Cyprus Greeks
As Greek Cypriots , Greek Ελληνοκύπριοι which about 790,000 are Greek-speaking inhabitants of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus referred. With 77% they make up the majority of the population on the island. There are also larger churches in London , Athens , the United States and Australia . The ethnic group regards itself linguistically and culturally as Greek .
origin
The origins of the Cypriot Greeks are disputed. Greek myths tell of a Greek colonization of the island after the Trojan War. Vassos Karagheorgis and other researchers assumed a colonization of the island by one or more waves of Mycenaeans from the Peloponnese since about 1200 BC. Chr. David Rupp , Bernard Knapp, and others, however, assume a gradual cultural assimilation of the native population in the early Iron Age.
1974 and the aftermath
As a result of the flight and expulsion of around 160,000 Cypriot Greeks from the north of the island in 1974, they live almost exclusively in the Greek-dominated southern part. In some villages on the Karpas peninsula, a small, largely over-aged minority of around 700 Cypriot Greeks remained in the area of the - internationally not recognized - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is otherwise almost exclusively inhabited by Cyprus Turks and by Turks who immigrated from mainland Turkey and especially from Anatolia after 1974 .
Language and religion
The Cypriot Greeks belong to 80% of the Cypriot Orthodox Church and speak Cypriot Greek , a dialect of the modern Greek language . Due to the long political and spatial isolation in the Middle Ages and modern times, some linguistic archaisms from the Middle Ages were able to persist. As a result, the colloquial language of the Cypriot Greeks differs markedly from the standard Greek language. The latter is used in all formal contexts (education, offices, media) and in writing.
designation
Occasionally the Greek Cypriots used to be referred to as "Cypriots", whereas the Cypriot Turks were called "Cypriots". In general, the term "Cypriots" ("Κύπριοι") became common for both ethnic groups. Nonetheless, the Duden (24th edition, 2006) defines “Cypriot” as “Cypriot Greek”, “Cypriot” as “inhabitant of Cyprus”.
None of these terms have a derogatory connotation .
See also
Web links
- List with the official designation of the population worldwide (Federal Foreign Office) (PDF; 39 kB)
- World Fact Book on Cyprus
Individual evidence
- ↑ Franz Georg Maier: Factoids in ancient history: The case of Fifth-Century Cyprus . In: Journal of Hellenic Studies . Volume 105, 1985, pp. 32-39
- ^ David A. Rupp: Aspects of social complexity in Cyprus . In: Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research . Volume 292, 1993, pp. 1-8
- ^ A. Bernard Knapp: Social Complexity: Incipience, Emergence, and Development on Prehistoric Cyprus . In: Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research . Volume 292, 1993, pp. 85-106 (Perspectives on Cypriot Social Complexity)