Griko (endonym: /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.[F. Violi, Lessico Grecanico-Italiano-Grecanico, Apodiafàzzi, Reggio Calabria, 1997.][Paolo Martino, L'isola grecanica dell'Aspromonte. Aspetti sociolinguistici, 1980. Risultati di un'inchiesta del 1977][Filippo Violi, Storia degli studi e della letteratura popolare grecanica, C.S.E. Bova (RC), 1992][Filippo Condemi, Grammatica Grecanica, Coop. Contezza, Reggio Calabria, 1987;][ In Salento e Calabria le voci della minoranza linguistica greca | Treccani, il portale del sapere] Some Greek linguists consider it to be a Modern Greek dialect and often call it () or (Γραικάνικα). Griko and Standard Modern Greek are partially mutually intelligible.
Classification
The most popular hypothesis on the origin of Griko is the one by
Gerhard Rohlfs[G. Rohlfs, Griechen und Romanen in Unteritalien, 1924.] and Georgios Hatzidakis, that Griko's roots go as far back in history as the time of the ancient Greek colonies in
Southern Italy and
Sicily in the eighth century BC. The Southern Italian dialect is thus considered to be the last living trace of the Greek elements that once formed
Magna Graecia.
There are, however, competing hypotheses according to which Griko may have preserved some Doric Greek elements, but its structure is otherwise mostly based on Koine Greek, like almost all other Modern Greek dialects.[G. Horrocks, Greek: A history of the language and its speakers, London: Longman. 1997. Ch. 4.4.3 and 14.2.3.] Thus, Griko should rather be described as a Doric-influenced descendant of Medieval Greek spoken by those who fled the Byzantine Empire to Italy to escape the Ottoman Empire. The idea of Southern Italy's Greek dialects being historically derived from Medieval Greek was proposed for the first time in the 19th century by Giuseppe Morosi.[G. Morosi, Studi sui dialetti greci della terra d'Otranto, Lecce, 1870.]
Geographic distribution
Two small Italiot Greek-speaking communities survive today in the Italian regions of
Calabria (Metropolitan city of Reggio Calabria)
and
Puglia (Province of Lecce).
The Italiot Greek-speaking area of Puglia is called Grecìa Salentina and includes seven villages where Griko is still spoken – Calimera, Castrignano dei Greci, Corigliano d’Otranto, Martano, Martignano, Sternatia and Zollino – in addition to four villages – Carpignano Salentino, Cutrofiano, Melpignano and Soleto – where Griko has not been spoken for one or two centuries.
The Calabrian Greek region also consists of nine villages in Bovesia, (including Bova Superiore, Roghudi, Gallicianò, Chorìo di Roghudi and Bova Marina)
Official status
By Law 482 of 1999, the Italian parliament recognized the Griko communities of Reggio Calabria and Salento as a
Greeks ethnic groups and
linguistics minority. It states that the Republic protects the language and culture of its
Albanians,
Catalan people,
Germanic peoples,
Greeks,
Slovenes and
Croats populations and of those who speak
French language, Franco-Provençal, Friulian,
Ladin language,
Occitan language and Sardinian.
[ Law no. 482 of 1999 : "La Repubblica tutela la lingua e la cultura delle popolazioni albanesi, catalane, germaniche, greche, slovene e croate e di quelle parlanti il francese, il franco-provenzale, il friulano, il ladino, l'occitano e il sardo."] According to
UNESCO data from 2011, the two dialects of Griko are classified as severely endangered languages.
Culture
There is rich oral tradition and Griko
folklore. Griko songs,
music and
poetry are particularly popular in Italy and
Greece. Famous music groups from Salento include
Ghetonia, Aramirè, and Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino. Also, influential Greek artists such as Dionysis Savvopoulos and
Maria Farantouri have performed in Griko. The Greek musical ensemble
Encardia focuses on Griko songs as well as on the musical tradition of Southern Italy at large.
Samples
Sample text from Καληνύφτα – Kalinifta ("Good night") and Andramu pai, popular Griko songs:
|
|
| Good night |
I always think of you
because I love you, my soul,
and wherever I go, wherever I drag myself to, wherever I stand,
inside my heart I always hold you. |
| ... |
|
|
| My husband is gone |
I hear the band, I hear the music
I'm here with you but I think of the train
I think of darkness and the mine
where people work and die! |
| ... |
Phonology
-
Nasal+stop clusters ᵐb, along with voiceless equivalents ᵐp, also are heard.
-
The cacuminal /ɖ/ may also be realized as an affricate ɖːʐ, and consonant sequences /tr/ and /tːr/ may be pronounced as ʈʂ and ʈːʂ among speakers.
-
z is heard as a realization of /s/ when before a voiced consonant.
-
A few cases of a palatal lateral ʎ can be heard, possibly as a result of the influence of Standard Italian.
-
Vowels /i, u/ are heard as homorganic glides j, when following consonants and preceding other vowels.
Grammar
In many aspects, its grammar is similar to that of
Modern Greek. The language has three genders, masculine, feminine, and neuter. All nouns and adjectives are declined according to number and case. There are four cases, just like in Modern Greek: nominative, genitive, accusative, and vocative. Verbs are conjugated according to person, number, tense, mood, and aspect. The table below shows the personal pronouns of the Griko language:
| +
! rowspan="2" | Personal pronouns
! colspan="2" | 1st person
! colspan="2" | 2nd person
! colspan="2" | 3rd person |
|
| Nominative | evò | emì | esù | esì | (e)cino, (e)cini, (e)cino | (e)cini, (e)cine, (e)cina |
| Genitive | mu | ma, mas | su | esà(s), sa | (e)cinù, (e)cinì, (e)cinù | (e)cinò |
| Accusative | me, emena | ma, mas | esea, sea | esà(s), sa | (e)cino, (e)cini, (e)cino | (e)cinu, (e)cine, (e)cina |
See also
Notes and references
Further reading
-
H. F. Tozer. "The Greek-Speaking Population of Southern Italy." The Journal of Hellenic Studies. Vol. 10 (1889), pp. 11–42.
External links
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On the Brink: Griko; A Language of Resistance and Celebration - Cultural Survival
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Glossa Grika o Griko Derentinò (in Griko, Italian, Standard-Greek and French)
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Enosi Griko, Coordination of Grecìa Salentina Associations (Italian, Greek and English)
-
Pos Matome Griko (in Italian, Greek and English)
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Grecìa Salentina official site (in Italian)
-
Gaze On The Sea Salentine Peninsula, Greece and Greater Greece (in Italian, Greek and English)
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English-Griko dictionary
-
Kalinifta, by Ghetonia
-
Oria mou rodinedda, folk song of the Griko-speaking communities of southern Italy, by Eleni & Souzana Vougioukli
