Cyprus-Forum.com

[denizaksulu]

just spotted in a post on the abandoned puppies that said instead of siga-siga it is Cypriot to say 'yali yali'

that right?
x

Yes it is Cypriot. Yali yali means the same thing as siga siga, slowly slowly. The true Cypriot language is a mixture of Greek and Turkish words. For instance Barberis (barber) is a Turkish word. I use it far more than the greek equivalent of Kourias. You have a choice, it's ashame that many have forgetted their Turkish equivalents, but I know them well. lol

Today I overheard two Limassol city bus drivers talking in Gibriaga, and it seems that they refer to their own profession with a word sounding like "shoferis" which I suppose comes from the Turkish "şoför", itself a loan-word from the French "chaffeur".

Tim, an interesting word is kilid/kilit in Turkish, which means a lock. As you very well know. In Gibreaga it has been Grekicised and called kilidi.

In chemistry we come across an interesting word which is 'to chelate' to molecules locking in to each other (such as enzymes). How many of us see the connection to kilit/kilid. (Also used in Arabic; as in Kilid Bahr. The fortifications on the Bosphorus, locking out foreign ships).Derived from ancient Greek.

What a journey Ancient Greek---->Arabic--->Turkish--->Gibreaga.

There must be more such words with an interesting Etymology.

[Natty]

My grandmother says ‘To ropis’ (I don't know whether that's two words or one) and ‘Ombritera’. They both mean before and I've been told that ‘To ropis’ derives from ancient Greek, but does anyone know where ‘Ompritera’ comes from? And my grandfather always says 'Olan', which I'm guessing is Turkish but I have no idea what it means. My Great grandfather on my fathers side had many TC friends, and apparently (Unfortunately I never met him) he was a really sweet guy, so they gave him the nickname Cheker, or it could have been sheker I'm not entirely sure, it's supposed to be the Turkish for sugar, I'm sure someone can correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, it was 'Greekacised' by his GC friends and he became Chekeros, so to my dad he was known as 'O Papous o Chekeros'.

I've noticed that we also use quite a few Italian words. Words like 'Strata' (Road), 'Borta' (door), 'Brosta' (Fork), etc. There's also that song that you sing to little girls when you push them on swings 'Sousa Bella omorfi kopella', I wonder if Sousa actually means anything? And it's not just Italian words, apparently 'Trigo' (Cardigan) is French, and of course we've got the Arabic 'Aman'. And I love it when you have a conversation with a young Cypriot and they add a smattering of English to what they’re saying..

[Sega]

My grandmother says ‘To ropis’ (I don't know whether that's two words or one) and ‘Ombritera’. They both mean before and I've been told that ‘To ropis’ derives from ancient Greek, but does anyone know where ‘Ompritera’ comes from? And my grandfather always says 'Olan', which I'm guessing is Turkish but I have no idea what it means. My Great grandfather on my fathers side had many TC friends, and apparently (Unfortunately I never met him) he was a really sweet guy, so they gave him the nickname Cheker, or it could have been sheker I'm not entirely sure, it's supposed to be the Turkish for sugar, I'm sure someone can correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, it was 'Greekacised' by his GC friends and he became Chekeros, so to my dad he was known as 'O Papous o Chekeros'.

I've noticed that we also use quite a few Italian words. Words like 'Strata' (Road), 'Borta' (door), 'Brosta' (Fork), etc. There's also that song that you sing to little girls when you push them on swings 'Sousa Bella omorfi kopella', I wonder if Sousa actually means anything? And it's not just Italian words, apparently 'Trigo' (Cardigan) is French, and of course we've got the Arabic 'Aman'. And I love it when you have a conversation with a young Cypriot and they add a smattering of English to what they’re saying..

Olan is the same as sior, not sure where they come from though, you can use any interchangably without any misunderstanding. It is sort of a stress point in your conversation.

All those words you stated are still used today, I use them daily, it's not frowned upon either. Only a few do not like using them. Sousa cames from na souzies, to swing, Bella is Spanish or Italian for buitiful.

I have one we used in our family, it goes like "re wankas" meaning "oi wanker". We mix our English and Greek without noticing, one sentance might go from fluent English to village like Greek 3 times over before it finished. It's funny when others just watch in amazement.

