It is clarified, therefore, that the language is Greek and that Pontic is a dialect. This means that the basic rules (of grammar, syntax, etc.), the roots of the words are found in the language (the Greek), and the dialects present some (few or many) linguistic, phonetic, grammatical, syntactic, etc. differentiations.

The dialect that was spoken by the Greeks who settled on the shores of the Black Sea from ancient times was Ionic, but, over time, it has evolved and changed. It has undergone many alterations, so few elements of the ancient Ionic have survived. Nevertheless, much more of the ancient Greek language has been preserved in the Pontic dialect not only than any other dialect but even than the Greek language itself (the Modern Greek).

[Excerpt from the text of the preface]