Cypriot Greek
Encyclopedia : C : CY : CYP : Cypriot Greek
| History of the Greek language (see also: Greek alphabet) |
| Proto-Greek (c. 2000 BC)
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| Mycenaean (c. 1600–1100 BC)
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| Ancient Greek (c. 800–300 BC) Dialects: Aeolic, Arcadocypriot, Attic-Ionic, Doric, Macedonian; Homeric Greek. |
| Koine Greek (from c. 300 BC)
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| Medieval Greek (c. 330–1453)
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| Modern Greek (from 1453) Dialects: Cappadocian, Cypriot, Demotic, Griko, Katharevousa, Pontic, Tsakonian, Yevanic |
The Cypriot dialect of Greek (Cypriot Greek (Greek: Κυπριακή διάλεκτος) or Kypriaka (Greek: Κυπριακά)) is spoken by more than half a million people in Cyprus and several hundred thousands abroad. It is never used in formal writing but is the spoken everyday language of most Greek Cypriots. It is also the first language of older Turkish Cypriots from specific villages (e.g Louroudjina and the Tylliria/Dillirga region) and most other older Turkish Cypriots would speak it as a second language. There are specific settings where speaking Standard Greek is demanded or considered polite, such as in school classes (but not during breaks), in parliament, in the media, and in the presence of Greek-speaking foreigners. It is also common on the internet and on phone text messages. There is diglossia (in the linguistic sense) between Dhimotiki and the dialect.
History and Literature
The modern Cypriot dialect is not an evolution of the ancient Arcadocypriot dialect, but evolved from koine. Cyprus was cut off from the rest of the Greek-speaking world from the 7th to the 10th century A.D due to Arab attacks. It was reintegrated in the Eastern Roman Empire in the 10th century to be isolated again in 1191 when it fell to the hands of crusaders. This linguistic isolation preserved a lot of Medieval Greek characteristics that were lost in Modern Greek.
The legislation of the Kingdom of Cyprus in the Middle Ages was written in the dialect. Other important medieval works are the chronicles of Leontios Makhairas and George Boustronios, as well as a collection of sonnets in the manner of Francesco Petrarca.
In modern times, the dialect has been mainly used in poetry, major poets being Vasilis Michaelides and Dimitris Lipertis. More recently it has been used in Reggae by Hadji Mike and rap by several Cypriot hip hop groups, most notably HCH.
Characteristics
Phonology
- Double consonants are pronounced differently from single consonants (unlike Standard Modern Greek).
- *Double unvoiced plosives (ττ, ππ, κκ) are pronounced aspirated ([th], [ph], [kh] or [ch] depending on the superceding vowel).
- *The rest of the double consonants are pronounced as geminates. (e.g. λλ as [lː], μμ as [mː], etc.)
- Extensive palatalisation : Standard Greek [c] becomes [dʒ], e.g Standard Greek και /ce/ (=and) Cypriot τζιαι /dʒe/. Note however this is not a hard and fast rule (counter-examples: κηδεία, κέρδος, άκυρο, ρακέττα).
- Devoicing of φ, θ and χ (aspirated consonants in Ancient Greek) before liquids and nasals, to β, δ and γ respectively. (e.g. γρόνος (Cypriot dialect) instead of χρόνος (Modern Greek) (= year), άδρωπος (Cypriot dialect) instead of άνθρωπος (Modern Greek) (= human)).This process is partially reversed in younger speakers due to the influence of Standard Greek.
- Defrication of [ʝ]/[ç] that function as semi-vowels in Modern Greek to [c] with most of the time modification of the preceding consonant. (e.g. ποιός [pços] in Standard Greek would be pronounced as πκοιός [pcos], σπίτια [spi'tça] in Standard Greek would be pronounced as σπίθκια [spi'θca]). This is carried further in some parts of Cyprus where speakers use e.g. πσοιός [pʃos]
Morphology
- Present participles ending in -οντα instead of Modern Greek -οντας.
- Archaisms such as the use of infinitives as nouns (e.g. το δειν, the gaze)
Vocabulary
- Archaic vocabulary: Συντυχάννω/λαλώ along with standard Greek μιλώ (talk)
- The verb is: ένι and εν instead of είναι (Modern Greek).
- The Modern Cypriot lexicon contains loanwords mostly from Italian, Provençal, Turkish and English, and other languages, as well as words unique to Cyprus.
External links
- [Interview with HCH] - in Cypriot Greek, includes opinions on the use of Cypriot Greek lyrics.
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