Cyprus-Forum.com

[repulsewarrior]

...well said.

I have discussed the Imperialism of Language before, what little i know of it. I know that it is English which is the biggest threat to the world's ethnosphere, that this ethnosphere is being reduced by extinction at a faster rate than our ecosphere. And, that on our own little island, it is Cypriots themselves who must resolve to defend each other, because in its diversity, 'Cypriot', with its own dialects so very complex, spans cultures and languages, deserving this recognition and respect.

In the Karpas, where my family comes from, villages 4 km. away from each other, 'their' language (its tone, and phrasing) was completely different. How much i loved the sounds and the identity with it that i could discern, because with my cousin and our donkey we had fun walking and selling our vegetables, in these villages. I too was confronted with angry retorts in school because my Greek was not that which was being taught, no pleasure in this great language's diversity. (Funny, you remind me, many of our customers were Turkish, Turcophone to be exact, we knew as young lads at least how to sell, and how to make change.)

Indeed, by being "Greek" something of being Cypriot is lost, worse still with the "Turkishness" going on, because as is said, it could be racism institutionalised, never mind those as Cypriots we call Romes, and the Armenians, and the Maronite, their relics still need the (same) care of things that are alive. English which will swallow us whole, looms because we choose to dither, rather than confront what is the future...

...i see it in Quebec, the same kind of ignorance, what is the Anglophone Community reduced in social context to a second class of citizen in a "Francophone" world, to "defend" French. Truth is, except for the hardliners, (around 25%), their Community has moved on. Like the rest of the Occidental world, English, in business, is the functional language of exchange, Francophone or not. As a result, Montreal remains a cosmopolitan jewel because of its legacy, its Anglophone roots, stagnant compared to its leadership only a few decades ago, because what is its potential is ignored. Although 90% of the population are functional in French, likely 90% speak English, 40% surely speak another language because they are, neither "English", or "French", in the city. Ironically, as in Cyprus, this ability to have a Language as the Official Language which is completely transparent to English, and other languages, is never considered to have a value, potentially. Where Bits, and Bytes, are concerned (as i have also said before), an ability to provide services in (many) languages other than (only) English, opens many possibilities, where, a thought, each thought, becomes not one set of Bits and Bytes, but a whole array of these sets.

[tsukoui]

...well said.

I have discussed the Imperialism of Language before, what little i know of it. I know that it is English which is the biggest threat to the world's ethnosphere, that this ethnosphere is being reduced by extinction at a faster rate than our ecosphere. And, that on our own little island, it is Cypriots themselves who must resolve to defend each other, because in its diversity, 'Cypriot', with its own dialects so very complex, spans cultures and languages, deserving this recognition and respect.

In the Karpas, where my family comes from, villages 4 km. away from each other, 'their' language (its tone, and phrasing) was completely different. How much i loved the sounds and the identity with it that i could discern, because with my cousin and our donkey we had fun walking and selling our vegetables, in these villages. I too was confronted with angry retorts in school because my Greek was not that which was being taught, no pleasure in this great language's diversity. (Funny, you remind me, many of our customers were Turkish, Turcophone to be exact, we knew as young lads at least how to sell, and how to make change.)

Indeed, by being "Greek" something of being Cypriot is lost, worse still with the "Turkishness" going on, because as is said, it could be racism institutionalised, never mind those as Cypriots we call Romes, and the Armenians, and the Maronite, their relics still need the (same) care of things that are alive. English which will swallow us whole, looms because we choose to dither, rather than confront what is the future...

...i see it in Quebec, the same kind of ignorance, what is the Anglophone Community reduced in social context to a second class of citizen in a "Francophone" world, to "defend" French. Truth is, except for the hardliners, (around 25%), their Community has moved on. Like the rest of the Occidental world, English, in business, is the functional language of exchange, Francophone or not. As a result, Montreal remains a cosmopolitan jewel because of its legacy, its Anglophone roots, stagnant compared to its leadership only a few decades ago, because what is its potential is ignored. Although 90% of the population are functional in French, likely 90% speak English, 40% surely speak another language because they are, neither "English", or "French", in the city. Ironically, as in Cyprus, this ability to have a Language as the Official Language which is completely transparent to English, and other languages, is never considered to have a value, potentially. Where Bits, and Bytes, are concerned (as i have also said before), an ability to provide services in (many) languages other than (only) English, opens many possibilities, where, a thought, each thought, becomes not one set of Bits and Bytes, but a whole array of these sets.

Cyprus will start teaching Cypriot in schools when Cuba starts teaching Yoruba.

Don't let them fool ya, or even try to school ya, oh no

Let us teach Turkish on TV on the Internet and in School, when we have mastered it we will still have our dialects to defend us!

[Paphitis]

Personally, I believe that the Cypriot Education System is in urgent need of radical change.

