User:Milinpatel1369/Pontic Greek Project

Pontic Greek is a language which originated a long time ago. Pontic Greek is a dialect of the Greek Language. The Greek language is spoken in Greece. The Pontic Greek language is spoken in Greece as well, however Pontic Greek did not originate in Greece. This language came into existence in Turkey’s Black Sea region. In the 7th Century BC many people left Athens, the capital of Greece. These people settled in Turkey, forming Greek colonies. This led to the creation of Pontic Greek language. The Ottoman empire began killing Orthodox Christians. Almost half of the population of Pontic Greeks were killed. As a result of this Pontic Greek became an endangered Language. Some of the population fled back to Greece. Now in modern day it is mostly spoken in northern Greece. There are only about 200,000 active speakers. Few Pontic Greek speakers converted to Islam so they can escape the killing in Turkey. There are very few Pontic Greek speakers in turkey now. Armenia has few speakers. They are descendants of the people who came from Greece in 7th Century BC. It is also spoken now in Georgia. Pontic Greek is now classified as an endangered language. The amount of Active speakers now in 2021 is significantly lower than it was back during 7th century BC.

Colonization
The Greek language has many other dialects and one of them is Pontic Greek. Some of Greek language dialects are Modern Greek and koine Greek. One of the dialects of Greek Is mostly related to the dialect called koine Greek. Pontic Greek did not originate in the country of Greece. What happened was many in 7th Century BC a mass number of people left Athens. Athens is the capital of the country of Greece. These large groups of people traveled all the way to Turkey. They specifically colonized the North eastern side which is located right next to the Black Sea. Basically the Black Sea borders the northeastern side of Asia. These citizens of Athens did not move for no reason to the Black Sea region of Turkey. They moved there because they were searching for treasure. Specifically they were looking for gold and silver. After colonization the newcomers named the place Pontus. The Black Sea is a major influence in the name Pontus. Pontus means “sea” in Ancient Greece. These people that settled in Pontus now adopted the religion called Orthodox Christianity. During this time in the 7th century BC, Turkey was under the rule of the Byzantine empire. As time passed on changes occurred. These settlers of Pontus had begun to change. One of the main Changes was their language. They were not speaking the same version of Greek language as the one they used to in Athens. Their language had changed into something new. This is when the language Pontic Greek had formed. The lifestyle of the people of Pontus was influenced heavily by Ancient Greece. Things like clothing and festivals are some of the few things that were influenced by Ancient Greece.

Post colonization
Pontus is the first area where officially Pontic Greek was created and being spoken. After this everything changed. The language spread to many other parts of the world. Around the year 1914 World War one was taking place. During this time The Byzantine empire which ruled over Turkey began to break down and dissolve. The Turkish people began killing Orthodox Christians. As I said before the people of Pontus adopted this religion. The Turkish empire executed and also deported all Orthodox Christians. As result of this mass prosecution Orthodox Christians fled Turkey.

Soviet Union
“The Soviet government tried to force out the Pontic Greeks from the southern part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in the early 1920s, and then subjected that community to three waves of deportation to Central Asia in 1937, 1942 and 1949. Now, the Russian successor state is having new problems with this community—not only in the southern part of the Russian Federation but also in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, including Donetsk oblast and Crimea. And while these difficulties are still below the boiling point, they have—both because of this history and because of their international links to Greece—the possibility of exploding at almost any time (Kavpolit.com, October 19).” According to this statement Pontic Greeks were having major issues trying to become a part of a new region. the Pontic Greeks fled to Soviet Union to escape persecution, however it was not all sun shine and rainbows their either. Pontic Greeks were still becoming to the subjugation of deportation. First it was from the Byzantine Empire and now from the Soviet Union. The Pontic Greeks who moved to this new place mixed their original Pontic Greek language with the Cyrillic alphabet. the Cyrillic alphabet is a writing system originating from Ancient Greece.

