Νεοελληνική ορθογραφία: ιστορία, θεωρία, εφαρμογή [Modern Greek spelling: History, theory, practice]

Αβγό or αυγό? τρένο or τραίνο? αγόρι or αγώρι? Similar questions are answered in the pages of this book, which functions as an Orthographic Guide, as it examines the relationship between Modern Greek script and each of the basic levels of language analysis (phonology, morphology, semantics/lexicology, syntax). Special chapters are devoted to the spelling of proper nouns, the marking of stress and the use of a capital first letter.

However, the book is not confined to this purely practical information. By reading it, the reader will solve other queries as well: Why is it that some spellings are considered more appropriate than others? How is a word’s correct spelling established? Who decides that? When and by whom was Modern Greek spelling prescribed? Can it change in the future? What’s more, how is scientific thinking intertwined with ideological factors and how do all these determine today's form of Modern Greek spelling – but also the spelling of all other languages? These questions are answered in the book’s introduction, which discusses the relationship between language and script. The first part of the book is devoted to the description of the different scripts that were developed in the history of human culture.

Naturally, in the remainder of the book, greater emphasis is placed on the Greek language and on the various ways it is represented in writing. Beginning with the first written records of ancient Greek in Linear B script, the book moves on to examine the formation of the Greek alphabet, its evolution and the way it was used for the representation of Ancient, Hellenistic and Medieval Greek. It also covers contemporary thinking about the way Modern Greek should be represented in written form, current opinions on the tonal reform and recent debate over how historical Modern Greek orthography should be. It also includes a brief mention of greeklish.

The book won the 2009 Athens Academy award for best study of the Greek language. The author is associate professor of Historical Linguistics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.