Armenian, Maronite, and Arabic Languages in Cyprus — Minority Languages of the Island

Cyprus is officially a bilingual country: Greek and Turkish are the official languages according to the 1960 constitution. But the linguistic reality of the island is much richer. Four minority languages — Armenian, Maronite, Latins, and Roma — have preserved their languages for centuries in isolation or on the margins of mainstream history. Three of them are on the European list of endangered languages.

Cypriot Arabic (Maronite) — Probably Extinct Language

Cypriot Arabic (locally: Sanna or Sanna tou Maradh — "language of Maradh") is a form of Arabic spoken by the Cypriot Maronites — a Catholic Christian minority whose ancestors came from Syria and Lebanon between the 8th and 13th centuries. For centuries, they lived in four villages in the north of the island: Kormakitis, Asomatos, Karpasha, and Ayia Marina.

After the division of the island in 1974, all four Maronite villages ended up in the Turkish zone. Most Maronites (about 6000 people) evacuated to the south — but about 200 elders remained in Kormakitis. Today, there are about 100–130 people living there, of whom only 50–80 actively use the language.

Cypriot Arabic is linguistically unique: an Arabic dialect from the 10th–11th centuries, which for 1000 years absorbed influences from Greek, Turkish, and English — without contact with standard Arabic. The result: it is mutually unintelligible to both modern Arabic (fusha) and Lebanese Arabic. An Arabist with a freshly completed classical Arabic course in Kormakitis would understand nothing.

Since 2013, the European Union has been funding language revitalization programs — weekend schools for Maronite children from the south, dictionary recordings, digital grammar. The effectiveness of these programs is debated.

How to visit: Kormakitis (GPS: 35.277°N, 32.840°E) is located in northern Cyprus, accessible through crossing points from the south. There is a small cafe and a Maronite church in the village square.

Armenian Language in Cyprus

Cypriot Armenians (Κυπριακοί Αρμένιοι) are a community of about 3500–6000 people, a significant portion of whom have dual Armenian citizenship or have retained knowledge of the Armenian language.

The first waves of Armenians arrived in Cyprus in the 12th–13th centuries — refugees from Cilicia (Minor Armenia in today's southern Turkey) after the fall of the Armenian Crusader kingdom. Subsequent waves: after the Armenian massacres of 1894–1896 and the genocide of 1915–1923.

Today, the Armenian community is mainly concentrated in Nicosia and Limassol. It possesses:

• Armenian Church in Nicosia (Apostolic, near Bezirk 5)
• Nareg Armenian School in Nicosia — a private school with Armenian language instruction
• AYMA cultural club
• The newspaper "Aztag" (published in Beirut, but available in Cyprus)

The Armenian language used by the older generation is Western Armenian (hayeren) — a variant used by the diaspora, differing from Eastern Armenian (used in Armenia). The younger generation mainly speaks Greek, but participates in Armenian culture.

Annual Remembrance Day for the Armenian Genocide (April 24) is officially observed in Cyprus — one of the few EU countries that officially recognizes the Armenian genocide (since 1982).

Cypriot Turkish — Not Just a "Northern Minority"

Cypriot Turks (Κυπριακοί Τούρκοι) constituted about 18% of the population before 1974 and lived in mixed villages with Greeks. Their dialect (Cypriot Turkish) differs from standard Turkish analogously to the difference between Cypriot Greek dialect and standard Greek.

After 1974, the Turkish population is concentrated exclusively in the north. However, about 100,000 Cypriot Turks hold Cypriot passports (= EU passports) and many live in the south or abroad. The Turkish minority in the south is now numerically insignificant (about 200–300 permanent residents).

Cypriot Turkish preserves archaic forms from the 14th–15th centuries and vocabulary from Ottoman Turkish, which has been eliminated in Turkey by Atatürk’s reforms (lexical purges of 1928–1940). Linguists consider Cypriot Turkish to be an important archive of Ottoman language.

Cypriot Roma — Kurbeti

Cymbal (Κύμπαλοι) or Kurbeti is the name for Cypriot Roma — a minority that probably arrived on the island in the 15th–17th centuries from Asia Minor through Anatolia. Their language, Kurbetcha, is a form of Indo-Aryan Romani with intense influences from Greek and Turkish.

Population: estimates difficult to verify — about 5000–8000 people, many have integrated into the mainstream Greek or Turkish community and do not openly identify as Roma. Kurbetcha is practically a dying language — probably fewer than 500 active speakers.

Latin and Latins — a Vanished Frankish Layer

The Latin and Frankish layer left linguistic traces in Cyprus, but as a separate language community, it has disappeared. Frankish vocabulary has survived in the Cypriot Greek dialect (see article on dialect). As a separate minority — Cypriot Latins (descendants of Crusaders and merchants from the Lusignan and Venetian periods) — they integrated into the Orthodox or Maronite community in the 17th–19th centuries.

Language Policy and the EU

Cyprus is the only EU country with two official languages constitutionally (Greek and Turkish), but Turkish is an official language only on paper — the administration of the Republic of Cyprus operates in Greek and English. Turkish is practically an official language only in the north, outside the Republic.

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is not ratified by Cyprus — which is the subject of criticism from EU linguistics organizations.

Hotels and accommodation in Kormakitis or in Nicosia (for visiting the Armenian and Maronite communities) can be booked on CyprusBooker — in the Nicosia area, use the "old town" or "Nicosia center" filter.