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From Katpatuka to Ionanistan: The Rise, Demise and Reawakening of Cappadocian


October 21, 2019
5:30pm - 7:00pm
William James Hall 105, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
October 21, 2019
5:30pm - 7:00pm
William James Hall 105, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138


For more information on Boston area Classics calendar please go here.

About

Cappadocian (Asia Minor Greek) is a Greek-Turkish mixed language spoken in Cappadocia (Central Turkey) until the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in the 1920s. Cappadocian speakers were forced to emigrate to Greece, where they were resettled in various locations, especially in Central and Northern Greece. The Cappadocians rapidly shifted to Standard Modern Greek and/or regional varieties thereof and their language was thought to be extinct since the 1970s (Ethnologue, 15th edition, 2005). In June 2005, Mark Janse (Ghent University) and Dimitris Papazachariou (University of Patras) discovered Cappadocians in Central and Northern Greece who could still speak their native language. Amongst them are middle-aged, third-generation speakers who take a very positive attitude towards the language as opposed to their parents and and grandparents. The latter are much less (if at all) inclined to speak Cappadocian and normally switch to Greek and/or Turkish in their conversations. In his lecture, Janse will relate the linguistic history of Cappadocia and the fascinating story of his search und ultimately discovery of the lost Cappadocian language. The lecture will be followed by the documentary film ‘Last Words.'

Organizer: Jeremy Rau, Professor of Linguistics and the Classics, Harvard University

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