Griko, sometimes spelled Grico, is the dialect of Italiot Greek spoken by Griko people in Salento (province of Lecce) and (also called Grecanic[2][3][4][5][6]) in Calabria. Some Greek linguists consider it to be a Modern Greek dialect and often call it Katoitaliótika (Greek: Κατωιταλιώτικα, "Southern Italian") or Grekanika (Γραικάνικα), whereas its own speakers call it Greko (Γκραίκο or Calabrian Greek, in Calabria) or Griko (Γκρίκο, in Salento). Griko is spoken in Salento while Greko is spoken in Calabria. Griko and Standard Modern Greek are partially mutually intelligible.[7]
The most popular hypothesis on the origin of Griko is the one by Gerhard Rohlfs[8] and Georgios Hatzidakis, that Griko's roots go as far back in history as the time of the ancient Greek colonies in Southern Italy and Sicily in the eighth century BC. The Southern Italian dialect is thus 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 Koine Greek, like almost all other Modern Greek dialects.[9] Thus, Griko should rather be described as a Doric-influenced descendant of Medieval Greek spoken by those who fled the Byzantine Empire to Italy trying to escape the Turks. 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.[10]
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. The Greek musical ensemble Encardia focuses on Griko songs as well as on the musical tradition of Southern Italy at large.[13][14]
Samples
Sample text from Καληνύφτα – Kalinifta ("Good night") and Andramu pai, popular Griko songs:
Griko
Modern Greek
English Translation
Καληνύφτα - kali'nifta
Καληνύχτα - kali'nixta
Good night
Εβώ πάντα σε σένα πενσέω, γιατί σένα φσυχή μου 'γαπώ, τσαι που πάω, που σύρνω, που στέω στην καρδία,[15] μου πάντα σένα βαστῶ.
Εγώ πάντα εσένα σκέφτομαι, γιατί εσένα ψυχή μου αγαπώ, και όπου πάω, όπου σέρνομαι, όπου στέκομαι,[16] στην καρδιά μου πάντα εσένα βαστώ.
I always think of you because I love you, my soul, and wherever I go, wherever I drag myself to, wherever I stand, inside my heart I always hold you.
[eˈvo ˈpanta se ˈsena penˈseo jaˈti ˈsena fsiˈhi mu ɣaˈpo tɕe pu ˈpao pu ˈsirno pu ˈsteo stin karˈdia[15] mu ˈpanta ˈsena vasˈto]
[eˈɣo ˈpanda eˈsena ˈsceftome ʝaˈti eˈsena psiˈçi mu aɣaˈpo ce ˈopu ˈpao ˈopu ˈserno[me] ˈopu ˈsteko[me][16] stin ɡarˈðʝa mu ˈpanda eˈsena vaˈsto]
^N. Vincent, Italian, in B. Comrie (ed.) The world's major languages, London, Croom Helm, 1981. pp. 279-302.
^F. Violi, Lessico Grecanico-Italiano-Grecanico, Apodiafàzzi, Reggio Calabria, 1997.
^Paolo Martino, L'isola grecanica dell'Aspromonte. Aspetti sociolinguistici, 1980. Risultati di un'inchiesta del 1977
^Filippo Violi, Storia degli studi e della letteratura popolare grecanica, C.S.E. Bova (RC), 1992
^Filippo Condemi, Grammatica Grecanica, Coop. Contezza, Reggio Calabria, 1987;
^In Salento e Calabria le voci della minoranza linguistica greca | Treccani, il portale del sapere
^Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices
^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.
^Law no. 482 of 1999 2015-05-12 at the Wayback Machine: "La Repubblica tutela la lingua e la cultura delle popolazioni albanesi, catalane, germaniche, greche, slovene e croate e di quelle parlanti il francese, il franco-provenzale, il friulano, il ladino, l'occitano e il sardo."
^Evans, Lisa (2011-04-15). "Endangered languages: the full list". The Guardian. from the original on 2013-08-01.
^. Archived from the original on 2016-01-20. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
^Tsatsou, Marianna (April 22, 2012). "Charity Concert Collects Medicine and Milk Instead of Selling Tickets". Greek Reporter. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
^ abOften, in actual performances of the song, synizesis takes place on the two final syllables of καρδία (/kar.'di.a/ > /kar.dja/) corresponding to Standard Modern Greek καρδιά/kar.'ðʝa/ (< καρδία/kar.'ði.a/).
^ ab The verbs "σέρνομαι" and "στέκομαι" are in passive forms but the active forms "σέρνω" (transl. el – transl. serno) and [especially] "στέκω" (transl. el – transl. steko) of the respective verbs can be used with "passive meaning" in modern Greek.