Geographic distribution
After the crumble of the Byzantine Empire the people of Pontus fled to different parts of the world. Around 250,000 Pontic Greek people fled back to Greece, where they originated from. Number unknown, many Pontic Greeks escaped to the USSR. Pontic Greeks were sacred for their life because they were being killed. As result of this some Pontic Greek people changed their religion from Orthodox Christianity to the religion of Islam. The Pontic Greeks who converted religions stayed in Turkey, counting to live their lives. Turkey, Greece, and Russia Are three main regions in which Pontic Greek language now exists. In the modern day about 345,000 Pontic Greeks live in Turkey. Many of these people are afraid to come out because of religious tension. When the Pontic Greeks fled to the USSR most of them now lived in Russia. Now it is estimated that around less than 200,000 thousand Pontic Greek speakers exist in the country of Russia. As time moves on the number is likely to keep decreasing. In the third place Greece there are about 300,000 active Pontic Greek speakers. One thing to keep in mind 300,000 is the maximum guess. There may be less than that. Overall It is estimated that there are about 700,000 Pontic Greek Speakers worldwide. There are very few Pontic Greek speakers in Georgia. There are only about 15,000 active speakers there currently. This was last recorded in 2002.

Dialects/Varieties

 * Romeyka Dialect: Romeyka is a dialect used in the northeastern part of Turkey. This place is specifically called Pontus. The number of people who make use of this dialect is very low. This dialect is mainly influenced by the Turkish language. Because Pontus is located in Turkey, much influence comes from the Turkish culture. When the Pontic Greek people fled to during their genocide from the Byzantine empire, many of them returned back to main land Greece. When they arrived back in Greece, the people could not understand this dialect at all even though it was heavily influenced from Greek language.

Official Status

 * Greece: Pontic Greek is not an official language in Greece. Pontic Greek population is very low and it is a dialect. For this reason it is not classified as an official language.
 * Soviet Union: The population of Pontic Greeks in Soviet Union is very low. They are a minority. For this reason Pontic Greek is not an official language in the Soviet Union. The Government of Soviet Union wanted to kick Pontic People out during 1922. The government would never classify such a minor language as an Official one.

Festivals
Pontic Greeks have a wide variety of festivals. Many of these festivals are directly influenced from Ancient Greece. Since the Pontic Greeks originated from Greece, their festivals are much similar. These Pontic Greek festivals have evolved over time. They have evolved in meaning and symbolization. Now the Pontic Greek festivals are meant to pay respect and remember all Pontiacs who have died during the mass execution. Many Pontic Greeks were killed during the Turkish so called “cleansing”. This is a tragic moment which lives in the hearts of Pontian's after the genocide took place. Pontic Greek festivals now take place to remember all people who did not make it through. One of the main activities Pontic Greek people do in festivals is dance. They say dancing is a way to make them feel stronger emotion which makes the festival much more impactive. Dancing is a form of expressing emotion for them. In festivals men would dress up in black clothing called zipkas. When there is dancing there is also music. They both go hand in hand at Pontic Greek Festivals. Instruments like a lyra are used to create their music and dance.

Writing System
Pontic Greek language is written in many different ways. The language exists in many different parts of the world. Because of this Pontic Greek has been influenced by each different place it is spoken. In Greece Pontic Greek is written using the Greek alphabet. This is because it is spoken in the region of Greece, it will be influenced by Greece standards. Another place where Pontic Greek exists is in Turkey, a country in the Middle East. In Turkey Latin is commonly used as a means of writing. Due to this factor, Pontic Greek is written in Latin alphabet in the country of Turkey. It is amazing how different regions affect one specific language. Russia is another country that also has a dialect of Pontic Greek. The version of Pontic Greek in Russia is written in the Cyrillic alphabet. Cyrillic alphabet is a written method used mainly by Slavic people. What is really interesting is that the Cyrillic alphabet ultimately originated from Greece. When Pontic Greek spread to Russia it became influenced by the Cyrillic alphabet.

Writing Example
These are all examples of Greek version of the alphabet. These are not the same as the Cyrillic alphabet or the Turkish alphabet


 * Pontic is πόντικος
 * Russia is Ρωσία
 * Turkey is Τουρκία
 * Greece is Ελλάδα

Language Differences
Pontic Greek sounds so much different spoken in Greece compared to Pontic Greek spoken in Pontus. This difference in sounds is obviously post colonization. In Pontus the people who converted into Islam stayed back. Over time this resulted for people who still lived in Turkey to have original Pontic language preserved. People who fled back to Greece, their version of Pontic Greek sounds much different. It is so much different now in modern day that you will not be able to tell the languages are of the same origin.

Pontic Greek Endangerment
The Pontic Greek Language is now facing extinction. Even though there are few speakers in Russia, Greece and Turkey; it is not enough to bring the language out of endangerment. Pontic Greek has its contents recorded in history. Journals and books now harbor much information on this endangered language. In the end even if all speakers of this dialect cease to exist, the language will thankfully not disappear due to scholars who have documented so much information on this language.