www.talkcyprus.org

[Bullika]

I guess this topic is aimed at analysing the causes, circumstances and results of language endangerment in Northern Cyprus, in other words that of Gibrizlija.
What do you feel are the main reasons for this?
social conditions? a natural phenomena? or just cultural oppression? or is Gibrizlija too slovenly and just not worth saving?

And lastly what effects of public policy by the Turkish Cypriot government are in favour of the survival of Gibrizlija if any?

[Crash Test Dummy]

It is in a sense useless. To expand your horizons you need to be able to communicate. Turkish makes sense and so does English but Turkish Cypriot is only usefull for village life (just like the proper village greek in Cyprus).


If Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is anything like Cyprus then village people are viewed as peasants by city folk. Therefore the village people try to speak more perfect Greek.

[Bullika]

yes but isnt this wrong? should nt people feel comfortablke to be themselves and speak their own language? it reminds me of Victorian attempts to wipe out Welsh, many Welsh pupils attending English schools were humiliated if they dared utter a word in their own language, now they want to revitalize WElsh but its too late.

[Crash Test Dummy]

MEHMET_OSMAN_KKTC wrote: yes but isnt this wrong? should nt people feel comfortablke to be themselves and speak their own language? it reminds me of Victorian attempts to wipe out Welsh, many Welsh pupils attending English schools were humiliated if they dared utter a word in their own language, now they want to revitalize WElsh but its too late.


If peopel wanted to keep it alive they would of. They realised it was not worth knowing so they stopped.

[Bullika]

but I think attitudes are changing Crash Test Dummy as more newspapers are writing a section in Gibrizlija and I know people who try to speak Gibrizlija instead of Turkish.

[Crash Test Dummy]

By all means if there is a demand for it the Gov. should fund it.

[Bullika]

But we know that the Denktash govt were not too keen on this as they were very nationalistic (pan-turkic) and would have rather seen it die. But with Talat we have new hope.

[Dhavlos]

well, to a certain extent, it is a development of the culture, if things change it cannot be stoped.

Maybe kibrizlija can be what south-american spanish is to mainlandSpain. Ie, when you learnspanish, you learn the differrences of construction etc... with the americas...maybe that kind of approach could be incorporated in learning kibrizlija?