In this comprehensive and concise study, Gunnar Hering offers the reader a complete interpretative approach to the linguistic issue in Greece. He does not limit himself to a typical, factual recounting, but addresses the linguistic dispute that has marked the intellectual and political life of the modern Greek state, keeping in mind the prevailing socio-political atmosphere of both the Balkans and Western Europe in general.

Hering divides his study into three major time periods: the period of the Greek Enlightenment, 1821 – late 19th century, early 20th century – early 1980s. Showing particular care for the bibliographical documentation of the material, he presents all the significant figures and milestones of the linguistic issue in continuous relation to the historical, socio-political, and linguistic-ideological context of modern and contemporary Greece.

At the same time, in a thorough manner, without ever neglecting the linguistic parameters, he also presents his own stance on the significant aspects of this complex issue.