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Modern Greek in Asia Minor

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2013

R. M. Dawkins
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Extract

This paper is the result of some six weeks' local study of the dialects of the Greek-speaking villages of Cappadocia and of the village of Silli near Konia in the summer of 1909. The account below of the more important books shows that a good deal has already been written on the subject, but the material is very scattered and incomplete, and does not do more than suggest a great many unanswered questions, nor does it touch more than a few of the villages. Besides giving an account of the dialects, I have therefore tried to smooth the way for future workers by collecting and setting in order this already published material.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Hellenic Studies , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , 1910 , pp. 109 - 132
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies 1910

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References

1 The following signs occur in this paper :—ü, ö, for the modified u and o as in German. The diaeresis is used only on the Greek α and ι.

according to Modern Greek practice is the English y.

y is used to represent the Turkish vowel of the series y, u, i, ü, which follows a or y.

q represents the Turkish qaf, and ‘the Turkish 'ain.

ὄ σ᾿´ σ᾿´ Ζ᾿´ ζ᾿´ are the English sounds ch, j, sh, and the s in measure respectively.

ν᾿ and λ᾿ represent n and l mouillé.

ρ and ụ represent the velar nasal (the n in finger).

ch is the Modern Greek χ.

Greek letters are pronounced as in Modern Greek.

The usual Greek accents are used, but only on words actually accented. Thus many words traditionally written with an accent (νά, the article, etc.) are left unaccented. An additional grave accent ou a word marks the secondary accent; ους τὸν διδάσκαλον αὐτῶν ἤσιλ ἰσκι ἤθελε του λάσκαρήν

2 For a bibliography of Pontie, on which much has been written, but not well, see Meyer's, G.Neugr. Studien, i. p. 88Google Scholar. To this now add Oekonomides, D. E., Lautlehre des Pontisehen, Leipzig, 1908Google Scholar.

3 Historical Geogr. of Asia Minor, pp. 57, 267.

4 Cumont, , Studia Pontica, ii. p. 296Google Scholar.

5 Καρ. p. 31. No great weight should be attached to this opinion on the character of the dialect.

6 Καρ p. 170.

7 Neugr. aus Kleinasien, p. 25.

8 ibid. pp. 39, 40, and Καρ. 31.

9 Βαλαβάνης Μικρασιατικά pp. 134–139.

10 For common points between this dialect and that of Siili see §§7 and 14 below. An account of it is given in Βατταρισμοί ἤτοι λεξιλόγιον τῆς Λειβγσιακῆς διαλέκτου ὐπὸ M. I. Μουσαίου Athens, 1880. This book, the only published source for the dialect, and, unless some further local researches be made, its sole monument to posterity, was written by a local schoolmaster with the curiously different object of destroying it altogether, by giving liis pupils an easy means of correcting their native speech, the forms of which he prints in parallel columns with those of the purified language.

11 Twenty-one songs from Bithynia, with the names of the villages, are included in the collection published in the Βιβλιοθήκη Μαρασλῆ under the title 260 Δημώδη Ελληνικὰ Αἴσματα κ.τ.λ. συλλεγέντα καὶ παρασημαθέντα ὐπὸ Γεωρ γιου Δ. Παχτικου Εν Αθήναισ 1905. But, as the author very truly says (p. κζ), songs do not give a faithful representation of the local dialect. I know of no other published material except proverbs in Politis (Παροιμίαι) quoted by Kretschmer, Der heut. Lesb. Dial. p. 18)Google Scholar, from which it appears that unaccented i is dropped.

12 Neugriechische Studien, i. p. 86, Wien, 1894, in Sitzungsberichte d. Kais. Akad. d. Wissenschaften in Wien, Philosophisch-Historische Classe, Band cxxx. This adds a few less important references.

