A two-day meeting dealing with linguistic diversity will raise awareness of the traditional presence in Cyprus of the Cypriot Maronite Arabic language and promote mutual understanding among all linguistic groups on the island, the Republic’s Law Commissioner Leda Koursoumba has said in her remarks to a symposium on the protection and the promotion of the Cypriot Maronite Arabic Language.
Other speakers at the symposium referred to the importance of retaining such languages and said the forceful uprooting of Maronites from the country’s northern Turkish occupied areas is the main cause threatening the Maronite Arabic Language with extinction.
“The symposium is an expression of the continued commitment by Cyprus to the protection of its cultural heritage and linguistic diversityâ€, Koursoumba said.
She explained that in the case of Cypriot Maronite Arabic, a language with no written form in need of codification, the difficulties are compound in that the village of Kormakitis, under Turkish occupation since 1974, and its residents who speak the language are dispersed throughout the southern government controlled part of the country.
The Law Commissioner recognized that the task of protecting a language is a complex and difficult endeavor, influenced by a multitude of factors such as history, demography and socioeconomics.
Addressing the meeting, Minister of Education and Culture Akis Kleanthous said people speak this language since the 8th century and comparison with other languages in the Middle East is a very interesting scientific task.
“The Ministry respects everybody’s presence and language in our common homeland. The purpose of this meeting is to codify this language as a significant step for its preservation,†he added.
George Dionisiou, of the organizing committee of the meeting, said that the Turkish invasion struck a serious blow to the Maronite Arabic Language, noting that the younger generation of Maronites is not taught the language because the language itself has lost its natural habitat, which was the small rural community in Kormakitis.
He also said that back in the 8th century thousands of Maronites were living in Cyprus but their numbers have now dwindled to less than 5,000.
The representative of the Maronites to the Cyprus House Antonis Hadjirousos said the language is under serious threat of becoming extinct and needs to be revived.
He said he was pleased the symposium was taking place to help boost efforts for the revival of the language among Maronites.
The 1960 constitution that established the Republic of Cyprus recognizes two communities, the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot. Maronites, Armenians and Latins living here have opted to belong to the Greek Cypriot community.
