Perceptions of Linguistic Divergence in Greek Comedy

This paper discusses the ways in which linguistic diversity is represented on the Greek comic stage from the fifth to the third century BCE; it suggests that comedy challenges notions of Athenian linguistic dominance at a time when these arise and become established. Whereas in the classical period comic characters tend to comment on different ways of speaking and repeatedly stress the importance of the Attic dialect, in later times the changing status of Attic in the Greekspeaking world modifies the role of such observations. The function of comicality in influencing and shaping the discourse on dialect on the comic stage must be fully appreciated when such judgments are evaluated.