A story at the periphery: Documenting, standardising and reviving Cypriot Arabic

Abstract

AbstractThe aim of this article is to present the current sociolinguistic situation of the Cypriot Maronite community and report on recent efforts to revitalize its language, Cypriot Arabic or Sanna. After a brief historical account, the article focuses on the sociodemographic and sociolinguistic characteristics of the community, which has steadily declined ever since its establishment on the island of Cyprus in the seventh to eighth century AD. Finally, the article discusses the revitalization efforts undertaken since 2007 as well as recent political and social developments that (de)favour the process of revitalization.