Cypriot Arabic, known as Cypriot Maronite Arabic, is a variety of Arabic spoken by the Maronite community of Cyprus. Most speakers are situated in the capital, Nicosia, while others are located in Kormakitis and Limassol. The majority of speakers are over 30 years of age,[1] as many in the younger generations only speak Cypriot Greek, partially because of intermarriage with ethnic Greek Cypriots.[2] The language was first introduced to the island by Maronites fleeing Syria and Lebanon in the 8th century.
[edit] Classification
Cypriot Arabic shares a large number of common features with Mesopotamian Arabic;[3] particularly the northern variety, and has been reckoned as belonging to this dialect area.[4] It also shares many traits with Levantine Arabic.[3] It is believed these common features go back to a period in which there was a dialect continuum between the Mesopotamian dialects and the Syrian dialect area.[3]
The Cypriot dialect of Arabic has also been influenced by Syriac,[5] Greek,[3] and Turkish, and in a lesser degree by French and Italian in its phonology and vocabulary, while retaining certain unusually archaic features in other respects.[6]
[edit] Transcription notes
All letters loosely represent their IPA values, with some exceptions:
[edit] Examples
| Ismi o Kumetto! Ayşo ismak l-id? |
My name is Kumetto! What is your name? |
| Ismi l-ana o Pavlo! Ayşo ismik l-idi? |
My name is Pavlo! What is your name? (fem.) |
| L-aδa aş pikulullu? |
What is his name? |
| L-ism tel l-yapati o Antoni! |
My father's name is Antoni! |
| Xmenye u tisca aşka pisawnna? |
What do eight and nine make? |
| Pisawnna caşra u sapca. |
They make seventeen |
| Aş xar kan imps? Imps kan Yamuxmis! |
What day was yesterday? Yesterday was Thursday |
| -Aş xar tte kun pukra? Pukra tte kun Yamussift! |
What day is tomorrow? Tomorrow is Saturday |
| Yamuxxat marrux fi li knise! |
On Sunday we go to church |
| Kilt xops ma zaytun, xaytċ casel u şraft xlip tel pakra! |
I ate bread with olives, some honey and drank some cow's milk |
| Ye! |
Yes! |
| La! |
No! |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
- Alexander Borg. A Comparative Glossary of Cypriot Maronite Arabic (Arabic-English). Brill 2004. ISBN 90-04-13198-1
- Alexander Borg. Cypriot Arabic Phonology. In Kaye, Alan S., editor, Phonologies of Asia and Africa (including the Caucasus), volume 1, chapter 15, pp. 219–244. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 1997. ISBN 1-57506-017-5
- Alexander Borg. Cypriot Arabic: A Historical and Comparative Investigation into the Phonology and Morphology of the Arabic Vernacular Spoken by the Maronites of Kormakiti Village in the Kyrenia District of North-Western Cyprus, Stuttgart: Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft, 1985. ISBN 3515039996
- Tsiapera, M. A Descriptive Analysis of Cypriot Maronite Arabic, The Hague: Mouton & Co., N.V., 1969.
[edit] External links
Cyprus
