Griko language
| Griko | ||
|---|---|---|
| Κατωιταλιώτικα Katoitaliótika | ||
| Spoken in | Italy | |
| Region | Southern, east of Reggio, Salento and Aspromonte | |
| Total speakers | 20,000[1] | |
| Language family | Indo-European | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1 | None | |
| ISO 639-2 | – | |
| ISO 639-3 | – | |
|
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| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
Griko, sometimes spelled Grico, is a form of the Greek language which is spoken by people in the Magna Graecia region in southern Italy. The Greeks consider it as a Modern Greek dialect and often call it Katoitaliotika (Greek: Κατωιταλιώτικα, "Southern Italian") or Grekanika (Γραικάνικα). Griko and Standard Modern Greek are mutually intelligible to some extent.
Classification
The most popular hypothesis on the origin of Griko is the one by Gerhard Rohlfs[2] and Georgios Hatzidakis, stating that Griko's roots go as far back in history as the time of the ancient Greek colonisation of Southern Italy and Sicily in the 8th century BC, and in that respect, this Southern Italian dialect is considered to be the last living trace of the Greek elements that once formed Magna Graecia.
There are, however, competing hypotheses according to which Griko may have preserved some Doric elements, but its structure is otherwise mostly based on mainstream Koiné Greek like almost all other Modern Greek dialects.[3] Thus, Griko should rather be described as a Doric-influenced descendant of Byzantine Greek. The idea of Southern Italy's Greek dialects being historically derived from Medieval Greek was proposed for the first time in the 19th century by Giuseppe Morosi.[4]
Geographic distribution
Two small Griko-speaking communities survive today in the Italian regions of Calabria (Province of Reggio Calabria) and Puglia (peninsula of Salento). The Griko-speaking area of Salento comprises nine small towns in the Grecìa Salentina region (Calimera, Martano, Castrignano de' Greci, Corigliano d'Otranto, Melpignano, Soleto, Sternatia, Zollino, Martignano), with a total of 40,000 inhabitants. The Calabrian Griko region also consists of nine villages in Bovesia, and four districts in the city of Reggio Calabria, but its population is significantly smaller.
Official status
The Italian parliament has recognized the Griko community of Salento as an ethnic and linguistic minority, under the name of "Minoranze linguistiche Grike dell'Etnia Griko-Salentina" (linguistic minority of the Griko-Salentinian ethnicity).
Culture
There is rich oral tradition and Griko folklore. Griko songs, music and poetry are particularly popular in Italy and Greece. Famous music groups from Salento include Ghetonia and Aramirè. Also, influential Greek artists such as Dionysis Savvopoulos and Maria Farantouri have performed in Griko.
Sample
Sample text from Καληνύφτα - Kalinifta "good night", a popular Griko song:
Griko
- Εβώ πάντα σε σένα πενσέω,
- γιατί σένα φσυκή μου 'γαπώ,
- τσαι που πάω, που σύρνω, που στέω
- στην καρδιά μου πάντα σένα βαστώ.
transliteration:
- Evo panta se sena pensèo,
- yiatì sena fsichi mou ghapò,
- ce pou pao, pou syrno, pou steo
- stin kardià mou panta sena vastò.
Modern Greek
- Εγώ πάντα εσένα σκέφτομαι,
- γιατί εσένα ψυχή μου αγαπώ,
- και όπου πάω, όπου σέρνομαι, όπου στέκω,
- στην καρδιά μου πάντα εσένα βαστώ.
transliteration:
- Ego panda esena skeftomai,
- yiati esena psihi mou agapo,
- kai opou pao, opou sernomai, opou steko
- stin kardia mou panda esena vasto.
English Translation
- I always think of you
- because I love you, my soul,
- and wherever I go, wherever I drag myself into, wherever I stay,
- I always hold you inside my heart.
Notes and references
- ^ N. Vincent, Italian, in B. Comrie (ed.) The world's major languages, London, Croom Helm, 1981. p.p.279-302.
- ^ G. Rohlfs, Griechen und Romanen in Unteritalien, 1924.
- ^ G. Horrocks, Greek: A history of the language and its speakers, London: Longman. 1997. Ch. 4.4.3 and 14.2.3.
- ^ G. Morosi, Studi sui dialetti greci della terra d'Otranto, Lecce, 1870.
See also
External links
- Grika milume! An online Griko community
- Enosi Griko, Coordination of Grecìa Salentina Associations
- Grecìa Salentina official site (in Italian)
- Salento Griko (in Italian)
- English-Griko dictionary
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