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Abstract
This paper presents a case study of the ways in which Greek Cypriot songwriters render their Cypriot Greek lyrics in writing when they post them on their YouTube channels. Considering that Cypriot Greek has not been codified, and is not taught in schools, the research discusses various online lyric codification devices implemented by the lyricists/ songwriters and poses one main question: Are these lyric codification devices to be interpreted socio-politically, as a reappropriation of the cultural heritage that is Cypriot Greek, or are they simply to be seen as a visual presentation of what is meant to be heard in performance, rendered in the idiosyncratic ways in which individuals choose to express themselves?
Keywords: Cypriot Greek; lyrics; language codification; YouTube; popular music
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Introduction2
In the past two decades, there has been a notable increase in the number of songs released in the Republic of Cyprus (R°C) that have lyrics in Cypriot Greek (CG). This is a significant turn that emphasises local creation, one that comes bottom-up and is in contrast to the norms of songwriting in a country that perennially want(ed) local popular music creations (if acknowledged at all) to be either in Standard Modern Greek (SMG) or in English. Considering that lyrics in SMG also provide an opportunity for musicians to compete in the broader Greek music market and the fact that the English language, often considered as the standard language for popular music, is also the first language for diasporic Greek Cypriots, the choice of CG for lyric-writing creates ample space for discussion.
This paper presents a case study of Cypriot Greek lyrics as published by the musicians in the description sections of their YouTube music videos. It identifies and discusses four major tendencies in their rendering of Cypriot Greek lyrics in writing: a) implementation of Greeklish (or, Latin-alphabet Greek); b) the use of Greek script for writing Cypriot Greek; с) the use of diacritics; and д) script mixing, including literations of into the Greek script and the treatment of English words that occasionally appear in Greek Cypriot songs. The paper uses as its primary research material the songs themselves and the lyrics that accompany the YouTube videos. It also refers, where applicable, to various...