Last Chance to Record Archaic Greek Language ‘Heading for Extinction’
Last Chance to Record Archaic Greek Language ‘Heading for Extinction’
A groundbreaking crowdsourcing platform is set to preserve Romeyka, a millennia-old Greek dialect, considered a linguistic treasure trove and a living link to ancient times
The Romeyka language, an ancient Greek dialect on the verge of disappearing, is the focus of a new initiative led by Professor Ioanna Sitaridou of Queens' College and the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics. This project aligns with the UN's International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-32), which seeks to bring attention to the plight of endangered languages and rally resources for their preservation and revitalization.
The Urgency of Preservation
In Turkey’s Trabzon region, Romeyka is spoken by only a few thousand people. The exact number of speakers is challenging to determine due to the presence of heritage speakers in the diaspora and the ongoing shift to the Turkish language. Romeyka lacks a written system and has been transmitted orally across generations. Factors such as extensive contact with Turkish, socio-cultural stigma, migration, and the absence of support for inter-generational transmission have led to its decline. Most native speakers are over 65, and fewer young people are learning the language.
Crowdsourcing for Language Preservation
To combat this decline, the newly launched trilingual Crowdsourcing Romeyka platform invites the global public to upload audio recordings of Romeyka being spoken. Professor Sitaridou explains,
"Speech crowdsourcing is a new tool which helps speakers build a repository of spoken data for their endangered languages while allowing researchers to document these languages.”
This platform, designed by Harvard undergraduate Matthew Nazari, aims to create a lasting archive of Romeyka, fostering appreciation for linguistic heritage and aiding in identity recognition.
Unveiling New Findings
Coinciding with the platform’s launch, Professor Sitaridou is presenting significant new findings about Romeyka’s development and grammar at an exhibition in Greece. Her research indicates that Romeyka descends from Hellenistic Greek, distinguishing it from other Modern Greek dialects. Sitaridou challenges the notion that Modern Greek is an isolate languag,
"Romeyka is a sister, rather than a daughter, of Modern Greek."
Historical Context and New Fieldwork Sites
The Greek presence in the Black Sea region dates back to the 6th century BCE, with Greek colonization and the spread of Greek through Christianization. The region adopted Christianity early, with the Soumela monastery founded in 386 CE. Despite the fall of Trebizond to the Ottomans in 1461 and subsequent conversion to Islam, some valleys retained Romeyka, preserving its archaic features.
Professor Sitaridou’s recent fieldwork in Tonya, a previously unstudied area, revealed significant grammatical variations, indicating different patterns of Islamisation. These findings, soon to be published, showcase differences in syntax and negation systems between Tonya and other Romeyka-speaking regions.
The Cultural Significance of Romeyka
The 1923 Greco-Turkish population exchange forced Greek-speaking Christians of Pontus to relocate to Greece, while Romeyka-speaking Muslim communities remained in Trabzon. This historical event explains why Romeyka is still spoken in small enclaves. However, speakers are often reluctant to identify with Romeyka due to nationalistic pressures in both Turkey and Greece. Professor Sitaridou's research has raised awareness and stimulated preservation efforts, including a new course on Pontic Greek at the Democritus University of Thrace.
A Romeyka Speaker’s Perspective
Reflecting on her interactions with Professor Sitaridou, Mrs. Havva Sarı, a Romeyka speaker, expressed sadness over the language’s decline.
"Our jokes, our cries, and our folk songs are all in the Romeyka language. I raised my children in this language because I did not have another language."
Sarı's comments highlight the deep cultural significance of Romeyka to its speakers.
Exhibition at Mohamed Ali’s Historical House in Kavala
The Romeyka exhibition runs at the MOHA Research Centre in Kavala, Greece, from 29 March to 28 April 2024. Featuring archival material from Exeter College, Oxford, and the British School of Athens, along with photographs and video from Sitaridou’s fieldwork, the exhibition aims to generate reflections on endangered heritages, fragmented identities, and the dynamics of language loss.
Preservation of Heritage Languages
Raising the status of minority and heritage languages is crucial for social cohesion worldwide. Professor Sitaridou notes,
"When speakers can speak their home languages, they feel 'seen' and thus more connected to society.”
This ethos is also present in her new AHRC-funded project documenting Sri Lanka Portuguese among Afrodescent communities in Sri Lanka.
Preserving Romeyka and other endangered languages is not just about saving words but about maintaining cultural identities and histories. The Crowdsourcing Romeyka platform represents a vital step in this ongoing effort, offering hope that this linguistic goldmine can be saved for future generations.