The Real Ethnic Composition of Modern Greece

[Liberator of Makedonija]

One of the main features that sets the Kostur area apart from other Macedonian dialects is precisely the nasal vowel, which means the standard Macedonian word for tooth (zab) is rendered as zamb, the word for hand (raka) is rendered as ranka, the word for child (čedo) is rendered as čendo, etc.

My family speak Kosturski but say zab. We do say ranka instead of raka however; I do not know about čedo/čendo.

[Amphipolis]

Thanks, that's interesting.

Would you be able to provide a quick summary as to the ethnic makeup of Eleutheroupolis/Pravi/Pravishta within the last 200 years (or longer)?

I believe Greeks, a few Vlachs and Gypsies (Muslims)

Are you referring to stressed syllables? In Macedonian, the stress is placed on the first syllable of both Kožani and Mečovo. In Greek, stress is placed on the second syllable of Kozani. Are you suggesting that the stress is placed on the first syllable when you pronounce Metsovo?

Yes, Metsovo is stressed in E.

[Soldier of Macedon]

My family speak Kosturski but say zab. We do say ranka instead of raka however; I do not know about čedo/čendo.

As I indicated earlier, I am not sure if this feature has been consistent among all Macedonian-speakers from Kostur nor about the depth of its use. It is, however, noteworthy that your family doesn't apply the nasal vowel in all cases. Perhaps it's a case of dialect levelling, which essentially means that some dialects (or aspects within) have converged with others, leading to a reduction of heterogeneity in a language. That could also be a reason for the possible shift from *Męčovo > Mečovo, provided that it was indeed pronounced with a nasal vowel in the beginning.

Yes, Metsovo is stressed in E.

I haven't done any thorough research on this, so maybe you can save me the trouble. I notice that trisyllabic place names that end with an H or I often have the stress on the second syllable when pronounced in Greek, such as Κοζάνη, Μαρούσι and Γαλάτσι, but for those that end with an O or an A the stress is often on the first syllable, hence Μέτσοβο, Τέτοβο, Κρούσοβο, Κόσοβο, Φλώρινα, Βέροια, Πρέβεζα, and Λάρισα. Do you know why the stress isn't placed on the first syllable for Τραγάνα and Καβάλα, given that they too end in A?

[Carlin]

I believe Greeks, a few Vlachs and Gypsies (Muslims)

Thanks. Will need to dig into this further. I see some obvious discrepancies in terms of ethnic makeup - which is not uncommon or uncharacteristic.

I read that Eleftheroupoli/Pravi/Pravishta is being mentioned as having a Turkish majority until the population exchange of 1920s. Were the Roma (Gypsies) all Muslims, and therefore "Turks"? What were the true Vlachs as "percentage" of the Greek Christian population?

Here are the 'known ethnic reports', at least what I was able to find here:

https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%89%D0%B0

1) Towards the end of the 19th century: "Pravishta has about 600 houses of Turks, Greeks and a few Vlachs."

2) By 1900, according to Kanchov's statistics, there were 1,250 Turks, 1,100 Greek Christians and 1,200 Gypsies living in Pravishta.

3) According to the Secretary of the Bulgarian Exarchate Dimitar Mishev in 1905 there were 1,100 Greeks and 1,200 Gypsies in Pravishta.

4) In the 1920s, its Turkish population emigrated under the agreement on population exchange between Greece and Turkey, and in its place were settled Greek refugees (roughly 745 people). In 1929 the town was renamed to Eleutheropolis.

[Accoring to information found here http://hellenisteukontos.blogspot.co...kzderbent.html "Other Anatolian Bulgarians can be found in the village of Nea Iraklica, of Pravishta".]

[Amphipolis]

I haven't done any thorough research on this, so maybe you can save me the trouble. I notice that trisyllabic place names that end with an H or I often have the stress on the second syllable when pronounced in Greek, such as Κοζάνη, Μαρούσι and Γαλάτσι, but for those that end with an O or an A the stress is often on the first syllable, hence Μέτσοβο, Τέτοβο, Κρούσοβο, Κόσοβο, Φλώρινα, Βέροια, Πρέβεζα, and Λάρισα. Do you know why the stress isn't placed on the first syllable for Τραγάνα and Καβάλα, given that they too end in A?

No, anything goes actually. There are no rules of this sort.

[Risto the Great]

No, anything goes actually. There are no rules of this sort.

I would say, as a general rule, the opposite of whatever way Macedonians pronounce it.

[Carlin]

I believe Greeks, a few Vlachs and Gypsies (Muslims)

The ethnic makeup of Eleutheroupolis/Pravi/Pravishta within the last 100-150 years has been described as having a few Vlachs.

This is no different than, for example (and this is just one example), how some described the ethnic makeup of Klissura.

Alexandre Synvet ("Les Grecs de l’Empire Ottoman. Etude Statistique et Ethnographique") wrote in 1878 that Klissura is inhabited by 7,000 Greeks. Similarly, Greek statistics from 1905 paint a similar picture to "Pravishta" --> Klissura is a town with 3,700 Greeks and 100 Vlachs.

Klissura however, according to tradition, was founded in the 15th century by the merger of five Vlach settlements - Kotori di Yazia, Agru al Kyaku, Chereshi, Kardzha and Gyura. In Ottoman tax registers from 1481, Klissura is listed as a settlement with 76 families - about 500 inhabitants.

