Mariupolitan Greek, or Crimean Greek also known as Tauro-Romaic or ''Ruméika'' (''Rumaíica'', from el, Ρωμαίικα, "
Romaic"; russian: Румейский язык; uk, Румейська мова), is a
Greek dialect spoken by the
ethnic Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, other ...
living along the northern coast of the
Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, ...
, in southeastern Ukraine; the community itself is referred to as Azov Greeks. Although Rumeíka, along with the Turkic
Urum language
Urum is a Turkic language spoken by several thousand ethnic Greeks who inhabit a few villages in Georgia and southeastern Ukraine. Over the past few generations, there has been a deviation from teaching children Urum to the more common languages o ...
, remained the main language spoken by the Azov Greeks well into the 20th century, currently it is used by only a small part of
Ukraine's ethnic Greeks.
[
]
History
The Crimean peninsula
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a po ...
was Greek-speaking for more than two and a half thousand years as a part of the ancient Greek colonies
Greek colonization was an organised colonial expansion by the Archaic Greeks into the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea in the period of the 8th–6th centuries BC.
This colonization differed from the migrations of the Greek Dark Ages in that i ...
and of the Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
. Greek city-states
''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...
began establishing colonies
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
along the Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
coast of Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
in the 7th or 6th century BC. The majority of these colonies were established by Ionians
The Ionians (; el, Ἴωνες, ''Íōnes'', singular , ''Íōn'') were one of the four major tribes that the Greeks considered themselves to be divided into during the ancient period; the other three being the Dorians, Aeolians, and Achae ...
from the city of Miletus
Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...
in Asia Minor
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 ...
. After the Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
's sacking of Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
fragmented the Byzantine Empire, Crimea became a principality within the Greek Empire of Trebizond
The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a monarchy and one of three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Despotate of the Morea and the Principality of Theodoro, that flourished during the 13th through to t ...
. When that state, which was centered on the eastern Black Sea coast and Pontic Alps
The Pontic Mountains or Pontic Alps ( Turkish: ''Kuzey Anadolu Dağları'', meaning North Anatolian Mountains) form a mountain range in northern Anatolia, Turkey. They are also known as the ''Parhar Mountains'' in the local Turkish and Pontic Gr ...
of northeastern 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 ...
, fell to the Ottomans in 1461, the Crimean Greek principality (Principality of Theodoro
The Principality of Theodoro ( el, Αὐθεντία πόλεως Θεοδωροῦς καὶ παραθαλασσίας), also known as Gothia ( el, Γοτθία) or the Principality of Theodoro-Mangup, was a Greek principality in the southern pa ...
) remained independent, becoming subject to the Ottomans in 1475. The beginning of large-scale settlement of Greeks in the steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the temperate grasslands, ...
region north of the Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, ...
dates to the Russo-Turkish War (1768–74)
The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...
, when Catherine the Great
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
of Russia invited Greeks of Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
to resettle to recently conquered lands (including founding Mariupol
Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russian i ...
) to escape persecution in the then Muslim-dominated Crimea.
Due to the centuries living under Tatar
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different and Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
rule, many of the Greeks no longer spoke the Greek language; thus the community was divided into the Greek-speaking Rumeis and the Turkic-speaking Urums
The Urums, singular Urum (, ; el, Ουρούμ, ''Urúm''; Turkish and Crimean Tatar: ''Urum,'' ) are several groups of Turkic-speaking Greek Orthodox people in Crimea and Georgia. History
There are two main theories covering how the Urums m ...
(see Urum language
Urum is a Turkic language spoken by several thousand ethnic Greeks who inhabit a few villages in Georgia and southeastern Ukraine. Over the past few generations, there has been a deviation from teaching children Urum to the more common languages o ...
).
In the 20th century, Rumeíka was the Greek dialect used by most Greek-speaking villages in the North Azov Sea Coast region. There are about 17 villages that speak this language today. Modern scholars distinguish five subdialects of Rumeíka according to their similarity to standard Modern Greek
Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the ...
.
The Rumeíka is not the only Greek variety spoken in the northern Azov regions: the village of Anadol
Anadol was Turkey's first domestic mass-production passenger vehicle company. Its first model, Anadol A1 (1966–1975) was the second Turkish car after the ill-fated Devrim sedan of 1961. Anadol cars and pick-ups were manufactured by Otosan Oto ...
speaks Pontic proper, being settled from the Pontos in 1826.[
]
Dialectal affiliation
Rumeíka is often described as a Pontic dialect
Pontic, from the Greek language, Greek ''pontos'' (, ), or "sea", may refer to:
The Black Sea Places
* The Pontic colonies, on its northern shores
* Pontus (region), a region on its southern shores
* The Pontic–Caspian steppe, steppelands str ...
