On the island of Cyprus, divided into two parts, the official languages are Greek and Turkish. The first is adopted as an official one in the south and southeast in the Republic of Cyprus, inhabited by ethnic Greeks. The northern part of Cyprus is inhabited by ethnic Turks and occupies about 38% of the island.
Some statistics and facts
- The island of Cyprus was actually divided into three parts during the 1974 events. In addition to the Greek and Turkish zones, there are British military bases on the island, under which about 2% of the territory is given.
- Diglossia is characteristic of the Greek part of the island. This is a phenomenon, the meaning of which is the coexistence of two forms of a single language on the same territory, which their speakers use in different spheres. Often speakers of Standard Greek do not understand native Cypriot speakers here.
- The linguistic minorities of the island are mainly Arabs and Armenians. They use their native languages as a means of communication.
- Up to 40 thousand people living on the island speak Russian.
The popularity of Cyprus among residents of many countries in recent years has caused a significant influx of foreign-speaking population. There are even schools on the island where teaching is conducted in English and Italian, Armenian and Russian, French and Arabic.
Greek and local features
The language of the Greek part of Cyprus is a representative of the large Indo-European language family. Greek was supposed to be known to any educated person during the existence of the Ancient Roman Empire, because it was considered the language of culture. Ancient Greek served as the basis for the creation of terms in international vocabulary and gave many borrowings in other languages, including Russian.
The modern spoken, written and official state language of Cyprus is Modern Greek, which took shape finally in the 15th century and has roots in Ancient Greek.
Tourist notes
The indigenous population of the Greek part of the island of Cyprus is focused on working with tourists and speaks good English. In the language of international communication, the menu in the restaurants, tourist guides and maps and other information necessary for guests are designed here. At the resorts, where Russian travelers are more frequent, much is duplicated in Russian, and therefore problems with understanding on vacation usually do not arise. Local travel agencies have qualified guides who can provide an exciting excursion in Russian.