Oria mou rodinedda, folk song of the Griko-speaking communities of southern Italy, by Eleni & Souzana Vougioukli
January 13, 2023
griko, language, griko, sometimes, spelled, grico, dialect, italiot, greek, spoken, griko, people, salento, province, lecce, also, called, grecanic, calabria, some, greek, linguists, consider, modern, greek, dialect, often, call, katoitaliótika, greek, Κατωιτα. Griko sometimes spelled Grico is the dialect of Italiot Greek spoken by Griko people in Salento province of Lecce and also called Grecanic 2 3 4 5 6 in Calabria Some Greek linguists consider it to be a Modern Greek dialect and often call it Katoitaliotika Greek Katwitaliwtika Southern Italian or Grekanika Graikanika whereas its own speakers call it Greko Gkraiko or Calabrian Greek in Calabria or Griko Gkriko in Salento Griko is spoken in Salento while Greko is spoken in Calabria Griko and Standard Modern Greek are partially mutually intelligible 7 GrikoGkraiko GkrikoNative toItalyRegionSalento CalabriaEthnicityGriko peopleNative speakers 20 000 cited 1981 1 40 000 to 50 000 L2 speakersLanguage familyIndo European HellenicGreekAttic Ionic Disputed Doric Disputed Italiot GreekGrikoWriting systemGreek alphabet Latin alphabetOfficial statusRecognised minoritylanguage in Italy ApuliaLanguage codesISO 639 3 GlottologNoneapul1236 Apulia Calabrian GreekELPGrikoLinguasphere56 AAA aiaLocation map of the Italiot speaking areas in Salento and Calabria Contents 1 Classification 2 Geographic distribution 3 Official status 4 Culture 4 1 Samples 5 Phonology 6 See also 7 Notes and references 8 Further reading 9 External linksClassification EditThe most popular hypothesis on the origin of Griko is the one by Gerhard Rohlfs 8 and Georgios Hatzidakis that Griko s roots go as far back in history as the time of the ancient Greek colonies in Southern Italy and Sicily in the eighth century BC The Southern Italian dialect is thus 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 Koine Greek like almost all other Modern Greek dialects 9 Thus Griko should rather be described as a Doric influenced descendant of Medieval Greek spoken by those who fled the Byzantine Empire to Italy trying to escape the Turks 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 10 Geographic distribution EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Griko language news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Two small Italiot Greek speaking communities survive today in the Italian regions of Calabria Metropolitan city of Reggio Calabria and Apulia Province of Lecce The Italiot Greek speaking area of Apulia comprises nine small towns in the Grecia Salentina region Calimera Martano Castrignano de Greci Corigliano d Otranto Melpignano Soleto Sternatia Zollino Martignano with a total of 40 000 inhabitants The Calabrian Greek region also consists of nine villages in Bovesia including Bova Superiore Roghudi Galliciano Chorio di Roghudi and Bova Marina and four districts in the city of Reggio Calabria but its population is significantly smaller with around only 2000 inhabitants Official status EditBy Law 482 of 1999 the Italian parliament recognized the Griko communities of Reggio Calabria and Salento as a Greek ethnic and linguistic minority It states that the Republic protects the language and culture of its Albanian Catalan Germanic Greek Slovene and Croat populations and of those who speak French Franco Provencal Friulian Ladin Occitan and Sardinian 11 According to UNESCO data from 2011 the two dialects of Griko are classified as severely endangered languages 12 Culture EditThere 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 Aramire Also influential Greek artists such as Dionysis Savvopoulos and Maria Farantouri have performed in Griko The Greek musical ensemble Encardia focuses on Griko songs as well as on the musical tradition of Southern Italy at large 13 14 Samples Edit Sample text from Kalhnyfta Kalinifta Good night and Andramu pai popular Griko songs Griko Modern Greek English TranslationKalhnyfta kali nifta Kalhnyxta kali nixta Good nightEbw panta se sena pensew giati sena fsyxh moy gapw tsai poy paw poy syrnw poy stewsthn kardia 15 moy panta sena bastῶ Egw panta esena skeftomai giati esena psyxh moy agapw kai opoy paw opoy sernomai opoy stekomai 16 sthn kardia moy panta esena bastw I always