. According to modern researchers, the situation is not so simple: arguments can be made for Rumeíka's similarity both to Pontic Greek and to Northern Greek dialects. In the view of Maxim Kisilier, while Rumeíka shares some features with both Pontic Greek and Northern Greek dialects, it is better considered on its own terms, as a separate Greek dialect, or even a group of dialects.[
]
Research and literature
After the October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
of 1917, a Rumaiic revival occurred in the region. As part of the general policy of korenizatsiya
Korenizatsiya ( rus, коренизация, p=kərʲɪnʲɪˈzatsɨjə, , "indigenization") was an early policy of the Soviet Union for the integration of non-Russian nationalities into the governments of their specific Soviet republics. In the ...
, the Soviet administration established a Rumaiic , several magazines and newspaper and a number of Rumaiic language schools. The best Rumaiic poet Georgis Kostoprav created a Rumaiic poetic language for his work. However, starting in 1926, the Soviet authorities opted to conduct the korenizatsiya more specifically as a policy of Hellenisation
Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in the ...
, which aimed to transfer the education and cultural life of local Greeks to Dimotiki
Demotic Greek or Dimotiki ( el, Δημοτική Γλώσσα, , , ) is the standard spoken language of Greece in modern times and, since the resolution of the Greek language question in 1976, the official language of Greece.
"Demotic Greek" (w ...
(as used in Greece proper), as opposed to the non-standardised Rumaiic dialects. This approach was controversial and met with difficulties and some resistance.[Л. Д. Якубова]
Еллінізація грецького населення України 1926—1938
// Енциклопедія історії України: Т. 3: Е-Й / Редкол.: В. А. Смолій (голова) та ін. НАН України. Інститут історії України. — К.: В-во «Наукова думка», 2005. — 672 с.: іл. Both of these processes were reversed in 1937 as Kostoprav and many other Rumaiics and Urums were killed as part of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
's national policies. A large percentage of the population was transported to Gulag
The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...
s.
The Rumeíka dialect became subject of linguistic study in the late 1920s and 1930s, as part of the general program of identifying and describing languages of the USSR
The languages of the Soviet Union are hundreds of different languages and dialects from several different language groups.
In 1922, it was decreed that all nationalities in the Soviet Union had the right to Korenizatsiya, education in their own ...
. However, linguists studying the language became victims of Stalin's repressions by 1937, and the research on the Rumeíka did not resume until the 1950s and 1960s.[
Scholars of Greek from ]Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
, led by Andriy Biletsky
Andriy Yevheniyovych Biletsky ( uk, Андрі́й Євге́нійович Біле́цький, Andríj Jevhénijovyč Biléćký, ; born 5 August 1979) is a Ukrainian far-right politician. He is the leader of political party National Corps. ...
compiled a detailed description of the language and recorded the folklore. As the Azov Greeks had apparently lost literacy in Greek already during the Crimean period of their history, Biletsky developed a Cyrillic
, bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця
, fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs
, fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic
, fam3 = Phoenician
, fam4 = G ...
writing system, based on the Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
and Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
Cyrillic for them in 1969.
[ (Literature of the Azov Greeks and the problem of the preservation of the cultural traditions of the ethnic Greeks)]
A number of books have been published in the Rumeíka Greek using this Cyrillic orthography. Besides native works, they included translations of
the ''Lay of Igor's Campaign
''The Tale of Igor's Campaign'' ( orv, Слово о пълкѹ Игоревѣ, translit=Slovo o pŭlku Igorevě) is an anonymous epic poem written in the Old East Slavic language.
The title is occasionally translated as ''The Tale of the Campai ...
'' and of Taras Shevchenko
Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko ( uk, Тарас Григорович Шевченко , pronounced without the middle name; – ), also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar (a kobzar is a bard in Ukrainian culture), was a Ukraine, Ukrainian p ...
's ''Kobzar''.[
A new attempt to preserve a sense of ethnic Rumaiic identity started in the mid-1980s. Though a number of writers and poets make use of the Cyrillic Rumeíka alphabet, the population of the region rarely uses it; the majority of self-identified ethnic Greeks of Ukraine now consider Russian their mother language.][ The Rumaiic language is declining rapidly, most endangered by standard Modern Greek, which is taught in schools and at the local university. Nonetheless, the latest investigations by Alexandra Gromova demonstrate that there is still hope that elements of the Rumaiic population will continue to use the dialect.][. The work is based on field research in the Greek villages in Mariupolis region. The expeditions were carried out in 2001–2004 and were organised by St. Petersburg State University]
See also
* Mariupol#Language structure, for the overall linguistic situation in the region
* Varieties of Modern Greek#Other outlying varieties
Poetry of Leontij Kyrjakov
in Rumaic language
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rumeika
Varieties of Modern Greek
Languages of Ukraine