ΕΑΝ ΠΡΟΤΙΜΑΤΕ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΠΑΤΗΣΤΕ ΤΗ ΣΗΜΑΙΑ ΣΤΟ ΚΑΤΩ ΜΕΡΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΟΘΟΝΗΣ
By Helleniscope’s Editorial Team
Dr. Ioanna Sitaridou is a Cambridge-based linguist whose work offers a rare portal into the historical depth of Greek. As a scholar of historical linguistics, she has focused on Romeyka — a little-documented Greek variety still spoken in remote villages of northeastern Turkey.
Romeyka — sometimes considered part of the broader group known as Pontic Greek — is remarkable for preserving grammatical features lost in standard Modern Greek. Among its most striking characteristics is the preservation of the infinitive verb form, a feature that dates back to Ancient and Hellenistic Greek but vanished from all mainstream Greek varieties long ago. Phys.org+2The Guardian+2
Because of those archaic features, Sitaridou argues that Romeyka should not be seen as a mere dialect of Modern Greek, but rather as a “sister language” — a separate evolutionary branch preserving ancient structural traits that mainstream Greek lost. University of Cambridge+2The Guardian+2
Today, Romeyka is endangered. Researchers estimate only a few thousand native speakers remain — most of them elderly — and there is no widely used written form. The language survives almost exclusively through oral tradition in isolated mountain villages near Trabzon. University of Cambridge+2Greek News Agenda+2
In response, Sitaridou launched the “Crowdsourcing Romeyka” initiative, inviting speakers worldwide — including diaspora communities — to submit audio recordings. The aim: to build a permanent archive of spoken Romeyka, preserving its unique grammar, vocabulary, and oral heritage before it vanishes. University of Cambridge+2EurekAlert!+2
Romeyka provides scholars — and anyone invested in Hellenic heritage — with a “living bridge” to ancient Greek. Its survival challenges simplistic, linear narratives of Greek linguistic continuity, showing instead a branched and diverse linguistic history that extends beyond modern Greece’s borders.
Selected Media & Documentation
A profile of the preservation effort: “‘Last chance to record archaic Greek language heading for extinction’” — overview of the crowdsourcing project led by Sitaridou. University of Cambridge+1
Feature article: “Endangered Greek dialect is ‘living bridge’ to ancient world” — describes Romeyka’s archaic traits and the urgency of preservation. The Guardian+1
Background essay: “An Ancient Form of Greek Language Needs Help to Survive” — contextualizes Romeyka among the world’s endangered languages. Discover Magazine
Historical research overview: “Archaic Greek in a modern world” — earlier discussion of Romeyka as a “linguistic goldmine.” University of Cambridge+1
December 10, 2025, n.stamatakis@aol.com www.helleniscope.com
DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.
