Greek-Speaking Moslems of North-East Turkey: Prolegomena to a Study of the Ophitic Sub-Dialect of Pontic

Abstract

It has become common in recent years for Greek Pontians, settled in Greece since 1922/3, and their families to go on coach-tours to visit their family homes in Pontus. They tend to return to Greece with stories of finding local people there with whom they have been able to converse in the Pontic dialect of Greek. Surprisingly, these travellers appear to take this for granted, and, as far as I am aware, no one has made a study of the Greek spoken in Pontus today, other than to include a few random phrases in travelogues. The purpose of this article is to make some preliminary observations on the Pontic Greek spoken by Moslems, particularly those of the Ophis (Of) region.