Cyprus-Forum.com

[denizaksulu]

Thanks for your comments so far, however just one criticism.

Please don't call me a HIM I am a woman!!

My apologies. Someone else has a figure in a 'skirt' and he is a fella, and one can be easily deceived. Do you use Hydrogen peroxide?

[observer]

Just reat the Annan plan, drafted by an English man (a Lord!) and what Cypriots were asked to accept regarding Britian's bases as part of their collective future.

Proves my point about there being no unbiased history. Unless I "reat" Nikitas incorrectly, he takes there to be bias on an actual, historical document put forward by the UN, that most neutral of organisations!

[Oracle]

Dear O

I was replying to Snad's original post asking for unbiased histories, not your recommended reading.

I was the only one who mentioned a Historian ..... and you spent a paragraph describing how historians were biased after I had clearly said the one I mentioned was informative, then I made due comment on biases.

[samarkeolog]

I have never before ventured into this part of the forum before, as the Cyprus problem is for Cypriots IMHO

Could any of you give me a link to UNBIASED opinions on how the UK was involved in your trouble?

I really do mean unbiased as I don't want to spend time reading propaganda.

Some may think this is a strange request, but I would just like to find out how my homeland was involved, as Cyprus is now my home and has been for the last four years.


TIA

Perry Anderson wrote a good review of the development of the disaster, although he does call it a Greek island, which it isn't; like the language, it's Cypriot.

[observer]

Dear O

I was replying to Snad's original post asking for unbiased histories, not your recommended reading.

I was the only one who mentioned a Historian ..... and you spent a paragraph describing how historians were biased after I had clearly said the one I mentioned was informative, then I made due comment on biases.

Oooooooooooooooh. We are being sensitive.

Snad asked about where she could read about past events. You (and I quite independently) came to the conclusion that it was mainly historians who wrote about the past. My post was written quite independently of yours with no intention of referring to it.

[Piratis]

I have never before ventured into this part of the forum before, as the Cyprus problem is for Cypriots IMHO

Could any of you give me a link to UNBIASED opinions on how the UK was involved in your trouble?

I really do mean unbiased as I don't want to spend time reading propaganda.

Some may think this is a strange request, but I would just like to find out how my homeland was involved, as Cyprus is now my home and has been for the last four years.


TIA

Perry Anderson wrote a good review of the development of the disaster, although he does call it a Greek island, which it isn't; like the language, it's Cypriot.

The language is Greek, Cypriot is a dialect. There are several Greek dialects within Greece. Different dialects exist within many ethnic groups, especially ones with long history.

Who determines what Cyprus is are the Cypriot people themselves. Not any foreigners.

[samarkeolog]

I have never before ventured into this part of the forum before, as the Cyprus problem is for Cypriots IMHO

Could any of you give me a link to UNBIASED opinions on how the UK was involved in your trouble?

I really do mean unbiased as I don't want to spend time reading propaganda.

Some may think this is a strange request, but I would just like to find out how my homeland was involved, as Cyprus is now my home and has been for the last four years.


TIA

Perry Anderson wrote a good review of the development of the disaster, although he does call it a Greek island, which it isn't; like the language, it's Cypriot.

The language is Greek, Cypriot is a dialect. There are several Greek dialects within Greece. Different dialects exist within many ethnic groups, especially ones with long history.

Who determines what Cyprus is are the Cypriot people themselves. Not any foreigners.

Well, it was a bit of a joke to make a point, but let's take it seriously. I wasn't telling Cypriots what they are or how to feel, and I wouldn't. But just because you feel Greek, it doesn't mean other Cypriots do or are. You can be whatever you like; so can they. They can be kalamarades if they so choose.

And actually, before they started "cleaning" the dialect to bring it closer to Athenian Greek, Gybriaga was probably at least as far away from Ellinika as Portuguese is from Spanish. Now Bafiote, that is a dialect - of Gybriaga!

[kurupetos]

I think one should read all the information available (biased or not), talk with people and then think. The answer will come out easily.

