| Group | Greek |
| Geography | Doric was one of the most widespread among Greek dialects. It was spoken in northern Greece, in the most part of the Peloponnese peninsula (except Arcadia) and on several islands of the Aegean. Sparta and Corinth were also speaking Doric. In the period of the Great Greek Colonization, Doric spread to Italy and all around the Mediterranean. |
| History | Originally living on the Balkan peninsula, north from Greece, Doric migrants arrived in Greece in about the 12th century BC. Scientists still doubt if it was a conquest or a peaceful penetration. Anyway, the ancient sites of the Mycenaean civilization were abandoned by people, the writing was forgotten, and the epoch of "Dark Ages" came to Greece. Doric settlers were on a lower stage of development than their Achaean predecessors. Official documents and poetry mainly from Doric colonies over the Mediterranean are used to judge about the language. |
| Phonetics | Doric was rather archaic, today its forms are usually used when comparing Greek with other Indo-European languages. Doric preserved the archaic long á (e.g. mátér - mother) and the Indo-European *w (e.g. newos - young) in all positions. Its system of stress is peculiar and interesting, it differs much from the classical Greek accent. |
| Nominal Morphology | In the system of pronouns, Doric has a demonstrative pronoun toi (feminine tai) which was later used as the definite article in Greek and sounded oi, ai in Ionic and Attic. In the noun declension, stem vowels are clearly seen, while in other Greek dialects they were sometimes lost (e.g. Doric polis, polios 'city' vs. Attic polis, poleo's). The personal pronoun 'thou' sounded tu (Attic su). |
| Verbal Morphology | Most of the Indo-European verbal endings remained in Doric as they used to be. In the 3rd person, the present tense has -ti and -nti (e.g. Doric ekhonti 'they have' vs. Attic ekhousi). In the 1st person plural, the ending -mes is used (Attic -men). The future tense is peculiar, having the suffix -s-: praksio' 'I will do'. |
| Lexicon | Again, a lot of archaic Indo-European forms: e.g. the Doric particle ke from Indo-European *kwe was replaced in all other Greek varieties. |
| Writing | Greek alphabet |
| Close Contacts | Stands close to the other languages of the Balkans: Old Macedonian, maybe Thracian and Illyrian. |
| Sample | Oμνυω Δια, Γαν, Aλιον, Παρθενον
θεους Oλιμπιους και Oλιμπιας και 'ηρωας 'οσοι πολιν και χωραν και τειχη εχοντι τα Xερσονασι I swear to Zeus, Gea, Alios and the Virgin,
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