English within the multilingual ecology of divided Cyprus

• Applicants: Professorin Dr. Sarah Buschfeld; Dr. Manuela Vida-Mannl
• Subject Area: Individual Linguistics, Historical Linguistics ; General and Comparative Linguistics, Experimental Linguistics, Typology, Non-European Languages
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 528506225

This project investigates the role, status, and functions the English language holds and fulfils within the multilingual ecology of the divided island of Cyprus and how English interacts with the multiple other languages as part of Cyprus’ multilingual ecology. Cyprus is a unique and complex linguistic context that is currently underrepresented within the World Englishes paradigm – mostly due to the non-prototypical development of English in post-colonial Cyprus. In addition, the current socio-political situation, i.e. the division of the island into a predominantly Greek-speaking South and a predominantly Turkish-speaking North and the complex dynamics resulting from this division, have caused the little research that exists to focus mostly on the South and on individual linguistic systems (mostly Greek) only. Hence, the main objective of this project is to understand the complex multilingual ecology of the whole island, especially focusing on the current role of English and the mutual influence and interaction of the local languages/varieties (Cypriot) Greek and (Cypriot) Turkish on English and other prestigious additional languages like Russian. To this end, the project focuses on three multilingual and multicultural cities in both parts of Cyprus, i.e. Nicosia, Kyrenia, and Paphos, as well as on collecting data from Cypriot and non-Cypriot residents from various social, educational, and linguistic backgrounds. The data used will combine publicly accessible demographic information and the data collected in this project via a researcher-assisted online questionnaire with 180 participants and semi-structured interviews conducted with a subgroup of 60 of the overall group of participants. The data will be audio-recorded and transcribed to build a digital corpus. To reconstruct a comprehensive multilingual ecology of Cyprus as a whole and the individual language use of its residents, the project builds on Haugen’s (1972) nine dimensions of language ecologies as well as on additional dimensions relating to concepts of language acquisition and Dominant Language Constellations (Aronin 2016). Adhering to this approach will allow for a systematic comparison of Cyprus with the other six world regions investigated as part of the overall Research Unit, i.e. Northeast India, Tanzania, Kurdistan Region, Botswana, Lagos, and the Philippines. The project uses and elicits systematically collected, unprecedentedly rich data that promise a new understanding of the specifics behind individual multilingual ecologies and, in particular, their interaction and relation with other local contexts as well as of the impact of socio-political and identity factors on the use and status of English and other languages to, ultimately, develop an inclusive theoretical approach to the global use of English in its various local multilingual ecologies.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 5728: Convergence on Dominant Language Constellations: World Englishes in their local multilingual ecologies (CODILAC)
• International Connection: Cyprus
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Kleanthes K. Grohmann