Everything about Griko totally explained
Griko, sometimes spelled
Grico, is a
Modern Greek dialect which is spoken by people in the
Magna Graecia region in southern
Italy, and it's otherwise known as the
Grecanic language. Greeks often call the dialect
Katoitaliótika (Greek: Κατωιταλιώτικα, "Southern Italian") and sometimes
Calabrian, although the latter may also serve as an
euphemism for a Greek-Italian
pidgin language.
Two small Griko-speaking communities survive today in the Italian regions of
Calabria (
Province of Reggio Calabria) and
Puglia (peninsula of
Salento). The Griko-speaking area of Salento comprises nine small towns in the
Grecìa Salentina region (
Calimera,
Martano,
Castrignano de' Greci,
Corigliano d'Otranto,
Melpignano,
Soleto,
Sternatia,
Zollino,
Martignano), with a total of 40,000 inhabitants. The
Calabrian Griko region also consists of nine villages in
Bovesia, and four districts in the city of
Reggio Calabria, but its population is significantly smaller.
The most prevalent theory on the origin of Griko is the one by
Gerhard Rohlfs and
G. Hatzidakis, stating that Griko's roots go as back in history as the time of the ancient Greek
colonisation of Southern Italy and Sicily, in the
8th century BC. In that respect, this Southern Italian dialect is the last living trace of the Greek elements that once formed Magna Graecia. Grico has preserved some
Doric elements, characteristic of that early phase. However, its structure is otherwise mostly based on mainstream
Koiné Greek like almost all other Modern Greek dialects. Griko and Common Modern Greek are mutually intelligible to some extent.
There is rich oral tradition and Griko
folklore. Griko songs,
music and
poetry are particularly popular in Italy and
Greece. Famous music groups from Salento include
Ghetonia and
Aramirè. Also, influential Greek artists such as
Dionysis Savvopoulos and
Maria Farantouri have performed in Griko.
The Italian
parliament has recognized the Griko community of Salento as an
ethnic and
linguistic minority, under the name of
"Minoranze linguistiche Grike dell'Etnia Griko-Salentina" (linguistic minority of the Griko-Salentinian ethnicity).
Sample Griko text
from "Kalinifta", a popular Griko song:
Griko
» Εβώ πάντα σε σένα πενσέω,
γιατί σένα φσυκή μου 'γαπώ,
» τσαι που πάω, που σύρνω, που στέω
στην καρδιά μου πάντα σένα βαστώ.
transliteration:
» Evo panta se sena pensèo,
yiatì sena fsichi mou ghapò, » ce pou pao, pou syrno, pou steo
stin kardià mou panta sena vastò.
Modern Greek
» Εγώ πάντα εσένα σκέφτομαι,
γιατί εσένα ψυχή μου αγαπώ,
» και όπου πάω, όπου σέρνομαι, όπου στέκω,
στην καρδιά μου πάντα εσένα βαστώ.
transliteration:
» Ego panta esena skeftome,
yiatì esena psihi mou aghapò, » ke opou pao, opou sernome, opou stekome
stin kardià mou panta esena vastò.Further Information
Get more info on 'Griko'.
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