Introducing a non-standard language, the Greek-Cypriot dialect, as a medium of instruction in primary education: Reactions and reflections

Andréas Papapávlou

Leukosía/Nicosia

Much has been written on whether education in the mother tongue is beneficial for everyone with researchers presenting evidence either in support of this issue or questioning it. For example, there are those promoting what is known as mother-tongue education and who would argue that children should be given the right to use and practice in school the language they speak at home and which is part of their own identity and culture. On the other hand, there are those who believe that the mother tongue may not be desirable for primary education mainly for reasons of equality, empowerment and employment opportunities. The Cypriot linguistic setting, where primary education is conducted in Standard Greek and not in the Greek Cypriot dialect, the children’s mother tongue, is much more complex than in places described in the literature. In this paper an attempt will be made to (a) explain the complexity of the issues involved in the Cyprus context, (b) describe the differences between the linguistic situation in Cyprus and that in places where non-standard languages should or should not be used and (c) outline the arguments presented by Cypriot university students on whether the government should consider the introduction of the Cypriot dialect as a medium of instruction in primary schools and under which conditions this should occur.