Variation in the vowel system of Mišótika Cappadocian : findings from two refugee villages in Greece

This paper discusses changes in the vowel system of contemporary Mišótika, the Cappadocian variety originally spoken in Misti. We compare the speech of native speakers from two Cappadocian refugee communities and analyse the differences between the two, taking into consideration mechanisms of language contact and linguistic change,and also the social parameters that influence the dialectal system. The study is based on recordings of native speakers of Mišótika who live in two different villages, one in the prefecture of Kilkis (Neo Agioneri), and the other in Thessaloniki (Xirohori).Although these villages are very close to one another, they present two major differences. Neo Agioneri is a homogeneous village, whereas Xirohori is a mixed village, since not only Cappadocians but also other Greek-dialect speakers live there. Another distinguishing characteristic between the two villages is the attitude of the inhabitantstowards Mišótika. It seems that speakers from Neo Agioneri are more receptive to the use of the dialect. The inhabitants from Xirohori, by contrast, present a different attitude, reflecting the consequences of social stigmatization and linguistic attrition that their dialect has undergone after the population exchange of the 1920s.To conclude, the current vowel system of Mišótika seems to diverge significantly from the older one described by Dawkins (1916). At the same time, the preliminary findings of our research indicate that there are also differences in the phonological status of the vowels between speakers of the same linguistic system.Dawkins, R. M. 1916. Modern Greek in Asia Minor: a Study of the Dialects of Sílli, Cappadocia and Phárasa with Grammar, Texts, Translations and Glossary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.This paper discusses changes in the vowel system of contemporary Mišótika, the Cappadocian variety originally spoken in Misti. We compare the speech of native speakers from two Cappadocian refugee communities and analyse the differences between the two, taking into consideration mechanisms of language contact and linguistic change,and also the social parameters that influence the dialectal system. The study is based on recordings of native speakers of Mišótika who live in two different villages, one in the prefecture of Kilkis (Neo Agioneri), and the other in Thessaloniki (Xirohori).Although these villages are very close to one another, they present two major differences. Neo Agioneri is a homogeneous village, whereas Xirohori is a mixed village, since not only Cappadocians but also other Greek-dialect speakers live there. Another distinguishing characteristic between the two villages is the attitude of the inhabitantstowards Mišótika. It seems that speakers from Neo Agioneri are more receptive to the use of the dialect. The inhabitants from Xirohori, by contrast, present a different attitude, reflecting the consequences of social stigmatization and linguistic attrition that their dialect has undergone after the population exchange of the 1920s.To conclude, the current vowel system of Mišótika seems to diverge significantly from the older one described by Dawkins (1916). At the same time, the preliminary findings of our research indicate that there are also differences in the phonological status of the vowels between speakers of the same linguistic system.Dawkins, R. M. 1916. Modern Greek in Asia Minor: a Study of the Dialects of Sílli, Cappadocia and Phárasa with Grammar, Texts, Translations and Glossary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.C