Some directions for the systematic investigation of the acquisition of Cypriot Greek

Cypriot Greek is an understudied variety of Modern Greek, certainly as concerns the morphosyntactic grammatical system and developmental stages in young learners. This chapter lays out the beginnings of a larger research agenda currently undertaken by the Cyprus Acquisition Team and presents a first systematic foray into the first language acquisition of Cypriot Greek. One interesting contrast with Standard Modern Greek, and its relevance for young learners, is particularly highlighted: direct object clitic placement. The results from the pilot study presented here are capitalized on by formulating the tender beginnings of the Socio-Syntax of Development Hypothesis for language acquisition in ‘bi-x environments’ – that is, first language development in linguistic environments, such as that of Greek-speaking Cyprus, that are variably characterized as diglossic, bidialectal, or bilingual.