‘They speak in code’

In an age when ‘drip’ is a compliment and ‘extra’ is not, it is a very fine line between speaking properly and coming across as quaint.

For as long as I can remember, Grenglish among bilinguals has been okay and often caused a giggle or two. Today, however, urban slang has seeped into the language of all young teens and is incomprehensible to anyone who can remember the ‘technological revolution’ brought about by the digital watch that could chime the hour in 35 different melodies (more or less).

Where in the past we put a Greek ending on an English verb, now English words are dropped into Greek speech in addition to internationally understood (by young teens) words of slang picked up from social media, making for what could be interpreted as a whole language, parts of which could well be understood by those coming from elsewhere.

Fanum tax (food theft among friends) may seem a bit skibidi (weird) but it’s actually aura (cool), if done right.

I have a 12-year-old boy. Dare I correct his language? Or do I respect the fact that language is alive and continually changing? Is it right to insist on the English and Greek I learnt from my parents, or should I amuse myself watching it evolve? Being called drip (stylish) is a compliment. Not in my day.

But what is it evolving into and – possibly most importantly – what is it shedding along the way?

Although this may be a worldwide phenomenon, in Cyprus things seem a bit trickier, with the already present influences of English and Turkish on a dialect of Greek still using words and expressions that can be traced back to ancient Greece.

Is the grey area of Grenglish spreading to encompass the whole sphere of language and merging the online influences people are today bombarded with? Keeping up with urban slang is a continuous battle and certainly not rizz (attractive to a potential partner), so I’ve been told.

If the leaders of tomorrow are widely speaking their own concoction of a language, what does this entail for the future?

“Every language or dialect, every era has its own evolution and change. No matter how strong the local language or the local character is, there will still be change – either negative or positive,” co-author of the Joint Dictionary of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot Dialect Iakovos Hadjipieris said.

Modern Greek, he added, evolved from ancient Greek, passing through various stages before emerging in its current form. “It is unavoidable.”

He cited English being an “international language”, as well as access to technology and the internet, as the main reasons the new form of Grenglish has spread rapidly.

On the other hand, through writing Greek in Latin script, young people today are actually “recording the Cypriot dialect” for the first time and “this is good,” he said.

“There is no right or wrong […] All languages are incorporating this slang. This is the first time this is happening in the world, having an international language.”

He believes language cannot and should not be restricted, as it “evolves through the power of the word of the people.

“I am not worried at all. My great-grandfather would not understand me. But he is in the past. We will welcome [the new form of language] and we will respect it. Linguistic developments are unavoidable,” he said.

Myria Polyviou, Onisia Georgiou and Ioanna Karaiskaki teach modern and ancient Greek to high school students, aged from 12 to 18.

They agree that students’ performance is dropping and that reading remains the best way for children of all ages to maintain their grasp on their language.

“We’ve lent to other languages from ancient Greek and of course we’ve borrowed and we see this intensely among children. They use foreign words when speaking and writing,” Polyviou said.

In the classroom, it is sometimes easier for children to use an English word and this is a result of technology, she says, adding however that “adults are also responsible for the situation because children copy them.

Language, she explains, is the foundation of civilisation and culture. “It is my identity, it is who I am.

“Students are writing Greek in Latin script and using many abbreviations. Spelling is altered, many times they use Grenglish in essays, even by accident. It is a matter of habit,” Polyviou added.

Georgiou sees weaknesses in expression, both verbal and written, poor vocabulary and bad spelling.

“The use of language is very poor. They speak in code.”

Children nowadays do not know the basic spelling rules because they simply don’t use them, she said.

On the other hand, Georgiou acknowledged that English is affecting all languages and, instead of fighting it, it would be better to cultivate the importance of children’s native tongues.

Georgiou uses a speech by Xenofon Zolotas to make her point in class. In 1957 and 1959, Greek economist Zolotas, Governor of the Bank of Greece and Governor of the Funds for Greece, delivered two speeches in English using Greek words only.

All languages are equally important and it is necessary that everyone maintains a good grasp on their own so that “we don’t reach the point when Greek will be a foreign language.”

Karaiskaki believes Grenglish has spread because it is easier to handle, however it has developed “to the detriment of our mother tongue.”

“That is why we see poor results in tests,” she said.

According to Karaiskaki, the phenomenon starts when children are permitted free access to online content, in late elementary school, and culminates in late high school.

“This generation was born into technology. They are victims of the age, victims of technology,” Karaiskaki said.

Sophia Demetriou is a primary school teacher and sees Grenglish taking a grip on children from nine years of age onwards.

“They use English letters in words. They have trouble with spelling, syntax, grammar and expression in both the oral and written word,” Demetriou said. 

She adds that “there are so many abbreviations, letters are eliminated, words and phrases are simplified.”

“Things will get worse,” Demetriou predicted.

Language now has moved on. “Everything is so mixed up. You can’t understand what the children are saying amongst themselves and they can’t explain it in their mother tongue.

“There is a huge change in the way children express themselves and an even bigger chasm between generations.

“Children don’t care. They prefer it because it is an easy way to express themselves and it is cool. It is easier for them to become accepted by their peers,” Demetriou added.

All teachers agreed on the importance of reading books, not necessarily those suggested by schools, for students to maintain contact with their native language.

As a Gen X who is fondly referred to as a “dinosaur”, I feel almost privileged to be living through this transition, watching evolution in action, amusedly and at the same time anxiously observing a major turning point in the fabric of linguistics, feeling the wind on my face as the hybrid era barges in.

For better or for worse? – it is not up to me to decide.