think of youbecause I love you my soul and wherever I go wherever I drag myself to wherever I stand inside my heart I always hold you eˈvo ˈpanta se ˈsena penˈseojaˈti ˈsena fsiˈhi mu ɣaˈpotɕe pu ˈpao pu ˈsirno pu ˈsteostin karˈdia 15 mu ˈpanta ˈsena vasˈto eˈɣo ˈpanda eˈsena ˈsceftomeʝaˈti eˈsena psiˈci mu aɣaˈpoce ˈopu ˈpao ˈopu ˈserno me ˈopu ˈsteko me 16 stin ɡarˈdʝa mu ˈpanda eˈsena vaˈsto Griko Modern Greek English TranslationἌndra moῦ paei Andramu pai Ὁ ἄndras moῦ paei O andras mou pai My husband is goneStὲ koyw tὴ mpanta tsaὶ stὲ koyw ἦtto sonoStew ἐttoῦ ma sa tsaὶ stὲ pensew stὸ treno Pensew stὸ skoteino tsaὶ ἤtth miniera poῦ polemwnta ἐtsei pesainei ὁ geno Ἀkoyw tὴn mpanta ἀkoyw tὴ moysikhEἶmai ἐdὼ mazi sas mὰ skeftomai tὸ trenoSkeftomai tὸ skotadi kaὶ tὸ ὀryxeῖoὅpoy doyleyontas pe8ainei ὁ kosmos I hear the band I hear the musicI m here with you but I think of the trainI think of darkness and the minewhere people work and die Ste kuo ti baⁿda ce ste kuo itto sono steo et tu ma sa ce ste penseo sto treno penseo sto skotino citti minierapu polemonta eci peseni o jeno Akuo ti banda akuo ti musikiime edho mazi sas ma skeftome to trenoskeftome to skotadhi kai to orihioopu doulevontas petheni o kosmos Phonology EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Griko language news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Consonants Labial Dental Postalveolar DorsalStop p b t d k ɡNasal m n ɲTrill rFricative f v 8 s ʃ xApproximant lVowels Front BackHigh i uMid e oLow aSee also EditHellenic languages Calabrian Greek dialect Griko peopleNotes and references Edit N Vincent Italian in B Comrie ed The world s major languages London Croom Helm 1981 pp 279 302 F Violi Lessico Grecanico Italiano Grecanico Apodiafazzi Reggio Calabria 1997 Paolo Martino L isola grecanica dell Aspromonte Aspetti sociolinguistici 1980 Risultati di un inchiesta del 1977 Filippo Violi Storia degli studi e della letteratura popolare grecanica C S E Bova RC 1992 Filippo Condemi Grammatica Grecanica Coop Contezza Reggio Calabria 1987 In Salento e Calabria le voci della minoranza linguistica greca Treccani il portale del sapere Hammarstrom 2015 Ethnologue 16 17 18th editions a comprehensive review online appendices 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 Law no 482 of 1999 Archived 2015 05 12 at the Wayback Machine La Repubblica tutela la lingua e la cultura delle popolazioni albanesi catalane germaniche greche slovene e croate e di quelle parlanti il francese il franco provenzale il friulano il ladino l occitano e il sardo Evans Lisa 2011 04 15 Endangered languages the full list The Guardian Archived from the original on 2013 08 01 Website of Encardia Archived from the original on 2016 01 20 Retrieved 2016 02 17 Tsatsou Marianna April 22 2012 Charity Concert Collects Medicine and Milk Instead of Selling Tickets Greek Reporter Retrieved 31 December 2016 a b Often in actual performances of the song synizesis takes place on the two final syllables of kardia kar di a gt kar dja corresponding to Standard Modern Greek kardia kar dʝa lt kardia kar di a a b The verbs sernomai and stekomai are in passive forms but the active forms sernw transl el transl serno and especially stekw transl el transl steko of the respective verbs can be used with passive meaning in modern Greek Further reading EditH F Tozer The Greek Speaking Population of Southern Italy The Journal of Hellenic Studies Vol 10 1889 pp 11 42 External links EditOn the Brink Griko A Language of Resistance and Celebration Cultural Survival Franco st Anguria Lo Schiacuddhi Two plays performed in the local Greek dialect of Choriana Corigliano d Otranto Glossa Grika o Griko Derentino in Griko Italian Standard Greek and French Enosi Griko Coordination of Grecia Salentina Associations Italian Greek and English Pos Matome Griko in Italian Greek and English Grecia Salentina Archived 2021 08 28 at the Wayback Machine official site in Italian Gaze On The Sea Salentine Peninsula Greece and Greater Greece in Italian Greek and English English Griko dictionary Kalinifta by Ghetonia Oria mou rodinedda folk song of the Griko speaking communities of southern Italy by Eleni amp Souzana Vougioukli Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Griko language amp oldid 1132778294, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
