David Holton (born 1946) is a British professor of

Modern Greek Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He specialises in

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

and modern

Greek language Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy (Calabria and Salento), southern Al ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, with special reference to the romance genre, early printing,

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

under Venetian rule, and the history and present structure of Greek. Since 2004, he has been working with Geoffrey Horrocks, (professor of Comparative Philology and a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge) and Panagiotis Toufexis (Research Associate) in the project of the world's first grammar of the

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

Greek of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

.Grammar of Medieval Greek project
, Modern & Medieval Languages, Modern Greek Section, University of Cambridge

Works (selection)

* (with Peter Mackridge and Irene Philippaki-Warburton) ''Greek: a comprehensive grammar.'' 2nd edition. Revised by Vassilios Spyropoulos (London: Routledge 2012). * "The first Modern Greek printed book: Apokopos (1509)", ''The Anglo-Hellenic Review'' 42 (Autumn 2010) 16-19 * David Holton, Tina Lendari, Ulrich Moennig, Peter Vejleskov (eds.): ''Copyists, Collectors, Redactors and Editors: Manuscripts and Editions of Late Byzantine and Early Modern Greek Literature. Papers given at a Conference held at the Danish Institute at Athens, 23–26 May 2002, in honour of Hans Eideneier and Arnold van Gemert''. Herakleion: Πανεπιστημιακές Εκδόσεις Κρήτης, Herakleion 2005, S. 251–273. * "Modern Greek: towards a standard language or a new diglossia?", in: M.C. Jones and E. Esch (eds.), ''Language change: the interplay of internal, external and extra-linguistic factors'' (Berlin - New York: Mouton de Gruyter 2002), pp. 169–79. * ''Διήγησις του Αλεξάνδρου. The Tale of Alexander. The Rhymed Version.'' Critical edition with introduction and commentary. Morfotiko Idryma Ethnikis Trapezis, Athens 2002. * ''Μελέτες για τον Ερωτόκριτο και άλλα νεοελληνικά κείμενα,'' Kastaniotis, Athens 2001. (Studies on

Erotokritos ''Erotokritos'' ( el, Ἐρωτόκριτος) is a romance composed by Vikentios Kornaros in early 17th century Crete. It consists of 10,012 fifteen-syllable rhymed verses, the last twelve of which refer to the poet himself. It is written in th ...

and other modern Greek texts) * (ed.) ''Literature and society in Renaissance Crete.'' Cambridge University Press, 1991, * (with Peter Mackridge, Irene Philippaki-Warburton): ''Greek. A comprehensive grammar of the modern language.'' Routledge, London 1997. : Patakis, Athens 1999 * (with Peter Mackridge, Irene Philippaki-Warburton): ''Greek. An essential grammar of the modern language.'' Routledge, London 2004. Greek translation: Patakis, Athens 2007. * ''Classical Antiquity and Cretan Renaissance Poetry.'' In: ''Journal of the Hellenic Diaspora'', 27.1-2, 2001, S. 87–101
brynmawr.edu
(PDF)

References

External links

Personal page
Modern & Medieval Languages, Modern Greek Section, University of Cambridge
Personal page
Faculty of Modern & Medieval Languages, University of Cambridge

Modern & Medieval Languages, Modern Greek Section, University of Cambridge * Damian Mac Con Uladh
''A neo-Hellenist philhellene''.
In: ''Athens News'', 20. Juli 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Holton, David Scholars of Medieval Greek Fellows of Selwyn College, Cambridge 1946 births Living people