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a Greek language spoken in Italy: i need

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LEGATVS LEGIONIS View Drop Down
Knight
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  Quote LEGATVS LEGIONIS Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: a Greek language spoken in Italy: i need
    Posted: 10-Dec-2005 at 12:31
AVE FORVM!

Long time ago i heard of a language, quite close to Greek, spoken somewhere not far from the Sila chains (in the southern Italy) by a few thousands of people. I bet everyone knows that Southern Italy was colonized by Greeks much time before the expansion of the Roman Territory; however i'm impressed: Greek language could be still used somewhere in Italy even after many centuries and many invaders.
I read a leader about that on a famous italian magazine some years ago but i don't remember much if i gotta be honest According to that magazine, the ones who can speak that language can understand the modern greek language a bit
Does anyone know  something more about that language? i'm curious to know where exactly  it's spoken and how  many  people  are good at speaking it at the moment
tnx in advance for helping
Hosti non solum dandam esse viam ad fugiendum, sed etiam muniendam!
(Publius Cornelius Scipio 'Africanus')

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  Quote Alkiviades Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10-Dec-2005 at 14:23
The language is called Greco, spoken by about two dozen villages in Sicily and southern Italy. If you google the name, you'll find a number of sites dealing with it.
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  Quote sdavidr Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10-Dec-2005 at 16:44
It's also called greco moderno, romaico, grico, griko, greco-bovese or greco-calabro.

Take a Look at this interesting link

GRIKO.  There is a griko-english dictionary.


Edited by sdavidr
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  Quote Leonidas Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10-Dec-2005 at 22:05
One of my favourite little subjects
Split it betwen the Apulia (15,000) and calabria (5000) and i can never find the sicilian villages on the web but i have two sicilians tell me they exist.

Ontop of my head the (salentine) apulian greek is closer to modern greek due to byzantine migrations, calabrian is closer to old dorian type dilaects and has been isolated for a lot longer.

Links
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/9479/griko.html

Paper on the langauage


Salentine web page



Edited by Leonidas
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  Quote sdavidr Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10-Dec-2005 at 22:34
i can never find the sicilian villages on the web but I have two sicilians tell me they exist.
That's interesting. I will investigate it in a future.
----------------------------------------------------


Maps I've found,
source: http://www.grikamilume.com
In red the two Italian areas of Greek language are indicated: the Bovesia in Calabria and the Greca Salentina in Salento.


Nowadays Extension of the area  (green dark) and in the XV-XVI century (green)






Edited by sdavidr
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  Quote sdavidr Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10-Dec-2005 at 23:21
source: euromosaic

...

Since Grico no longer has any social influence and is not spoken spontaneously as a language of everyday communication, the general impression of all observers and, most significantly, of people from the ethnic Greek communities of Calabria, is that it will disappear within a generation, despite the fact that the initiatives taken by the various Grico cultural groups to introduce the language into the education system seems to have aroused a degree of interest in Grico among young people. This rekindling of interest, however, relates more to the value of the language as a relic of the region's past than to its value as a means of communication.

The fact is that throughout the entire territory only 2,500 people know and understand the language. Among young people and adults below the age of 35, there are only about 50 who understand the language and even fewer who can speak it, despite the fact that several Greek courses are run each year. The main cause of this terminal crisis of the Greek language in Italy have been the constant depopulation of the area since the early 20th century, universal compulsory schooling and the growing influence of communications and the mass media. This situation has been exacerbated by the lack of interest in the language among young people.


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  Quote LEGATVS LEGIONIS Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11-Dec-2005 at 01:42
tnx everyone for answering i'm really interested in this topic so yesterday i asked to a friend of mine livin in Calabria about that "Griko" language; he answered me he never heard of that before so i think nowadays just a fews old ppl can understand it
There's a specific law to defend and help those comunities who can still use this lang ( i've just seen it on the net) but i agree with sdavidr: it will disappear in a few years' time in my opinion

Hosti non solum dandam esse viam ad fugiendum, sed etiam muniendam!
(Publius Cornelius Scipio 'Africanus')

Si vis pacem para bellum!
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  Quote Perseas Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12-Dec-2005 at 07:48

The second link of Leonidas that doesnt work is this one:

http://www.geocities.com/enosi_griko/Articoli/Greek_Vernacul ar.html

A mathematician is a person who thinks that if there are supposed to be three people in a room, but five come out, then two more must enter the room in order for it to be empty.
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  Quote LEGATVS LEGIONIS Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12-Dec-2005 at 11:51
Originally posted by Aeolus

The second link of Leonidas that doesnt work is this one:

http://www.geocities.com/enosi_griko/Articoli/Greek_Vernacul ar.html


thanks, God of the Wind (= Aeolus, right?) that site is really interesting
by the way i've asked to some sicilyan friends of mine (i've known them when i was workin in the italian army some years ago) and they've told me there are no people who can speak a greek dialect in Sicily at the moment...at least that's what they think....however i was to sicily over my holidays 2 years ago and it was full of beautiful greek ruins; if u can, u have to visit Syracuse where u could see several Greek temples:it's so suggestive!
Hosti non solum dandam esse viam ad fugiendum, sed etiam muniendam!
(Publius Cornelius Scipio 'Africanus')

Si vis pacem para bellum!
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