Language & Nationalism

in EuropeChapter 11: Greece & European

Turkey: From Religious to Linguistic Identity

Overview

• Ethnic identities based on culture and religion have been transformed to territorial identities marked by language

Greece

• Greece was part of Turkish Ottoman Empire for approx 400 years, 15th - 19th c

• Phanariot Greeks in Constantinople served as interpreters and gained some control over Turkish foreign policy; within Ottoman Empire, Greeks governed Romania, Moldova

• Many Balkan Orthodox were considered “Greek” by culture, since religion was more important than language

• Greek travelers/traders spread Greek culture

Greece, cont’d.

• After 11 years of war, and with help from Britain, France, and Russia, Greeks became independent of the Turks in 1832

• Turks were expelled and many Greeks returned from abroad

Megali Idea (aka irredentism)• The idea was to expand the borders of Greece to include

ALL Greeks• Many Greeks outside Greece did not support the idea• But Greece did grow in expansions in 1864, 1881, 1913,

1920, 1947• Serbia & Bulgaria feared that Greece would engulf them

too, all three battled over Macedonia 1912-1913• After expansion, compulsory population exchanges based

on religion• Greece now includes many non-Greeks, diaspora still

exists too

Greece in 1920

Greece today

Greek language

• The only surviving member of its branch of I-E, has no close relatives & a unique orthography, is an unambiguous identifier of ethnicity

• Distinct dialects:– Tsakonian (now waning) in E. Pelopennese– Pontic in Turkey

Competition between two Greek Standards: Katharevousa vs. Dhimotiki

• Diglossia when Greece became independent: Byzantine Greek was the written language, the spoken language was not written

• Possible solutions:– 1) Keep Byzantine Greek as literary language– 2) Return to Ancient Greek for both literary and spoken

language– 3) Promote spoken language to literary status via

purification, creating Katharevousa, with mixture of Ancient, New Testament, Byzantine, & spoken Greek

– Just use spoken language -- Dhimotiki, this koine became dominant in Athens, used by Ionian poets

More on Katharevousa vs. Dhimotiki

• Phanariot Greeks in government instituted Katharevousa as official language, though it was felt very artificial and problematic

• Since 1909, language policy favoring Katharevousa vs. Dhimotiki changed NINE times

• Since 1976 Dhimotiki only, Katharevousa has now disappeared

Even more on Katharevousa vs. Dhimotiki

• Katharevousa associated with glorious Ancient past, Megali Idea, Hellenic identity, closer to language used in Church

• Dhimotiki associated with left-wing politics, “heretical”, “subversive”, “pro-Slav” Romaic identity

Ethnic & Linguistic make-up of Greece today

• No real data, because no census since 1951 has collected ethnic & linguistic data

• Anti-minority Greek nationalism prevails, distortion of historical facts

• Minority languages: Ladino, Armenian, Balkan Romance, Albanian, South Slavic languages, Turkish

Linguistic minorities in Greece

• Ladino used to be majority language in Thessaloniki, but most speakers exterminated by Nazis

• Armenian was also once common in Thessaloniki, but most speakers emigrated

• Balkan Romance (Vlachs):– Arumanian in Pindus mtns in Greece– Megleno-Romanian in Macedonia

Linguistic minorities in Greece, cont’d.

• Vlachs, cont’d. -- very much assimilated into Greek society, there are no attempts to promote Vlach language or ethnicity; Romanians tried to claim Vlach as a dialect of Romanian & Greeks tried to forcibly expel Vlachs to Romania (WWII)

Linguistic minorities in Greece, cont’d.

• Albanian -- Greek Albanians do not feel connected to Albania, they are Christians and identify with Greece, in Greece their language is called Arvanitika, suggesting it is distinct from Albanian (although this is not so)

Linguistic minorities in Greece, cont’d.

• South Slavic languages -- Greeks treat Slavs with greatest suspicion; 6-7th c Slavs penetrate Macedonia, Thrace, and Pelopennese; in modern times, Slavic languages are actively suppressed in Greece; use of name(s) Macedonia(n) very controversial in Greece

• Turkish in Greece -- 100s of thousands left Greece 1821-1923, but many remained; they are the only minority in Greece with protected status

European Turkey

• Turkey created 1923• Turkish is from the Turkic branch of Altaic • 1929 conversion to Latin alphabet (from

Arabic)

European Turkey, cont’d.

• Minority languages (concentrated in Istanbul):– Jewish Ladino (some emigrated to Israel)– Armenian (few left after 1915 massacre of

1.5M, others emigrated to Soviet Armenia)– Greek (some remain in Istanbul and on two

islands)

Conclusions

• Religion used to be the strongest marker of identity, but in the last two centuries it has been surpassed by language