In S. Drude, N. Ostler & M. Moser (eds.), Endangered languages and the land: Mapping landscapes of multilingualism, Proceedings of FEL XXII/2018 (Reykjavík, Iceland), 14–18. London: FEL & EL Publishing , 2018

The Cypriot Maronite Arab community exemplifies well how the loss of a land which functions as a ...

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The Cypriot Maronite Arab community exemplifies well how the loss of a land which functions as a vital space for a vernacular minority language spoken and protected within this space, can lead to drastic changes in communicative patterns and subsequently, to an acute language shift and complete language loss.

The article focuses: (a) on the role that the loss of a land may play both for language use and for any efforts to revitalize a language that is severely endangered and on the verge of extinction, and (b) on the way land is perceived in relation to identity and how political and social changes might affect speakers’ perception of what they conceive as “their” land.

The community has seen a dramatic shift in the use of its vernacular, after they were expelled from their villages situated in the North West coastal area of the island as a result of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. As refugees, the Cypriot Maronite Arabs were relocated in various, mostly urban and suburban, areas in the South of the island. This relocation had the following consequences:

(a) A change in the rural character of the community that both affected the socio-economic status of its members as well as communicative patterns and the use of the vernacular.

(b) The dispersal of the community also negatively affected frequency of daily language use. One of the consequences of this dispersal was an acute language shift and the loss of the language within a generation of speakers. Thus, people under the age of 40 are not to be considered as active speakers of the language.

(c) A change in the way Cypriot Maronites relate to the land. Historically, Cypriot Maronites kept close knit connections with Lebanon, and despite linguistic evidence showing more affinities with Syrian than with Lebanese Arabic, they still consider Lebanon as their homeland. However, the trauma of the loss of their villages after 1974 and the discourse on the “memory” of the lost lands, has led to a reinforcement of their attachment to the Cypriot land that often overrides their devotion to Lebanon.

After discussing the above points, I will consider how the loss of the land has also a negative impact on the revitalization process taking place since 2013, as the Government of Cyprus which has recognized Cypriot Arabic as a minority language within the framework of the Charter for Regional and Minority Languages of the Council of Europe (2007), has no control over the occupied area where the Maronite villages are situated and therefore cannot officially initiate any actions of support for the language within its natural vital space.