The
official language
An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...
s of the
Republic of Cyprus are
Greek . In
Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, isl ...
, Turkish was made the only official language by the 1983 constitution.
The everyday spoken language (
vernacular
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
) of
Greek Cypriots is
Cypriot Greek, and that of
Turkish Cypriots is
Cypriot Turkish
Cypriot Turkish (''Kıbrıs Türkçesi'') is a dialect of the Turkish language spoken by Turkish Cypriots both in Cyprus and among its diaspora.
History
Emanating from Anatolia and evolved for four centuries, Cypriot Turkish is the vernacular s ...
. For official purposes, the
standard language
A standard language (also standard variety, standard dialect, and standard) is a language variety that has undergone substantial codification of grammar and usage, although occasionally the term refers to the entirety of a language that includes ...
s (
Standard Modern Greek
The linguistic varieties of Modern Greek can be classified along two principal dimensions. First, there is a long tradition of sociolectal variation between the natural, popular spoken language on the one hand and archaizing, learned written form ...
and Standard Turkish) are used.
According to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of the Council of Europe, Armenian was recognised as a minority language of Cyprus as of 1 December 2002.
Three "religious groups" are recognised by the constitution; two have their own language:
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
(the language of
Armenian Cypriots) and
Cypriot Arabic
Cypriot Arabic ( ar, العربية القبرصية), also known as Cypriot Maronite Arabic or Sanna, is a moribund variety of Arabic spoken by the Maronite community of Cyprus. Formerly speakers were mostly situated in Kormakitis, but followin ...
(the language of
Maronite Cypriots
The Maronites in Cyprus, Maronite Cypriots, are an ethnoreligious group and/or members of the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Cyprus whose ancestors migrated from present-day Lebanon during the Middle Ages. A percentage of them traditionally ...
). Sometimes ''
Kurbetcha
Kurbetcha (or Gurbetcha) is a creole language with what appears to be predominantly Domari language vocabulary and Cypriot Turkish grammar, spoken by the ''Gurbeti'' of Cyprus and North Cyprus. The Gurbetler have traditionally also spoken Cypriot ...
'', the language of the ''Kurbet'', the Cypriot Roma, is included alongside the other two in literature, but it is not officially recognised in any capacity.
The 2011 census of the Republic recorded 679,883 native speakers of Greek, 34,814 of English, 24,270 of Romanian, 20,984 of Russian and 18,388 of Bulgarian of a total of 840,407. Following the
1974 Turkish invasion, Cyprus was effectively divided into two linguistically near-homogeneous areas: the Turkish-speaking north and the Greek-speaking south;
only 1,405 speakers of Turkish reside in territory controlled by the Republic.
The languages of Cyprus have historically exerted influence on one another; Cypriot Greek and Cypriot Turkish
borrowed heavily from each other, and Cypriot Greek has helped shape Cypriot Arabic's phonology.
Cypriot Greek
Greek was originally brought to Cyprus by Greek settlers in the 12th–11th century BCE.
The earliest known Cypriot Greek inscription dates to c. 1000 BC. The contemporary
Cypriot Greek (CG)—the mother tongue of
Greek Cypriots—evolved from later
Byzantine Koine, under the influence of the languages of the many colonisers of the island. CG differs markedly from
Standard Modern Greek
The linguistic varieties of Modern Greek can be classified along two principal dimensions. First, there is a long tradition of sociolectal variation between the natural, popular spoken language on the one hand and archaizing, learned written form ...
(SMG),
particularly in its
phonology
Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...
,
morphology
Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to:
Disciplines
*Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts
*Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...
and vocabulary, and CG may be difficult for speakers of other varieties of Greek to understand
or may even be
unintelligible to some.
CG has a literary tradition that flourished before the
Ottoman conquest of 1571.
SMG has been the language of instruction in Greek Cypriot education since the late 19th century (then
Katharevousa) and is the language used in Greek-language media in the country (though in a recognisably Cypriot form). Indeed, Greek Cypriots are
diglossic
In linguistics, diglossia () is a situation in which two dialects or languages are used (in fairly strict compartmentalization) by a single language community. In addition to the community's everyday or vernacular language variety (labeled "L ...
, with SMG the high (taught) and CG the low variety (naturally acquired), itself a
dialect continuum
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of Variety (linguistics), language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are Mutual intelligibility, mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulat ...
that has been long undergoing
levelling and
koinénisation. SMG exerts a continuing influence on CG, and CG speakers
code-mix and
code-switch between the two varieties in formal settings. Greek Cypriots' tendency to "downplay the differences between the two varieties"
has been thought to help preserve diglossia in circumstances that would have otherwise led to the demise of the low variety (CG).
Many
Turkish Cypriots have traditionally (prior to
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
) been fluent in CG, meaning CG served as the "
vernacular
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
" of the island.
Some Turkish Cypriots were uni-lingual in Greek.
Cypriot Turkish
Emanating from
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
and evolved for four centuries, Cypriot Turkish is the
vernacular
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
spoken by Cypriots with
Ottoman ancestry, as well as by Cypriots who converted to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
during Ottoman rule.
Cypriot Turkish consists of a blend of
Ottoman Turkish
Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...
and the
Yörük dialect that is spoken in the
Taurus Mountains
The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir ...
of southern
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. In addition it has absorbed influences from
Greek,
Italian and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
. Cypriot Turkish is mutually intelligible with
Standard Turkish.
Minority languages
Two
minority language
A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. Such people are termed linguistic minorities or language minorities. With a total number of 196 sovereign states recognized internationally (as of 2019) and ...
s are covered by the
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) is a European treaty (CETS 148) adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages in Europe. However, the ...
in Cyprus,
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
and
Cypriot Arabic
Cypriot Arabic ( ar, العربية القبرصية), also known as Cypriot Maronite Arabic or Sanna, is a moribund variety of Arabic spoken by the Maronite community of Cyprus. Formerly speakers were mostly situated in Kormakitis, but followin ...
