Probably the most divergent of all Arabic dialects is Cypriot Maronite Arabic, still spoken by most of the 130 elderly Maronite Catholics in Kormakiti (Korucam) in Northern Cyprus, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Brought to the island by Maronites fleeing Lebanon at least 700 years ago, this unique variety of Arabic has been very heavily influenced by Greek in both phonology and vocabulary, while retaining certain unusually archaic features in other respects.
Bibliography
- Alexander Borg. A Comparative Glossary of Cypriot Maronite Arabic (Arabic-English). Brill 2004.[1]
- Alexander Borg. Cypriot Arabic: A Historical and Comparative Investigation into the Phonology and Morphology of the Arabic Vernacular Spoken by the Maronites of Kormakiti Village in the Kyrenia District of North-Western Cyprus, Stuttgart: Deutsche Morgenlandische Gesellschaft, 1985.
- Tsiapera, M. A Descriptive Analysis of Cypriot Maronite Arabic, The Hague: Mouton & Co., N.V., 1969.
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