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Aims and objectives: This paper examines Cypriot Greek–English codeswitching practices by Cypriot-born Greek Cypriots and investigates its linguistic forms, functions and codeswitching types. It also assesses the frequency of English in the data. Methodology: The data consist of authentic, informal conversations. Codeswitching is regarded as the use of two languages by one speaker in a single conversation, so established borrowings were excluded from the analysis. For assessing frequency, a word-count was conducted and for data analysis the distinction between insertions and alternations was used. Data and analysis: Forty hours of naturally occurring conversations among Greek Cypriots were studied. Data are categorised according to codeswitching types, linguistic forms and functions of English. Findings/conclusions: Quantitatively, English use is limited. Thus claims for excessive use of English are unfounded. Structurally, codeswitching mainly takes the form of English insertions in a Cypriot Greek grammatical structure. Most codeswitching is intra-sentential, with mostly English nouns and noun phrases used. Single-word switching is more frequent than multi-word switching. Originality: This study, to the author’s knowledge, is the first thorough documentation of oral Cypriot Greek–English codeswitching by Greek Cypriots born and raised in Cyprus and the first study addressing the assertions for the ‘destruction of the Greek language in Cyprus’ using a large sample of empirical data. Significance/implications: As Greek Cypriots’ native language but not the standard official language of the state, Cypriot Greek has been accused of being ‘susceptible’ to a heavy use of English because it supposedly lacks the richness of Standard Modern Greek. This work shows that such heavy use is only in the mind of purists and that claims about Cypriot Greek speakers’ linguistic deficit on the basis of purported dense codeswitching are unfounded.

This paper discusses the textual position, form, and functions of English–Greek code-switching, which occurs in the form of insertions, in Greek Cypriot print media. The data consist of seven magazines and seven newspapers. For the analysis of the data, a theoretical framework for written multilingualism is adopted and adapted, namely “English on top”. The presence of English in the mainstream Cypriot print media is scarce. Code-switching into English mainly takes the form of naming, heading, quotations, set phrases, and doublets; a doublet refers to the use of a word next to its translation in another language. It exhibits a variety of functions such as language play, emphasis, and clarification. This is not always the case, however. In some cases, no specific textual function can be attributed to the English insertions. In such cases, it is the symbolic and/or indexical function of English that is exploited.

This paper presents the results of the first study within a perceptual dialectology framework in the Greek-speaking community in Cyprus. Thirty participants from three age groups of equal size took part in a sociolinguistic interview. As part of the language module component of the interview, they discussed their beliefs about regional variation in Cyprus and completed the so-called ‘draw-a-map task’. All participants were residents of urban areas of Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus. The Greek-speaking community in Cyprus is diglossic: Standard Modern Greek is the High variety, while Cypriot Greek—the mother tongue of Greek Cypriots—is the Low variety. The latter is currently undergoing levelling of marked local basilect features and subvarieties. A quantitative analysis of the maps demonstrates that some areas in Cyprus (mainly in the periphery) have a stronger sociolinguistic salience than others. At the same time, the participants’ own way of speaking is perceived as unmarked, neutral and one that enjoys wider acceptance over other regional dialects. This study also shows a clear preference for characterizing a (presumed) dialect area with linguistic characteristics, rather than with evaluative commentary contra many similar studies in the literature and suggests a number of reasons why this may be so. Overall, this research shows how studies on language perception can inform and complement studies on language production in a given community. The participants drew an average of just four regional areas on their maps and viewed the different cities and their districts, or combinations thereof, as the different regional dialect areas they perceive to exist in Cyprus. It is argued in this paper that the small number of areas drawn and the emphasis on urban sites are consistent with regional dialect levelling. Consistent with regional dialect levelling is also the finding that the participants’ linguistic description of regional variation, while mainly accurate, is superficial and lacks detail. Interestingly, many of the participants also seem to be well aware of regional dialect levelling in their community. Other studies in the literature do not really discuss speakers’ awareness of levelling and this should be further explored in future studies.

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