Language Research

There are 5 lesser-used languages spoken on the territory of Greece.

ARBËRISHTE, ARVANITIKA, SHQIP (Albanian)

Arvanite is spoken in small isolated communities widely separated from each other in present-day central and southern Greece. Albanian is also spoken in communities in western Epiros. It is not clear how large the present number is of Arvanite speakers. The 1951 census counted about 23,000 Arvanites. However, these figures were underestimated. The language is only used on an informal basis. The language has no legal presence and it is not used in public, or in education and media.

ARMÎNESTE, VLAHESTE (Aromanian/Vlach)

Vlach speakers are found scattered across Thessaly, Pindus and Ipiros (the mountainous regions of the Hellenic peninsula). Greece has by far the largest Aromanian community. According to the last census in Greece that recorded the nationality of the people in 1951, there were 22,736 Vlachs in Greece. Vlachs are not recognized as a national minority, since Greece does not acknowledge the existence of national minorities within its boundaries but rather religious ones. The language is confined to family and colloquial use. Vlach does not enjoy any public presence.

MAKEDONSKI, BUGARSKI, BALGARSKI (Slav-Macedonian)

The official census of 1951 indicated that about 40,000 speakers of Slav-Macedonian lived in Greek Macedonia but the figures were underestimated. The language is confined to family and colloquial use and has no official recognition whatsoever.

In some Slav speaking areas, it is possible to receive TV programs from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) as well as Bulgarian and Macedonian radio programs. A bilingual (Greek-Macedonian), bi-monthly magazine is currently published in Florina.

A policy of merciless assimilation of the Macedonian ethnic minority is under way, through the use of legal measures and court decisions. Use of the Macedonian language and religion has been banned.

TÜRKÇE (Turkish)

The Turkish-speaking population of Greece lives in Western Thrace. They are Muslims by religion. During the last two decades, a few thousand Turkish speakers (mostly gypsies) have emigrated to the Athina and Thessaliniki urban areas. The vast majority of Muslim gypsies (who lived originally only in Western Thrace) use Turkish as their mother tongue. There is also a small Turkish-speaking community on the Dodecanessa islands. The 1951 census counted well over 90,000 Turkish speakers.

Under the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), the Muslims of Western Thrace (Turks, Pomaks and Gypsies) enjoy protection and rights. They are allowed to maintain their own religious institutions. Turkish in Western Thrace is the only de jure recognized lesser-used language in Greece. A translator is available at the courts and at Muslim polling stations.

Muslims have their own elementary schools (co-funded by the Greek state) where around half of the subjects are taught in Turkish. There are two secondary schools with the same situation. There is also an Academy in Thessaloniki in which Muslims study in order to teach in these elementary schools (for the subjects in Turkish).

There are some newspapers and weekly magazines and some local radio broadcast in Turkish. The local public radio broadcasts news in Turkish. The municipality of Komotini offers one of the Turkish satellite channels.

POMATŠKI, POMASKI (Pomaki)

The Pomaks live in Western Thrace (Greece). In the past two decades, a few thousand of them have migrated to the prefecture of Attici. They speak the Rhodope dialect. According to estimates, about 27,000 Pomaks lived in Western Thrace in 1971.

Pomaki enjoys no official and public presence in Greece. Pomak and Roma languages are not taught at schools because they do not exist in written form.

Top of page

Updated (October 2002)

Since last July, the office of the Political Party of the Macedonian People in Florina (northwest corner of Greece) has had a sign in the Macedonian language again. However, before hanging the sign the party had to inform the city's public prosecutor about it in order to avoid the incidents that took place seven years ago when after hanging the same sign for the first time, a group of people destroyed the office and four party members were charged with having "incited discord" among the citizenry (Article 192 of the Penal Code).

Despite Greece is a member of the EU and has been already criticized and contradicted in the international scope, the internal state of affairs for Macedonian minority is still extremely hard. Greece does not officially recognize the existence of ethnic and language communities other than Greek in the country.

Source: Mercator News, September 2002, http://www.troc.es/ciemen/ mercator/index-gb.htm

Top of page

Updated (April 2004)

BROADCASTING AND MINORITIES

The only minority group officially recognized in Greece is religious in character: the Muslims of Thrace¹ (by virtue of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne). Nevertheless, a number of minority languages are spoken in the country. Broadcasting in these languages is generally limited and in case of private Turkish-language radio stations, newscasts are even prohibited (except exact translations of the Greek newscasts).

According to the estimates, currently there are between 140 and 160 private television channels and between 1,400 and 1,600 radio stations (most of which are local and regional) operating in Greece.

Since February 2000 "Friendship", a Greek radio station that is a part of the public service broadcasting network, has launched a half-hour program in 12 non-Greek, mostly immigrants' languages (except Macedonian, Romani, Arvanite and Aromanian). Its aim was to create reciprocal feeling of solidarity and friendship between immigrants and the Greek population.

In Komotini, the daily "Paratiritis" introduced weekly Turkish and daily Russian² supplements.

There are six Turkish-language radio stations in Thrace. Like all private radio stations, they operate without a license, as the license system installed in 1989 has never been implemented. Turkish-language programs are widely received by satellite in Thrace.

Turkish is formally admitted in court, as guaranteed by the Treaty of Lausanne. However, it is hardly ever used there as well as in official communications or administrative proceedings.

Source: Minority-language Related Broadcasting and Legislation in the OSCE, Program in Comparative Media Law and Policy (PCMLP), Center for Socio-Legal Studies, Wolfson College, Oxford University & Institute for Information Law (IViR) (http://www.ivir.nl/index-english.html), Universiteit van Amsterdam (Study commissioned by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities), April 2003, edited by T. McGonagle (IViR), B. Davis Noll & M. Price (PCMLP), http://www.ivir.nl/publications/mcgonagle/Minority-language%20broadcasting.pdf

¹ In 1923, the Muslim minority numbered close to 110,000. In 2003, it was only around 100,000 people.

² Russian is commonly spoken by refugees of Greek origin (Pontics) from the former Soviet countries.

Top of page