Hearing Calabrian Greek spoken in the villages of Gallicianò and Bova. For those who speak Greek, I didn't find it to be ancient or Doric sounding at all. There are some words that certainly are old ("outhe" for "no", "chloro" for the color green, "anthos" for flower, "platego" for "to speak" which probably comes from "politeuo" (πολιτευω) which means "to act like a citizen/speak in a public forum" etc.). But it basically sounds like Italianized modern Greek with some ancient words.
There appear to be no theta, gamma, or delta sounds evidencing Latin/Italian influence. Anything beginning with a "kappa" is pronounced with a "che" rather than a hard c sound like modern Greek. Hence you hear "che" for "and" instead of kai (και). The "ψ" is inverted. Rather than a "ps" sound in modern Greek, Calabrian Greek say "sp." Hence, the modern Greek word "psyche" (ψυχή) is pronounced "spyche." Also all "chi" ("Χ") and "xi"sounds ("Ξ") seem pronounced like "sh" which is common in modern Italian.
I suspect they speak a dialect more closely related to the Koine Greek spoken at the time of the 11th century Byzantine Empire, the last and final time Southern Italy was still part of the Greek speaking world. Or perhaps it was influenced by Greek refugees fleeing Constantinople upon its fall to the Turks in 1453. What's interesting is that they have no Turkish loan words which modern Greek has such as tzami for "glass" among others (they call it "vitro" which is Italian) which make sense given the Ottomans never conquered the region. Overall, most modern Greek speakers should understand it pretty thoroughly.
Remarkable that these living relics of an ancient past still exist. And would have been more numerous had it not been for strong pressure to Italianize during the time of Italian unification and the rise of fascism under Mussollini. Interestingly, Greek Orthodoxy is making a comeback and the government supports maintaining this highly endangered dialect. Enjoy!
5 авг 2018