[Piratis]

But just because you feel Greek, it doesn't mean other Cypriots do or are.

The fact is however that the vast majority of Cypriots feel and are Greeks. The fact that there are small minorities of non-Greeks in Cyprus doesn't make Cyprus any less Greek. There are minorities of non Greeks in Athens as well. Similarly there are minorities of non English in London. Minorities of different ethnic groups exist just about everywhere.

And actually, before they started "cleaning" the dialect to bring it closer to Athenian Greek, Gybriaga was probably at least as far away from Ellinika as Portuguese is from Spanish. Now Bafiote, that is a dialect - of Gybriaga!

On the contrary. Early on the dialect of Cyprus was almost exactly the same as the dialect in Arcadia in Peloponnese. The dialect was called Arcado-Cypriot. In fact the heavy Cypriot dialect as still spoken by some older people is much closer to ancient Greek than the Athenian dialect. This is because we were far from the center, and language developed much slower here. The same happened with many other Greek islands and territories which were far and/or isolated from Athens.

Also you mistakenly talk about "Ellinika" as being one dialect, and "Gybriaga" as being another. "Ellinika" (Greek) is the language, not a dialect. And within Greek there are many dialects, not just 2. If you go to Crete for example and you talk to some old people there, you will see that their dialect is much more similar to the dialect of Cyprus, than the dialect of Athens.

So instead of assuming things maybe you should learn a thing or two before talking about the topic. Here is something to start:

http://www.benjamins.com/jbp/series/JGL/4/art/0003a.pdf
(this is just a result in the first page of Google (after wikipedia) when searching for Greek Dialects)

[samarkeolog]

But just because you feel Greek, it doesn't mean other Cypriots do or are.

The fact is however that the vast majority of Cypriots feel and are Greeks. The fact that there are small minorities of non-Greeks in Cyprus doesn't make Cyprus any less Greek. There are minorities of non Greeks in Athens as well. Similarly there are minorities of non English in London. Minorities of different ethnic groups exist just about everywhere.

[/quote]

So Greek Cypriots who consider themselves Greek Cypriots rather than Cypriot Greeks are a small minority? Either you misunderstood the people I was saying felt themselves to be Cypriot - I was referring to the people everyone including the state refers to as Cypriot, not the Sri Lankans or the Philippinos; or you confused Greek Cypriots who define themselves as Cypriot rather than Greek with first-generation immigrants. Either way...

And actually, before they started "cleaning" the dialect to bring it closer to Athenian Greek, Gybriaga was probably at least as far away from Ellinika as Portuguese is from Spanish. Now Bafiote, that is a dialect - of Gybriaga!

On the contrary. Early on the dialect of Cyprus was almost exactly the same as the dialect in Arcadia in Peloponnese. The dialect was called Arcado-Cypriot. In fact the heavy Cypriot dialect as still spoken by some older people is much closer to ancient Greek than the Athenian dialect.

Yeah, I've heard that, although I have heard Greek-language teachers dispute it. But I didn't say that Gybriaga was further from ancient Greek than Athenian. I said that Gybriaga was very different from Athenian, especially after they "cleaned" it.

This is because we were far from the center, and language developed much slower here. The same happened with many other Greek islands and territories which were far and/or isolated from Athens.

So, you agree with what I said in the first place.

Also you mistakenly talk about "Ellinika" as being one dialect, and "Gybriaga" as being another. "Ellinika" (Greek) is the language, not a dialect. And within Greek there are many dialects, not just 2. If you go to Crete for example and you talk to some old people there, you will see that their dialect is much more similar to the dialect of Cyprus, than the dialect of Athens.

Sorry, having specified Athenian Greek once already in the sentence, I just wrote Ellinika to be quick. If we talked about English, unless we specified that we were talking about Cornish, or Geordie, or Glaswegian, we would be talking about "standard", "Queen's" English; we're always talking about one dialect or another, because the "standard" form is just the dialect spoken by the most powerful people. I took courses in "Greek" in Cyprus from a Cretan, and I was still taught Athenian.