Emmanuel Kriaras

Emmanuel G. Kriaras (Greek: Εμμανουήλ Γ. Κριαράς; 28 November 1906 – 22 August 2014) was a Greek lexicographer and philologist. He was Emeritus Professor of the School of Philosophy at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He was a student of Jean Psychari and the practice and ideology of demotic Greek.

Early life and education

Kriaras was born in Piraeus in Attica, Greece in 1906 to a family of Cretan origin^[1] and spent his early childhood on the island of Milos, the southwesternmost of the Cyclades. In 1914 his family moved to Chania, Crete, where he completed his secondary education. He studied at the University of Athens from 1924, where he graduated from the School of Philosophy in 1929.

Professional life

Kriaras worked in the medieval archives of the

His writings cover a wide field. Probably his most important work has been the Lexicon of Medieval Greek Demotic Literature 1100-1669 (Λεξικό της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100-1669), published since 1968 and now supplemented with a 2-volume condensed edition. In 1997 he entrusted his medieval lexicon and its associated archives to the Centre for the Greek Language (Thessaloniki). His Greek Dictionary of the Modern Demotic Language, Written and Oral (Νέο ελληνικό λεξικό της σύγχρονης ελληνικής δημοτικής γλώσσας, γραπτής και προφορικής) (1995) is the most authoritative modern Greek monolingual dictionary. Kriaras worked on, and promoted research in, the problems related to medieval and modern Greek philology, lexicography and comparative grammatology, with his heart in the demotic language and the movements connected with its promotion.

In 2006, in recognition of his work and to mark his 100th birthday, he was awarded the "Golden Aristotle" by the University of Thessaloniki.

Death

Kriaras died on August 22, 2014, in Thessaloniki, Greece, from a heart attack, aged 107.^[3]

References

External links

• http://www.academyofathens.gr/
• http://www.greek-language.gr/greekLang/medieval_greek/em_kriaras/scanned_new/index.html?start=0&id=30&show=1