13 Chatzidhakis has reprinted his valuable review of this in Μεσαιωνικὰ καὶ Νέα Ἑλληνίκά, ii. pp. 532–544.

14 Also published separately as Γλωσσάριον συγκριτικὸν Ελληνοκαππαδοκικῶν λέξεων ἤτοι ἠ ἐν Καππαδοκίᾳ κ.τ.λ. Smyrna, 1885.

15 Kiepert, , Memoir über die Construction der Karte von Kleinasien, p. 185Google Scholar.

16 I have not traced this reference.

17 As to Karolidhis' thesis I cannot do better than quote from Kretschmer, , Die Griech. Sprache, p. 399Google Scholar: ‘Karolidis hat in dem heute nördlich des Tauros gesprochenen griechischen Dialekt eine Reihe von Elementen entdeckt, welche sich aus dem Griechischen nicht deuten lassen, und die er deshalb auf die alt-Kappadokische Landessprache zurückführt: das ist möglich, jedenfalls nicht widerlegbar, aber seine Etymologien, auf Grund deren er das Kappadokische für eine arische, dem Phrygisehen verwandte Sprache erklärt, sind nichts weniger als zwingend.’ Chatzidhakis has reviewed Karolidhis, and shewn that many of his ‘Cappadocian’ words are found in other Modern Greek dialects. Our ignorance of ancient Cappadocian is a prime factor in the problem, which is passed over by Karolidhis.

18 Σιν. p. 144.

19 B.C.H. 1909, p. 148.

20 Thus at Viza in Thrace, with a mixed population of Turks and Greek-speaking Christians, the women generally know only Greek, but all the men are bilingual.

21 It is hard to see why Archelaos, Σιν p. 126)Google Scholar should say that there is danger of the Greek dialect disappearing at Axo.

22 Just as the Armenians write Turkish in Armenian characters.

23 The very word for reading (διαβάζω) has been lost in that sense, and as the only reading known was the singing of the church services, the dialects all use the same verb (ψάλλω, locally ψαλίσκω, etc.) for both chanting and reading. Even to read to oneself is still ψάλλω

24 Lagarde, , Neugr. aus Kleinasien, p. 4Google Scholar, says expressly on the authority of Karolidhis that the translation is not from the Greek but from a Turkish version.

25 The only other dialect, so far as I know, which has this weakening of unaccented e and o, without at the same time dropping unaccented i and u, is that of Leivisi in Lycia. See Μουσαῖος Βατταρισμοί passim.

26 Cf. § 14 and Σιν. p. 144.

27 Thus Archelaos (Σιν. p. 144) gives the gen. of ἀρτουπους ἄνθρωποσ as ἄρτουπουτ and the gen. pi. as ἄρτουπουρουτ which is really the acc., very probably, as often in Modern Greek, used for the gen., with the article of the following word.

28 For the same thing at Pharasa see Grégoire, , B.C.H. 1909, p. 156Google Scholar.

29 A few examples from various dialects are νύπνος ὔπονς Νιο Ιος νήλιος ἤλιος νῶμος ω ᾿῀μοσ

30 Cf. the act. endings of the aor. pass. in the Poutak Ovasi, § 75.

31 It is doubtful if there is any real distinction between χαστἄισου and χαστάσισου χα στάσ᾿´μου and χαστάὄιμου

32 From gelmek, to come.

33 Dr. Menardos suggests that this κι is not καὶ but ἐκεῖ

34 Meyer, G., Neugr. Studien, iii. p. 63Google Scholar.

35 Ibid. iv. p. 17. Βέρα Ring.

36 Ibid. iv. p. 66. Ντίπου Di piu.

37 Ibid. iv. p. 83. Σκρόφα Sau.

38 Grégoire, , B.C.H. 1909, p. 154Google Scholar, who compares also defendεύω, applicεύω, etc. See also Meyer, Netugr. Stud. iii. for such words.

39 Menardos, , Φωνητικὴ τῆς διαλέκτου τῶν σημερινῶν Κυπρίων Ἀθηνᾶ, vi. p. 171Google Scholar.