[Nikitas]

Natty, Ombritera derives from emprotera compound word from en and protera, literally gone on before. Ancient Greek derivation.

As for Deniz' speculation about the word klidi, it derives from kleino, to lock, in Greek again and considering the variety of uses that verb and related noun have in GC dialect I would hazard that it was there all along and did not travel via the Arabs etc. Off the bat: kleidono, kleidomeno, tsakrokleidi (key made into fireworks launcher), and the uses it has in mechanics talk where all spanners etc are referred to by the noun kleidi, and kleidarithmos for combination to a safe etc.

I find Italian derived words fascinating considering how long ago we took them over and that we have no proximity to Italy. Cypriot probably has more Italian words than the dialects of Corfu and the other Ionian islands which were under Venetian rule longer and are so close to Italy. I notice also that Italian words are more often used in Troodos and that makes me wonder why. Did the last Venetians take refuge up there? There were some large feudal properties in the mountains, perhaps the owners who could not flee stayed behind and these Italian words are their legacy.

[Natty]

My grandmother says ‘To ropis’ (I don't know whether that's two words or one) and ‘Ombritera’. They both mean before and I've been told that ‘To ropis’ derives from ancient Greek, but does anyone know where ‘Ompritera’ comes from? And my grandfather always says 'Olan', which I'm guessing is Turkish but I have no idea what it means. My Great grandfather on my fathers side had many TC friends, and apparently (Unfortunately I never met him) he was a really sweet guy, so they gave him the nickname Cheker, or it could have been sheker I'm not entirely sure, it's supposed to be the Turkish for sugar, I'm sure someone can correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, it was 'Greekacised' by his GC friends and he became Chekeros, so to my dad he was known as 'O Papous o Chekeros'.

I've noticed that we also use quite a few Italian words. Words like 'Strata' (Road), 'Borta' (door), 'Brosta' (Fork), etc. There's also that song that you sing to little girls when you push them on swings 'Sousa Bella omorfi kopella', I wonder if Sousa actually means anything? And it's not just Italian words, apparently 'Trigo' (Cardigan) is French, and of course we've got the Arabic 'Aman'. And I love it when you have a conversation with a young Cypriot and they add a smattering of English to what they’re saying..

Olan is the same as sior, not sure where they come from though, you can use any interchangably without any misunderstanding. It is sort of a stress point in your conversation.

All those words you stated are still used today, I use them daily, it's not frowned upon either. Only a few do not like using them. Sousa cames from na souzies, to swing, Bella is Spanish or Italian for buitiful.

I have one we used in our family, it goes like "re wankas" meaning "oi wanker". We mix our English and Greek without noticing, one sentance might go from fluent English to village like Greek 3 times over before it finished. It's funny when others just watch in amazement.

That makes sense, he does tend to say a full sentence and then stick 'olan' on the end. Sior has to be my dads’ favourite word, he's constantly saying it. Apparently, according to him, it derives from the Italian 'Signor', which is a possibility I suppose.

Oh god I always use those words, except for maybe 'brotsa', that's more part of my grandparents’ vocabulary.

I’m thinking 're wanker's' has definitely got to become part of my vocabulary. I believe it's commonly known as 'Greeklish'. You know, I always thought it was only us ' Charlies' who spoke it, but from speaking to a far few Kiprei, it seems not..

Something else I’ve noticed is that some people tend to put ‘de’ or ‘des’ on the end of certain words, like for example, ‘Figamen-des’? Would that be from the Turkish influence?

[kafenes]

Natty, I presume the word Olan comes from the Turkish word Oglan meaning 'boy'.

[Natty]

Natty, Ombritera derives from emprotera compound word from en and protera, literally gone on before. Ancient Greek derivation.

As for Deniz' speculation about the word klidi, it derives from kleino, to lock, in Greek again and considering the variety of uses that verb and related noun have in GC dialect I would hazard that it was there all along and did not travel via the Arabs etc. Off the bat: kleidono, kleidomeno, tsakrokleidi (key made into fireworks launcher), and the uses it has in mechanics talk where all spanners etc are referred to by the noun kleidi, and kleidarithmos for combination to a safe etc.