Greek and Turkish should be abolished full stop. The more we separate ourselves from anything Greek or Turkish the better!

We are Cypriot end of. Abolish the ridiculous and pointless languages of Greek and Turkish and teach only English, French, German, and Chinese.

Once we start pumping the Gas we could import and employ German, and English teachers from Britain and Germany.

[repulsewarrior]

...and why not. In Manitoba Ukrainian represents a second language; laws and regulations are published in this language, so too traffic violations. The Sikhs broadcast hockey across Canada on National TV, the Chinese have a Culture and History in Canada that is Canadian, that they sustain, and promote. PEI is as English, as Quebec is French, NB is bilingual (truly, it is typical to hear, Hello-Bonjour, as a greeting, there), what of the Metis, the Acadiens? And let us not forget the Native People who also sustain as a Nation their Heritance within a Canadian State. Indeed, what do they, the teachers, teach us in school, if not to survive, to reason, to have the capacity to adapt, and in a manner where every student has the same respect toward each other as they do for themselves, in Canada.

Regardless, in this world, to think for yourself is essential, whether there is comfort found in the many as a Person, whatever that might mean. And what is wrong with English, nothing really, but while 90% of us around the globe use it, and speak it, let's not also forget that 90% of us have a mother tongue, other than English.

We want our Government to be facilitators for our social-exchange. I suggest that in a case like Cyprus, we can focus on our own abilities with many languages. If Greek, and/or Turkish, are the centre of this work then imagine; a person (a 'foreigner' if you will) by learning one of these Official Languages, in Cyprus, has opened himself to a wide range of languages in which they can engage, because from this language which translates perfectly to so many others, it is so through an intention, and the effort to develop this skill institutionally, (eg. Yoruba to Greek/Turkish, and from there, to English as well as a whole range of languages), 'Language' wise, people all over the world could recognise Cypriots: this is the future, in my Cyprus.

...something useful for many, so doing our dialect defends us, as you say, tsukoui.

[DrCyprus]

Most of us don't have a problem with our identity.

You don't represent anyone but yourself, and using the words 'us' and 'our' is part of an illusion you impose on yourself.

Stop wrecking Cyprus with your own insecurities

The ones with insecurities are the codependent Cypriots who feel they need to cede their sovereignity and land to Greece and Turkey respectively. What I'm saying is that I can stand my ground and be part of the Greek nation without having to give my taxes to Athens and call my language a 'village dialect'.

because as GR! says, you will have the Turks, who never question theirs, soon obliterate ours!

Scaremongering piffle I say. First of all, I never questioned the Greekness of Greek Cypriots. Second of all, any visit to a Turkish forum will prove otherwise. Reading the posts of many of our TC here will also prove otherwise.

Who cares what dialect of Greek you speak? There are as many dialects as there are towns!

Yes, there are many dialects of the Greek Cypriot language in Cyprus. The Greek Cypriot language is a direct descendant of Byzantine Koine Greek and is an equal to the mainland modern Greek developed or rather destroyed by Adamantios Korais.

[erolz66]

Most of us don't have a problem with our identity. Stop wrecking Cyprus with your own insecurities because as GR! says, you will have the Turks, who never question theirs, soon obliterate ours!

Yet here I am - A Cypriot, by law and in every and any other way, who repeatedly chooses to be and define themselves as Cypriot, yet all you can do is label me Turkish. That is your problem with identity.

[GreekIslandGirl]

If you live in the turkish occupied area and openly support the right to do so under the auspices of the turkish military that keeps 200,000 natives away, then you can call yourself whatever you like (puppet), but you are not a Cypriot for any reason other than political expediency. In other words you're the worst of mankind, aren't you?

What's more, to use the Turkish army to force us to abandon our Greek heritage, to destroy it willfully, and then turn round and say we are all 'cypriot' is the height of obnoxious strategy!

And finally, before I go and do something more worthwhile, how on earth are those TCs who only came to Cyprus because they can now live in the occupied areas any different to the similarly settled/colonising Anatolians?

[cypriotnado]

And all this venom from someone who calls herself a Greek???

[cypriotnado]

Oh and .....hic

[Sotos]

The average Cypriot constantly FAILS to understand that the world hasn’t got the time or the interest to go over some complex story about some ancient “Greek” arrivals thousands of years ago and how you are somehow related to all that so quit SHOOTING yourselves in the foot!

My post didn't touch any Mycenaean history but rather alluded to our Eastern Grecoroman language and culture whilst I was speaking on our language.

Your story TAXED my brain and if I were a judge in a court of law about to decide on who owns the rock, I’d hand it over to the person who came up with the short and sweet story like…"Hey, I saw the confused and abandoned rock in 1571 and grabbed it" instead of someone lost in some ancient trance of mythology!

That is why you are simpleton and not a judge