F. Sampino
Abstract
One of the most remarkable features of Aristophanes’ language is the tendency to create new lexical units for comic purposes. Most of these neologisms are hapax legómena and they depend directly on their original literary context. On the contrary, some others, throughout the history of Greek language, had a wider spread, hence their use has become more or less generalized. This article is an attempt at reviewing the probable playwright’s coinages, still given in neo-Greek lexicographical repertoires, that have maintained a certain degree of vitality in contemporary Greek. The analysis of these terms is conducted in the light of a more general reflection upon the author’s comic neology and upon the historical linguistic processes involved in the diffusion of such literary neologisms within wider communication channels.
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