I find Italian derived words fascinating considering how long ago we took them over and that we have no proximity to Italy. Cypriot probably has more Italian words than the dialects of Corfu and the other Ionian islands which were under Venetian rule longer and are so close to Italy. I notice also that Italian words are more often used in Troodos and that makes me wonder why. Did the last Venetians take refuge up there? There were some large feudal properties in the mountains, perhaps the owners who could not flee stayed behind and these Italian words are their legacy.

Thanks Nikitas, it seems my grandmother's rather knowledgeable when it comes to ancient Greek words. I reckon she could teach a student studying Ancient Greek a thing or two...

It's interesting that you should say that actually because my cousin’s family on her father’s side originate from a village in the mountains called Katodrys, and apparently there's a legend that the Villagers accentors were Venations fleeing from the Ottomans. My Mothers family also originate from a very small and very, very, very high mountain village called Odhou and my maternal grandparents use a ton of Italian words. In fact many moons ago they owned a Cafe in England, and for a period they had an Italian guy working for them. One day my Grandmother was speaking to my Grandfather, and this guy was able to follow almost exactly what she was saying. Actually my Grandfather only has to step outside the house and start speaking ‘mountain kipreika’ and someone nearly always comes up and asks him whether he’s Italian..

[Oracle]

Natty, Ombritera derives from emprotera compound word from en and protera, literally gone on before. Ancient Greek derivation.

As for Deniz' speculation about the word klidi, it derives from kleino, to lock, in Greek again and considering the variety of uses that verb and related noun have in GC dialect I would hazard that it was there all along and did not travel via the Arabs etc. Off the bat: kleidono, kleidomeno, tsakrokleidi (key made into fireworks launcher), and the uses it has in mechanics talk where all spanners etc are referred to by the noun kleidi, and kleidarithmos for combination to a safe etc.

I find Italian derived words fascinating considering how long ago we took them over and that we have no proximity to Italy. Cypriot probably has more Italian words than the dialects of Corfu and the other Ionian islands which were under Venetian rule longer and are so close to Italy. I notice also that Italian words are more often used in Troodos and that makes me wonder why. Did the last Venetians take refuge up there? There were some large feudal properties in the mountains, perhaps the owners who could not flee stayed behind and these Italian words are their legacy.

Thanks Nikitas, it seems my grandmother's rather knowledgeable when it comes to ancient Greek words. I reckon she could teach a student studying Ancient Greek a thing or two...

It's interesting that you should say that actually because my cousin’s family on her father’s side originate from a village in the mountains called Katodrys, and apparently there's a legend that the Villagers accentors were Venations fleeing from the Ottomans. My Mothers family also originate from a very small and very, very, very high mountain village called Odhou and my maternal grandparents use a ton of Italian words. In fact many moons ago they owned a Cafe in England, and for a period they had an Italian guy working for them. One day my Grandmother was speaking to my Grandfather, and this guy was able to follow almost exactly what she was saying. Actually my Grandfather only has to step outside the house and start speaking ‘mountain kipreika’ and someone nearly always comes up and asks him whether he’s Italian..

Hey, my dad was also fluent in Italian ..... and I just always assumed he must have picked it up whilst he was a POW in WWII.

[Natty]

Natty, I presume the word Olan comes from the Turkish word Oglan meaning 'boy'.

Thanks Kafenes, so my grandfather may be sticking the word 'boy' on the end of nearly all his sentences? Huh, interesting..I'll be sure to tell him next time I see him..

BTW, I was looking through the 'What you look like thread' and I came across the very nice picture that you posted of yourself (I personally think you have blue eyes with a hint of green ). This is a bit of a random question, but has anybody every told you that you look a bit like the Greek singer Pasxalis Terzis?

[denizaksulu]

Natty, I presume the word Olan comes from the Turkish word Oglan meaning 'boy'.

I was thinking that too Kafenes, but their is a root word olmak=a happening (a verb). Olan is a weird one. we say "nedir olan yaptigin". Which means what on earth are you doing. The word "olan" seems to emphasise the question. I am asking myself also if in that sentence it could mean 'oglan' as you said, but yo can also say it to a girl. I will look it up for an explanation, unfortunately I left my 'bible' (the Redhouse) at work.