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An Ancient Form of Greek Language Needs Help to Survive

Romeyka, a relative of the Modern Greek language, has a shrinking population of speakers in Turkey, but a helping hand from scholars and the general public may help it survive.

Jack Knudson
ByJack Knudson
Valleys of Tonya in Turkey's Trabzon regionCredit: Professor Ioanna Sitaridou/University of Cambridge

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Thousands of languages all over the world face an uncertain future and may soon fade away if immediate action isn’t taken. One of these endangered languages is Romeyka, a variety of Greek that has roots in the ancient Hellenistic age.

While its speakers are dwindling in numbers, especially in the Trabzon region of Turkey, Romeyka may be spared thanks to continuing research, and a recently launched crowdsourcing platform that can help document and preserve the language.

The push to keep Romeyka alive is led by Ioanna Sitaridou, a Fellow of Queens' College and a professor of Spanish and Historical Linguistics at the University of Cambridge and is the latest contribution to UN’s International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032). This calls for the recognition of indigenous languages and promotes initiatives that work to secure their survival.

Romeyka likely has a couple of thousand speakers left in the Trabzon region, and its ...

  • Jack Knudson

    Jack Knudson

    Jack Knudson is an assistant editor for Discover Magazine who writes articles on space, ancient humans, animals, and sustainability, and manages the Planet Earth column of the print issue.

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