The Himariote Greek dialect (Greek: ) is a dialect of the Greek language that is mainly spoken by ethnic Greeks in the Himar region of Albania. Despite the small distances between the towns in the region there exists some dialectal variation most prominently in accent. Contents 1 Classification 2 Usage and settings 3 Phonology 4 History and politics 5 References 6 Sources Classification

Despite the fact that the Greek community in Himarra resides at the northern end of the Greek-speaking world in a region known among Greeks as Northern Epirus the Himariote dialect is a southern dialect of the Greek language. Although links with the Greek dialects spoken in Apulia and Mani have been suggested2 the exact provenance of Northern Epirote dialects remains obscure.2 According to Greek linguist Vayacacos Himariote as a subbranch of the Northern Epirote dialects is classified as a southern dialect but the two towns next to Himar Dhrmi and Palas speak a semi-northern dialect.3

Because of the region's geography and isolation the local dialect in the Himar region became separated from the surrounding dialects and underwent a slower evolution preserving a more conservative and faithful picture of the medieval Greek vernacular.4 According to Greek professor Anagnostopoulos this dialect like other conservative forms of modern Greek such as the Maniot dialect was spoken by populations which lived in virtual autonomy during Ottoman rule.3 Another linguistic analysis suggests that Himar was colonised by Apulian Italiots after the Turkish raid on Otranto in 1480 but this position is vigorously questioned.3 Moreover it has been claimed by both local and Albanian scholars that there are parallels with the local idioms spoken in Crete as well as in nearby Corfu.5 Usage and settings

Himariote is primarily spoken in the town of Himar as well as in the nearby coastal towns of Dhrmi and Palasa.6 In spite of the short distances between these towns there are differences in the accents of the dialect in every town. Himariote also uses some borrowed words from the Tosk Albanian dialect.6 Phonology

A common characteristic of Northern Epirote as well its Himariote subbranch is the use of the archaic disyllabic -ea form.3 Moreover the phoneme /s/ is pronounced in a slightly different way depending on the town: in Dhrmi as a soft //; in Palasa as a half-hard // while in the town of Himar as a hard //. The people who originate from Himar pronounce also // as //.7 History and politics

During the communist era in Albania the country's borders were sealed for 45 years (19451990) while Himar remained outside of the so-called Greek minority zone which the Albanian state recognized as Greek populated regions.8 In accordance with the communist Albanian policy of unification and homogenization the use of the Greek language in Himar was forbidden in public and many Greek-speaking people were forced to move to places in northern or central Albania.9 As a consequence Greek schools in the Himar area were closed and the local communities stuck to their language which slowly became archaic and no longer functional when they started to emigrate to Greece (1991) in the aftermath of the communist regime's collapse.10

After the fall of communism a considerable number of the population from Himar migrated to Greece where it largely adopted standard Greek.7 At present they are still not considered as part of the recognized Greek minority by the Albanian state while on the other hand they are counted as ethnic Greeks according to the Greek migration policy.11 References Bon 2008a p. 226. a b Nicholas 1998 p. 20. a b c d Nicholas 1998 Chapter 2: "Grammaticalisation" p. 29. Nicholas 1998 Chapter 2: "Grammaticalisation" pp. 20 29. Bon 2008a p. 64. a b Bon 2008a p. 63. a b Bon 2008a p. 65. Pettifer 2001 p. 7. Bon 2008a p. 111. Bon 2008a p. 60; Bon 2008b pp. 729. Bon 2008a p. 36. Sources Bon Nataa Gregori (2008a). "Contested Spaces and Negotiated Identities in Dhrmi/Drimades of Himar/Himara Area Southern Albania". Nova Gorica Slovenia: University of Nova Gorica. http://www.p-ng.si/vanesa/doktorati/interkulturni/3GregoricBon.pdf.  Bon Nataa Gregori (2008b). "Storytelling as a Spatial Practice in Dhrmi/Drimades of Southern Albania" (PDF). Anthropological Notebooks (Slovene Anthropological Society) 14 (2): 729. ISSN 1408-032X. http://www.drustvo-antropologov.si/AN/PDF/20082.  Nicholas Nick (December 1998). "The Story of pu: The Grammaticalisation in Space and Time of a Modern Greek Complementiser". Melbourne Victoria Australia: University of Melbourne. http://www.tlg.uci.edu/opoudjis/Work/thesis.html.  Pettifer James (2001) (PDF). The Greek Minority in Albania - In the Aftermath of Communism. Camberley Surrey: Conflict Studies Research Centre Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. ISBN 1903584353. http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/arag/document-listings/balkan/G97.  v d eNorthern Epirus & Greeks in Albania History Ancient Epirus (Chaones Dassaretae) Despotate of Epirus Revolt of 1854 Revolt of 1878 Himara revolt of 1912 Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus Protocol of Corfu Battle of Morava-Ivan Northern Epirus Liberation Front Society and Culture Greeks in Albania New Academy Himariote dialect Laiko Vima Polyphonic song of Epirus Postage stamps and postal history of Northern Epirus Settlements Ancient: Phoenice Vouthroton Apollonia Thronium Amantia Antigonia Antipatreia Dimale Oricum Modern: Gjirokastr Kor Himar Delvin Sarand Dropull Pogon Tepelen Permet Leskovik Ersek Moscopole Bilisht Other1: Nart Vlor Berat Tirana Elbasan Durrs Fier Shkodr Organizations Omonoia Panepirotic Federation of America Panepirotic Federation of Australia Unity for Human Rights Party Individuals

Benefactors: Alexandros Vasileiou Apostolos Arsakis Evangelos and Konstantinos Zappas Ioannis Pangas Georgios and Simon Sinas Alexandros and Michael Vasileiou Christakis Zografos Literature: Theodore Kavalliotis Katina Papa Konstantinos Skenderis Takis Tsiakos Tasos Vidouris Stavrianos Vistiaris Andreas Zarbalas Politics: Vasil Bollano Georgios Christakis-Zografos Vangjel Dule Spiro Ksera Military/Resistance: Kyriakoulis Argyrokastritis Panos Bitsilis Dimitrios Doulis Konstantinos Lagoumitzis Zachos Milios Athanasios Pipis Ioannis Poutetsis Vasilios Sahinis Spyromilios Spyros Spyromilios Sports: Pyrros Dimas Sotiris Ninis Panajot Pano Leonidas Sabanis Andreas Tatos Clergy: Vasileios of Dryinoupolis Panteleimon Kotokos Eulogios Kourilas 1 Cities and towns in Albania with Greek-speaking communities outside the political definition of 'Northern Epirus'.