Cyprus-Forum.com

[Tim Drayton]

Every time I become convinced that the peace process has become fatally stalled, I encounter some small sign of hope. Here is my translation of a brief article that appeared in today’s Yeni Düzen newspaper. And I keep hearing that the younger generation in Cyprus has no interest in reconciliation!

http://www.yeniduzengazetesi.com/index. ... e/Haberler

Interest in Turkish increasing in the South

It appears that each year an increasing number of high school students in South Cyprus are taking up Turkish and this year one in fifteen students is studying Turkish.

According to a report in the Fileleftheros newspaper, Turkish has overtaken Russian and German in the foreign language league table, in which English and Italian share first place.

According to the report, while only 84 students (one percent) in the second year of high school opted to study Turkish in 2003 when the Greek Cypriot Council of Ministers decided to introduce Turkish lessons into high schools, this year 587 students (7.45 percent) in the second year of high school are studying Turkish. This means that one in every fifteen students is opting for Turkish.

The newspaper, noting that there has been a drop in demand for French lessons, states that Italian and Spanish have become “fashionable”, Russian and German remain at the bottom of the league while English commands the top place in terms of students’ preferences.

In South Cyprus, second and third year high school students are required to select two foreign languages from a list of seven.

[zan]

Could Turkish be the "Soft Option" in their choice of having to take two languages??????

[Nikitas]

Trust Zan to look for the cynical explanation!

Spanish and Italian, being Romance langaguags with straightforward grammar, and easy pronunication would have been my choice as a lazy student. Economically too they would be more beneficial as official languages ot eh EU. Spanish especially would be the more valuable one.

[zan]

Trust Zan to look for the cynical explanation!

Spanish and Italian, being Romance langaguags with straightforward grammar, and easy pronunication would have been my choice as a lazy student. Economically too they would be more beneficial as official languages ot eh EU. Spanish especially would be the more valuable one.

Turkish is an easy language to learn the basics in Nikitas and early exam levels would be easy too. Even I could possibly pass them. AND then........Turkish in the EU would be much more useful in the future....

I was only stating the mind of lazy students as you say and nothing else in this.....Soft options seem to be the way they go except for the most prepared of students. For them, whether Turkey and the TRNC get into the EU or not it would make sense to have that qualification for linking two worlds together.......Greeks do plan well ahead

[denizaksulu]

Trust Zan to look for the cynical explanation!

Spanish and Italian, being Romance langaguags with straightforward grammar, and easy pronunication would have been my choice as a lazy student. Economically too they would be more beneficial as official languages ot eh EU. Spanish especially would be the more valuable one.

Turkish is an easy language to learn the basics in Nikitas and early exam levels would be easy too. Even I could possibly pass them. AND then........Turkish in the EU would be much more useful in the future....

I was only stating the mind of lazy students as you say and nothing else in this.....Soft options seem to be the way they go except for the most prepared of students. For them, whether Turkey and the TRNC get into the EU or not it would make sense to have that qualification for linking two worlds together.......Greeks do plan well ahead

Personally I dont think these Cypriot students took Turkish as an easier option. Mind you learning Turkish is far easier than the other languages mentioned. As long as you learn the alphabet, there is no beating a phonetic Language. That aside, I have admiration for the students, or parents and teachers who had the foresight to encourage these students to learn the language of other Cypriots.
I hope this action is reciprocated in the north. Maybe it will wipe the shameful act of removing 'Greek' from the syllabus at the secondary schools in the early 1960's.

[phoenix]

The only reason I would learn Turkish was to see if I could gain some insight into why Turks think the way they do.
Maybe communicating to them in Turkish may FINALLY make them understand the things they fail to appreciate in Greek or English.

Perhaps words like Genocide, atrocities, illegalities etc. may ring home when translated to Turkish

. . . . . IMHO (since Eliko is around)

BTW . . . . Greek has overtaken Latin in British Public Schools now.

[zan]

The only reason I would learn Turkish was to see if I could get gain some insight into why Turks think they do.
Maybe communicating to them in Turkish may FINALLY make them understand the things they fail to appreciate in Greek or English.

Perhaps words like Genocide, atrocities, illegalities etc. may ring home when translated to Turkish

. . . . . IMHO (since Eliko is around)

BTW . . . . Greek has overtaken Latin in British Public Schools now.

You are a several decades late in your instruction Phoenix....We were taught those words in 1963 at the deadly end of a gun......We will never forget....Perhaps that is why you should learn Turkish and learn oppression from the receivers point of view.

[phoenix]

The only reason I would learn Turkish was to see if I could get gain some insight into why Turks think they do.
Maybe communicating to them in Turkish may FINALLY make them understand the things they fail to appreciate in Greek or English.

Perhaps words like Genocide, atrocities, illegalities etc. may ring home when translated to Turkish

. . . . . IMHO (since Eliko is around)

BTW . . . . Greek has overtaken Latin in British Public Schools now.

You are a several decades late in your instruction Phoenix....We were taught those words in 1963 at the deadly end of a gun......We will never forget....Perhaps that is why you should learn Turkish and learn oppression from the receivers point of view.

So speaking Turkish automatically qualifies you to feel oppressed . . . .

[zan]

The only reason I would learn Turkish was to see if I could get gain some insight into why Turks think they do.
Maybe communicating to them in Turkish may FINALLY make them understand the things they fail to appreciate in Greek or English.

Perhaps words like Genocide, atrocities, illegalities etc. may ring home when translated to Turkish

. . . . . IMHO (since Eliko is around)

BTW . . . . Greek has overtaken Latin in British Public Schools now.

You are a several decades late in your instruction Phoenix....We were taught those words in 1963 at the deadly end of a gun......We will never forget....Perhaps that is why you should learn Turkish and learn oppression from the receivers point of view.

So speaking Turkish automatically qualifies you to feel oppressed . . . .

Only when compared to Greek.....As in Greek Cypriot also...

[kafenes]

In the ROC, most government clerical jobs require the knowledge of the Turkish language. Students studying Turkish know they have a better chance getting a government job.