认为古希腊共同语是不标准的阿提卡语而拒绝使用的纯粹主义者，成功地提倡使用古代语来写作，因此书面语体的拜占庭希腊语（西元5～15世纪）仍根植於雅典学派传统中，口语则继续发展。现代希腊语从15世纪开始发展，并衍生出许多地方性方言。标准现代希腊语，现为希腊官方的口语和书写语言，主要根据通俗希腊语（使用於大众口语）而来，但包含了纯正希腊语的元素在内，而其书写形式过去使用於政府文件与公共生活。
English version：
Greek language
Indo-European language spoken mostly in Greece. Its history can be divided into four phases: Ancient Greek, Koine, Byzantine Greek, and Modern Greek. Ancient Greek is subdivided into Mycenaean Greek and Archaic and Classical Greek. The language of the latter periods had numerous dialects (e.g., Ionic, Attic). The second phase, Koine (Hellenistic Greek), arose during Alexander the Great's reign in the 4th century BC. A common language with simplified grammar, it spread throughout the Hellenized world. Purists who rejected Koine as a corruption of Attic Greek successfully advocated adoption of the Classical language for all writing. Thus, the written form, Byzantine Greek (5th-15th century AD), stayed rooted in the Attic tradition while the spoken language continued to develop. Modern Greek, dating from the 15th century, has many local dialects. Standard Modern Greek, Greece's official written and spoken language, is largely based on a form called Demotic (used in popular speech) but includes elements of Katharevusa, the written language formerly used in government and public life.
