# Cypriot greek



## voltron (Aug 19, 2010)

Hello,

Myself and my kids are in cyprus and slowly we are picking up greek.. If i become fluent in cypriot greek will people understand me in greece? 


How far has the cypriot dialect drifted from main greek? an analogy would be excellent.. Is cypriot liks Geordie? or even further removed from the language?


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## wka (Sep 18, 2009)

If you were to speak fluent Cypriot Greek in Greece, no, you would not be understood here. However, as Standard Modern Greek is the official language of Cyprus, I find it a bit hard to believe that you would not learn Modern Greek while living in Cyprus. Unless you are living in a small village with no access to television or newspapers, and not taking any classes, just learning purely from listening to people around you, you should be learning both. TV news, (and everything except locally produced TV programs), everything written, etc., is all in Standard Modern Greek (what we speak in Greece).

My husband is half Cypriot and when his relatives are here in Greece, they cannot be understood when speaking Cypriot. They have to remember to speak Standard Modern Greek. However, it's not difficult for them, since that's what they speak in school, what they hear on TV/radio, what they read.... The biggest difference is in pronunciation (accent), so just modulate your accent and I think you would be okay.


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## kentavros (Aug 24, 2010)

voltron said:


> Hello,
> 
> Myself and my kids are in cyprus and slowly we are picking up greek.. If i become fluent in cypriot greek will people understand me in greece?
> 
> ...


In my opinion it is not a good idea to learn Cypriot as spoken locally since you will have some difficulties over in Greece, since there are many everyday words which are different. it is more like the difference between Scottish and English. On the TV and radio in Cyprus, the majority of speech is in the Greek dialect, and this will serve you well in both countries. Cypriot uses some different word orders and "endings" also which you can get used to in Cyprus, but will be regarded as somewhat strange and sometimes humorous in Greece. Not that Cypriot is strange, it is a rich and "musical" language and just evolved differently. A very similar dialect is spoken in parts of Rhodes too. Greeks will nearly always help (and correct) you however and in my expereience are extremely pleased at any attempt to speak Greek no matter how many mistakes you make!


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

voltron said:


> Hello,
> 
> Myself and my kids are in cyprus and slowly we are picking up greek.. If i become fluent in cypriot greek will people understand me in greece?
> 
> ...


The greek spoken in Cyprus is closer to old Greek than that spoken in Greece.
Also regionally it varies quite a lot.


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