In:
The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Cambridge University Press (CUP), Vol. 10 ( 1889-11), p. 11-42
Abstract:
It will probably be a surprise, even to readers of the Journal of Hellenic Studies , to learn that there are at the present day twenty thousand persons in the south of Italy who speak Greek as their native tongue. These people form two separate groups, composed of a number of villages or townships, one of which is found in the heel of Italy or Terra d'Otranto, the other in the toe of that country, towards the extremity of the modern Calabria, in the neighbourhood of Cape Spartivento, and about twenty miles to the south-east of Reggio. The language which they speak, as might well be supposed, is not ancient Greek; nor is it in any sense a lineal descendant of that which was spoken in the colonies of Magna Graecia; but, though it is essentially modern Greek, it differs considerably from the Romaic of Greece, and these differences are of such a nature, that it must have required the lapse of many centuries to produce them. There can be no doubt that at one time it was spoken over a much wider area than at present; indeed, within the memory of man it has died out, and has been superseded by Italian, in places where it had previously been in use. Any traditions which may have existed with regard to the origin of this people and the fortunes of their ancestors they have now entirely lost; and their history, as far as it can be discovered at all, must be reconstructed from casual notices in historical documents and from intimations contained in the language.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0075-4269
,
2041-4099
Language:
English
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Publication Date:
1889
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2067299-8
SSG:
6,14
SSG:
6,12
SSG:
6,11
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