ANGELIKI ANDREOU, ANNA MICHAIL, ELENI LANITI

MINORITY GROUPS AND THEIR LANGUAGE RIGHTS

IN THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS

THE ARMENIAN MINORITY IN THE REPUBLIC OF

CYPRUS

Armenians existed in Cyprus since 6th Century.

Main migration happened in 1915-1923, after the Armenian Genocide in Turkey.

Nowadays, there are around 2600 Armenians in the Republic of Cyprus.

Inhabitants of South Cyprus and Famagusta (those left after the Turkish invasion, 1974).

They are considered to be a ‘religious group’.

They have the right to elect a representative to represent themselves to the Cypriot Parliament.

Most of them are bilinguals in Greek and Armenian.

They have the right to use their language publicly and privately and receive instructions to it, as well.

There are three public schools that offer Armenians education in Greek, English and Armenian.

These schools are funded by the Cypriot government and are supervised by the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Cyprus.

These schools follow the official school curriculum, just like other schools, but they organize activities that are related to the Armenian language and culture. (classes in Armenian history, geography and traditional Armenian dance).

THE MARONITES MINORITY IN THE REPUBLIC OF

CYPRUS

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

They migrated in the 8th century

Maronites are a religious group

They chose to follow the Greek-Cypriot community

They are now the third largest religious group in Cyprus

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Before Turkish invasion in 1974 they were located in Keryneia

Now they are located in Nicosia

In politics they have the right to elect a representative in the Cypriot Parliament but he/she has not the right to vote

MARONITES IN NOWADAYS

Educated in Greek schools

They have their own culture

They are trying to preserve their cultural identity with various ways

Their language has been recognised as a minority language in 2008

THE LATIN AND ROMANI MINORITIES IN THE

REBUBLIC OF CYPRUS

LATINS

Latins arrived in Cyprus in the 16th century

Migrants from Italy, Malta and France

Nowadays there are approximately 900 Latins on the island.

They are mentioned as a religious group in the Constitution.

They do not have their own language.

Mostly they are enrolled in Greek-Cypriot schools. however they have separate Roman Catholic Schools.

ROMANI

No official records for their arrival in Cyprus.

There are around 500 and 1000 of Roma living on the island.

They are not considered as a religious group.

Most of them live in the occupied part of the island.

There are no data available as it comes to their language status.

They could receive educational support due to their socio-economic status.

REFERENCES

Spinthourakis, J. A., Karatzia-Stavlioti, E., Lempesi, G. E., Papadimitriou, I., Giannaka, C. (2008). Educational Policies that Address Social Inequality. Department of Elementary Education

University of Patras, Greece. Retrieved from: http://www.epasi.eu/CountryReportCY.pdf