To Vouni: Cypriot dialect in literature

The role of the Cypriot dialect in arts and culture was the focus of a recent event at the Limassol-based Cyprus University of Technology (Tepak).

Speakers highlighted the role of multilingualism and especially that of the Cypriot dialect during the event organised by Tepak’s Language Centre for the presentation of the book ‘To Vouni’ (The Mountain) by award-winning author Louisa Papaloizou.

The event took place on February 21 at the university’s premises. It was held in the context of the celebration of International Mother Language Day and the promotion of linguistic diversity and the value of preserving and disseminating lesser-spoken languages.

Participants in the discussion included the philologist – writer Avgi Lilly, the lecturer in linguistics at the Department of English Studies of the University of Cyprus, Dr Spyros Armostis and a Tepak language specialist Costas Stylianou.

On the occasion of Louisa Papaloizou’s novel, the role of the Cypriot linguistic diversity in artistic creation was discussed. Speakers also focused on the way in which this book portrays Cyprus as an enduring chronotope, which also highlights the cultural and historical character of its people.

The narrative is set on a mountain in a remote area of Cyprus where the story of Xeni unfolds. Events begin in the early 1970s and move in reverse to the beginning of the last century – to the stifling environment of mountainous Cyprus, but also to the Swedish Cyprus archaeological expedition on the mountain. In telling the troubled history of the place, the only constant in the flow of time that runs through the book is the mountain itself as it looms over land and sea.