Other travelers/sources depict Klissura as a Vlach-speaking town in its entirety (of course, some/many also spoke Greek, belonged to the Patriarchate and had a Greek school in the town). The town is described as a "Wallach town" as late as 1904.

When was Pravishta established and what are the traditions around its founding?

[Amphipolis]

LOL, what's wrong with you? The establishment is obscure as it is located on what was (until recently) the main route from West to East and the district was always inhabited. I've read that the exact location and town was formed during Ottoman Empire, but I'll have to search more.

This was a flourishing industrial town until the Balkan Wars devastated the tobacco market before the two Bulgarian occupations make things even worse. I don't know when my grandmother left the town or if any of her five siblings remained there. It's certain that Kavala has been becoming more and more important while Eleutheroupolis is going down.

[Statitsa]

My family speak Kosturski but say zab. We do say ranka instead of raka however; I do not know about čedo/čendo.

In Statitsa, (which is located in the northern reaches of the Kostur region) the words chendo, and zamb / zambi are common, however, we utilize the word raka for hand, which could be due to the village's proximity to Lerin.

[Carlin]

ITALIAN PROVINCES IN GREEK REGIONS

The Kingdom of Italy (1861-1947) expanded Italian influence and control on some islands of Greece. In the first half of the XX century there were also a few tentatives to create these "italian provinces" in those islands: "Provincia di Corfu", "Provincia di Rodi", "Provincia delle Cicladi" and "Provincia delle Sporadi".

Initially these tentatives were due to some ideals linked to the "Italian Irredentism", like as happened with Corfu and the Ionian islands. Those islands (mainly Corfu, actual Kerkyra) in the beginning of the XIX century had a huge community of venetian speaking inhabitants (the island of Cefalonia -actual Kephalonia- was nearly totally venetian speaking in the XVIII century, according to: Kendrick, Tertius T. C. (1822). "The Ionian islands: Manners and customs"; p. 106 ), as a consequence of the Republic of Venice "dominions" in this region since the Middle Ages. For example one of the Italian "Risorgimento" fathers was Ugo Foscolo, born in Zante (actual Zakynthos).

Full article here:

http://researchomnia.blogspot.com/2020/09/italian-provinces-in-greek-regions.html

[Risto the Great]

Let us not forget San Torino.
(Santorini)

[Carlin]

Let us not forget San Torino.
(Santorini)

Interestingly, according to "wikipedia":

Santorini was named by the Latin Empire in the thirteenth century, and is a reference to Saint Irene, from the name of the old cathedral in the village of Perissa – the name Santorini is a contraction of the name Santa Irini.

URL:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santorini

Also, the Arvanite island of Spetses bears a Venetian/Italian name:

In the 15th century, the Venetians who ruled the island since 1220, named it Spezia ("Spice") for its position on a major traderoute that dealt in spices. Over time the name was Hellenised to Spetsai (Spetse/Spetses).

URL:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spetses

[Risto the Great]

I have seen it as Santorino for years.
Oh well. Still Italian.

[Carlin]

ITALIAN PROVINCES IN GREEK REGIONS

The Kingdom of Italy (1861-1947) expanded Italian influence and control on some islands of Greece. In the first half of the XX century there were also a few tentatives to create these "italian provinces" in those islands: "Provincia di Corfu", "Provincia di Rodi", "Provincia delle Cicladi" and "Provincia delle Sporadi".

Initially these tentatives were due to some ideals linked to the "Italian Irredentism", like as happened with Corfu and the Ionian islands. Those islands (mainly Corfu, actual Kerkyra) in the beginning of the XIX century had a huge community of venetian speaking inhabitants (the island of Cefalonia -actual Kephalonia- was nearly totally venetian speaking in the XVIII century, according to: Kendrick, Tertius T. C. (1822). "The Ionian islands: Manners and customs"; p. 106 ), as a consequence of the Republic of Venice "dominions" in this region since the Middle Ages. For example one of the Italian "Risorgimento" fathers was Ugo Foscolo, born in Zante (actual Zakynthos).

Full article here:
http://researchomnia.blogspot.com/20...k-regions.html

ITALIAN CYCLADES

"Among the civilian population there was a substantial approval of the Italian presence only in the area of the capital of Siro and in the island of Tino, where many boasted distant Venetian roots and were numerous Catholics for centuries - especially in the town "Ano Syros", founded in 1200 by the Venetians."

[Carlin]

I have seen it as Santorino for years.
Oh well. Still Italian.

1) "There is a strong Italian admixture in the population of Santorin, although the Italian language has disappeared ; about 600 of the richest and most intelligent part of the population retain the Roman Catholic religion, and lead in the educational and intellectual development of the island."
-- Peace Handbooks: The Balkan States - Page 14 [Great Britain. Foreign Office. Historical Section, George Walter Prothero - 1973]

2) "French and Italian families still form a distinct element of the population of Naxos, Santorin, and Syra."
-- Greece, Turkey in Europe, Rumania, Servia, Montenegro, Italy, Spain, and Portugal - Page 45 [New York: D. Appleton And Company, Elisée Reclus - 1881]

3)