Cypriot Greek is a variety of Greek spoken in Cyprus and by the Greek Cypriot diaspora. Cypriot Greek is a descendant of Byzantine Medieval Greek, and differs from modern standard Greek in terms of vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar due to geographical isolation and historical reasons. It is more or less mutually intelligible with standard Greek, although Greek speakers who are not familiar with it may find it difficult to understand.
Greek Cypriots tend to see Cypriot Greek as a dialect of Greek, and most also speak standard Greek, which is seen as the 'high' variety, while Cypriot Greek is seen as a 'low' variety.
The earliest known written material in Cypriot Greek dates from the Medieval period, and includes legal documents, stories and poems. It has been used in schools in Cyprus since the 1970s, and is also for songs, poems, films, TV shows and online.
There are ways to write Cypriot Greek with the Greek alphabet, and with the Latin alphabet, which is used online and for text messaging. However, there is no standard orthography.
Download an alphabet chart for Cypriot Greek (Excel).
«Η Ρωμιοσύνη εν φυλή συνότζαιρη του κόσμου,
κανένας δεν εβρέθηκεν για να την ι-ξηλείψη,
κανένας, γιατί σιέπει την που τα 'ψη ο Θεός μου.
Η Ρωμιοσύνη εν να χαθή, όντες ο κόσμος λείψει!
Romaness is a race as old as the world,
No one has ever been found to erase it,
No one, because my God shields it from above.
Romaness will vanish only when the world ceases to exist!
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypriot_Greek#Example_texts_of_the_dialect
Information about the Cypriot Greek language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypriot_Greek
https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/Κυπριακή_διάλεκτος_της_ελληνικής_γλώσσας
https://www.cylingo.org/greek-cypriot-phonemic.html
https://greekreporter.com/2025/10/22/greek-cypriot-dialects-distinct-varieties-same-language/
https://cyprustravellerguide.com/the-unique-cypriot-dialect-of-greek-also-known-as-kypriaka/
Learn Cypriot Greek
https://cyprusays.com/
Cypriot Greek, Greek, Griko, Pontic Greek, Tsakonian, Yevanic
Arvanitic, Bactrian, Cypriot Arabic, Cypriot Greek, Greek, Griko, Karamanli Turkish, Tsakonian
Languages written with the Latin alphabet
Page created: 03.11.25. Last modified: 03.11.25
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