Languages
The official language of Greece is Greek, spoken by 93% of the total population as their primary language, and by almost all as a second language at least. Additionally, there are a number of linguistic minority groups that are bilingual in a variety of non-Greek languages, and most of these groups identify ethnically as Greeks. The most common of all these dialects, the groups that speak them and the regions where they are considered native are:
| Dialect | Spoken by | Estimated population | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greek dialects | |||
| Cretan | Cretans | 600,000 | Crete |
| Maniot | Maniots | 25,000 | Mani (southern Peloponnese) |
| Pontic | Pontians | 200,000 | Macedonia |
| Sarakatsanika | Sarakatsani | 80,000 | Central Greece, Thessaly, Epirus |
| Tsakonian | Tsakonians | 1,200 | Tsakonia (eastern Peloponnese) |
| Other languages | |||
| Bulgarian/Macedonian Slavic | Slavic-speakers of Greek Macedonia | 10,000-250,000 | Macedonia |
| Bulgarian | Pomaks | 35,000 | Thrace |
| Turkish | Turks of Western Thrace | 128,380 | Thrace |
| Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian | Aromanians | 40,000–200,000 | Epirus, Thessaly, West Macedonia |
| Romani | Roma | 40,000–160,000 | mainly in Thrace |
| Arvanitika | Arvanites | 30,000–140,000 | Attica, southern Euboea, Boeotia, Peloponnese |
Read more about this topic: Demographics Of Greece
Famous quotes containing the word languages:
“It is time for dead languages to be quiet.”
—Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972)
“People in places many of us never heard of, whose names we can’t pronounce or even spell, are speaking up for themselves. They speak in languages we once classified as “exotic” but whose mastery is now essential for our diplomats and businessmen. But what they say is very much the same the world over. They want a decent standard of living. They want human dignity and a voice in their own futures. They want their children to grow up strong and healthy and free.”
—Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)
“The less sophisticated of my forbears avoided foreigners at all costs, for the very good reason that, in their circles, speaking in tongues was commonly a prelude to snake handling. The more tolerant among us regarded foreign languages as a kind of speech impediment that could be overcome by willpower.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)