Cyprus Languages

Greek and Turkish are the official languages of Cyprus and are taught in schools and used in broadcasting. English is widely spoken. The Greek language spoken today in Cyprus is called the Cypriot dialect. Although the Cypriot Greek dialect shows evidence of some Latin-Italian, Turkish, and even English influences, it is considered the closest living language to ancient Greek. The records of Cyprus are generally in Greek or Turkish, with some in English during the time of British rule. During the Ottoman period most records other than church records were in Turkish, even those pertaining to Greeks. A few records associated with the Muslims may be in Arabic language and it is important to note that until the 1900s Turkish language was written in the Arabic alphabet. Cyprus has also had several minority religious groups including Maronites, Roman Catholic, Armenian Apostolic, and Jews. Thus one can expect to find some records in Latin, Armenian, and Hebrew as well.