How is the language barrier in Cyprus?

[worldtraveler]

Hi. We are an American family, currently living in London. We are considering Cyprus for our next move. I am curious about language issues. How difficult is it to do basic shopping, banking, etc. with Greek being the primary language? Is there really a lot of English spoken (as I've been told)?

Thanks.

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by worldtraveler

Hi. We are an American family, currently living in London. We are considering Cyprus for our next move. I am curious about language issues. How difficult is it to do basic shopping, banking, etc. with Greek being the primary language? Is there really a lot of English spoken (as I've been told)?

Thanks.

The majority of Cypriots speak English and many of the shop staff and waiters etc are Eastern Europeans who also speak English so language is not a problem.
There are time of course that it can be a hindrance in certain things but for day to day living it is fine.
Of course it is nice to learn some Greek and the Cypriots to appreciate it if you try to say a few things in their language.

Veronica

[kimonas]

In the tourist areas it is common for people to speak fluent English (as well as several other target languages) and historically many Cypriots traded and studied in the UK and there was a generally bilingual ability amongst the population. Additionally the population upheavals and intercommunal violence of the 60s and 70s saw many families and refugees setting up communities in countries where English is widely spoken such as the US, Canada, South Africa, UK and Australia. Many of the Cypriot Diaspora have since returned to Cyprus bringing their language ability with them - but by far the biggest influence was education with many Cypriots attending English medium Universities in the US and UK as there was no domestic University sector. That is now changing - the home University education sector is now growing massively (having been established in 1993) with several Universities now drawing native Cypriots who now largely study in Greek. The standards and extent of spoken English is therefore slowly dropping rather than rising. As Veronica has pointed out - for everyday living there is not a problem, but during disputes (e.g. common traffic accidents, other negotiations, visits to embassies and official bodies, sometimes banks etc) suddenly the english ability dries up and an interpreter is needed. The language barrier can be very real and used against you. I certainly get treated differently out and about if I am with my wife (who is Cypriot) that when I am on my own or with members from the UK side of the family. When I first started coming to Cyprus 10 years ago almost all our Cypriot friends spoke English (as did the teenage part of the family). Today I'd guestimate that about 25% of our friends speak little or no english and the current teenage part of the family have very weak or no english at all.

[Jillywilly]

Hi - I can only speak from my experience so far in the tourist area in Paphos. The majority of the locals speak English. Once you get to meet people you can normally find someone who would help you translate if necessary, for forms, etc. I have managed to open a bank account with no problems.

I came out looking to learn the language and so far have 12 words under my belt, ha ha. It's not much but it's a start and I think the Cypriots like it when you at least try a bit of Greek, well they're always smiling at me but maybe they're just laughing at my pronounciation!

Good luck
Jilly

[Cleo Shahateet]

Yes, everyone does speak English. I had intended to learn Greek with no luck. When I tried to speak it, most people switched to English. I knew more Greek my first 6 months then I do now 3 years later!