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In:World Englishes in their Local Multilingual Ecologies
Edited by Peter Siemund, Gardy Stein and Manuela Vida-Mannl
[Hamburg Studies on Linguistic Diversity 9] 2025
► pp. 166–189

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Chapter 8
The linguistic ecology of Cyprus

 | TU Dortmund University
 | TU Dortmund University
 | University of CyprusNicosia
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

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Published online: 24 April 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/hsld.9.08vid
Abstract
This chapter brings together findings from different research activities investigating the (socio)linguistic situation in Cyprus. It offers an overview of the role of English, but also other languages and dialects, their historical origins, and their relevance for present-day multilingualism in Cyprus. The complex linguistic landscapes of Cyprus are approached from a linguistic ecology perspective according to which languages in Cyprus are assessed through language classification and prestige, their speech communities, domains of use, modes of use, and characteristics of variation. Throughout the chapter, the (multi)lingual situation in both the southern part and the northern part of the divided island will be addressed, with special mention of English and Cypriot dialects and their development. This approach allows researchers to depict and disentangle the complexity of the linguistic situation in Cyprus and, at the same time, shed light on it from different angles. The chapter may also serve as the beginning of a new line of research that investigates English in the context of the complex linguistic ecology of Cyprus as a whole, in particular in its relation to the two main local varieties spoken on the island, Cypriot Greek and Cypriot Turkish.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.A brief history of multilingualism in Cyprus
    • 2.1The emergence of multilingualism on the island
    • 2.2The emergence of English in multilingual Cyprus
  • 3.English in multilingual Cyprus today
    • 3.1A preface on the ecology of language
    • 3.2English in the southern part
    • 3.3English in the northern part
    • 3.4Bilectalism in the multilingual ecologies of Cyprus
  • 4.Discussion: The current linguistic ecology of Cyprus
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (75)
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