Pamphylian: Language and Dialect Contact in Ancient Greek

Abstract:

Among the Greek dialects, Pamphylian is odd-- it seems to represent a mix of several different Greek dialect groups, with influence from the neighboring Anatolian languages.  In this talk, I argue that we can reconstruct the early settlement history of Pamphylia using sociolinguistics to study these patterns of language and dialect contact. Specifically, I argue that Pamphylia was initially settled by a small number of Greek speakers who were outnumbered by native Anatolian speakers who learned Greek as a second language, and that the initial mix of settlers were mainly speakers of Cretan, but also included speakers of Cypriot and Lesbian.  Finally, I consider an important but rarely considered question in Greek dialectology:  why does Pamphylian show so much influence from the native languages, when Cypriot and the other dialects of Asia Minor-- where Greeks also colonized originally non-Greek-speaking areas-- do not?