Some Reflections on Greek in a Slavic Context, in Both Academia and the Real World, with an Overview of Greek in the Former Soviet Union

The study of the Greek language is argued here to be of relevance to Slavic studies and Slavic linguistics in several ways. After a brief presentation of some of the more important connections between Greek and the Slavic linguistic world, the focus is turned to one in particular that has not commanded the attention it might, namely the fact that Greek has historically been spoken and continues to be spoken in many areas in which Slavic-speakers predominate. By way of addressing that particular issue, the paper concludes with an overview of the history and status of Greek in one such region, the former Soviet Union, with comments on some differences between these varieties and the Standard language as spoken in Greece itself.