.
Armenian
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
have inhabited Cyprus since the sixth century AD, but about 9,000 more arrived from Turkey in the early 20th century to escape the
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...
. Of those, most moved on to other countries. Today,
Western Armenian
Western Armenian ( Classical spelling: , ) is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Armenian dialect, as opposed to Eastern Armenian, which is mainly based ...
is taught in Armenian schools (''Nareg'') and is the first language of about 3,000 people of
Armenian descent in the Republic. Armenian Cypriots are often bilingual in Greek and Armenian.
In 2014, it was reported that there are 668 Armenian first-language speakers in Republic of Cyprus-controlled areas (of a total 1,831 Armenian Cypriots).
Cypriot Arabic
It is not entirely clear when Arabic first made its way to Cyprus, but Arabic speakers are known to have emigrated from the Levant in the late 12th century AD.
Today, Cypriot Arabic (CA) is moribund with efforts being made to
revitalise it. It is spoken by an estimated 900
Cypriot Maronites, all over the age of 30.
Kormakitis
Kormakitis (Cypriot Arabic: ; el, Κορμακίτης, ''Kormakítis''; tr, Kormacit or ) is a small village in Cyprus. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. Kormakitis is one of four traditionally Maronite villages in Cy ...
was a long-time stronghold of the language, but most Maronites relocated to the south and spread after 1974, fuelling its—now very likely—
death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
.
CA speakers are bilingual in Greek and CA, and CA, having long existed cut off from other varieties of Arabic, has been heavily influenced by Cypriot Greek, with respect to its
syntax
In linguistics, syntax () is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure ( constituency) ...
, vocabulary and, particularly, phonology: it has lost all
emphatic consonant
In Semitic linguistics, an emphatic consonant is an obstruent consonant which originally contrasted with series of both voiced and voiceless obstruents. In specific Semitic languages, the members of this series may be realized as uvularized or ...
s and
stop
Stop may refer to:
Places
* Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States
* Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Facilities
* Bus stop
* Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck d ...
voicing opposition. CA has traits in common with some
north Syrian and Mesopotamian dialects and sedentary vernaculars spoken on the Levantine coast.
Cypriot Arabic has not so far been
codified, though there are plans to do so. In 2014, it was reported that, in the 2011 census, of all 3,656 Maronite Cypriots in Republic of Cyprus-controlled areas "none declared
ypriot Arabicto be their first language".
''Kurbetcha''
There is an unknown number of
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
*Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
, speakers of ''
Kurbetcha
Kurbetcha (or Gurbetcha) is a creole language with what appears to be predominantly Domari language vocabulary and Cypriot Turkish grammar, spoken by the ''Gurbeti'' of Cyprus and North Cyprus. The Gurbetler have traditionally also spoken Cypriot ...
'' (or ''Gurbetcha''), a
creole with vocabulary that is predominantly
Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
and Cypriot Turkish grammar, residing in Northern Cyprus. ''Kurbetcha'' is not protected by the Charter and has been little studied.
Foreign languages
Proficiency in English is high (higher than in many other European countries), and Cypriots that receive education in English might code-switch between their native language and English. English features on road signs, public notices, and in advertisements, etc.
English was the sole official language during British colonial rule and lingua franca (until 1960) and continued to be used (''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'') in courts of law until 1989 and in legislature until 1963.
A reported 80.4% of residents of Cyprus perceive to have command of the English language as
L2, a 10.8% of French, a 4.6% of German, a 2.8% of Russian, and a 2.0% of Spanish. On average, Cypriots speak 1.2 foreign languages.
According to the Eurobarometer, 76% of people of Cyprus can speak English, 12% can speak French and 5% can speak German.
[Europeans and their Languages](_blank)
- Eurobarometer, 2006
Foreign language lessons become compulsory at the age of 9 (2008).
Extinct languages
The Cypro-Minoan syllabary and earlier languages
It is reckoned
written language
A written language is the representation of a spoken or gestural language by means of a writing system. Written language is an invention in that it must be taught to children, who will pick up spoken language or sign language by exposure even i ...
first made its appearance in Cyprus in the 16th century BCE with the yet-to-be-deciphered
Cypro-Minoan syllabary, an offshoot of
Linear A "with some additional elements of hieroglyphic affiliation" that was the basis for the later
Cypriot syllabary.
The Cypro-Minoan syllabary may have been used to write more than one language.
Arcadocypriot and transitional Greek
The
ancient Arcadocypriot dialect of Greek was spoken by the
Mycenaean Greeks to first settle in Cyprus in the 12th or 11th century BCE. It was eventually succeeded by
Koine Greek
Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...
in the fourth century BCE
and later
Byzantine Koine evolved into Cypriot Greek.
Eteocypriot
Eteocypriot was a
pre-Indo-European language
The Pre-Indo-European languages are any of several ancient languages, not necessarily related to one another, that existed in Prehistoric Europe and Southern Asia before the arrival of speakers of Indo-European languages. The oldest Indo-Europe ...
, indigenous to the island, that competed with Greek following the latter's arrival and was ultimately supplanted by it by the third century BCE. It was written in the
Cypriot syllabary that was adopted for Arcadocypriot; the same writing system was used to write both (unrelated) languages. For the time that the two languages co-existed, the peoples of Cyprus were bilingual (and bicultural).
References
External links
"Usus Norma Loquendi" – Cypriot Greek podcast about the languages of Cyprus"North Cyprus Discovery" – Cypriot Turkish languages basics
{{portal bar, Cyprus, Language