Italiot Greek in the context of "Griko"

⭐ In the context of Griko, Italiot Greek is considered…

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Italiot Greek

Italiot Greek, also known as Italic-Greek, Salentino-Calabrian Greek or Apulia-Calabrian Greek, is a pair of varieties of Modern Greek spoken in Italy by the Griko people.

The Italiot Greek varieties are spoken in areas of southern Italy, a historical remnant of Magna Graecia. There are two small Griko-speaking communities known as the Griko people who live in the Italian regions of Calabria, the southern tip of the Italian peninsula, and in Apulia, its southeasternmost corner. These varieties too are thought to have developed on the basis of an originally Doric ancient dialect, and have preserved some elements of it, though to a lesser extent than Tsakonian. They subsequently adopted influences from ancient Koiné, but became isolated from the rest of the Greek-speaking world after the decline of Byzantine rule in Italy during the Middle Ages. Among their linguistic peculiarities, besides influences from local Romance languages, is the preservation of the infinitive, which was lost in the modern Greek of the Balkans. Like Greek dialects in Asia Minor, the adjectival syntax of demonstratives is being lost in Italiot Greek.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<

👉 Italiot Greek in the context of Griko

Griko (endonym: Griko/Γκρίκο), sometimes spelled Grico, is one of the two dialects of Italiot Greek (the other being Calabrian Greek or Grecanico), spoken by Griko people in Salento, province of Lecce, Italy. Some Greek linguists consider it to be a Modern Greek dialect and often call it Katoitaliótika (Greek: Κατωιταλιώτικα, lit.'Southern Italian') or Grekanika (Γραικάνικα). Griko and Standard Modern Greek are partially mutually intelligible.

↓ Explore More Topics
In this Dossier

Italiot Greek in the context of Calabrian Greek

Calabrian Greek (endonym: Γκρίκο, Griko; Italian: Grecanico) is the variety of Italiot Greek used by the ethnic Griko people in Calabria, as opposed to the Italiot Greek dialect spoken in the Grecìa Salentina. Both are remnants of the Ancient and Byzantine Greek colonization of the region.

Calabrian Greek is mentioned in the Red Book of UNESCO on endangered languages, together with Griko. In addition, Euromosaic analyses and recognizes it as being an endangered and minority language in the European Union. It is mentioned by Ethnologue as a dialect of Modern Greek in the sense of a modern vernacular language of the Hellenic family (as is the case with Pontic and Tsakonian Greek).

↑ Return to Menu