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The official language of Greece is Greek . In addition, a number of non-official, minority languages and some Greek dialects are spoken as well. GREEK Standard Greek is the only official language of the Hellenic Republic, and is spoken by some 99% of the population. {Link without Title} (though not necessarily as a first language). Modern Greek is the officially used standard, but there are several non-official dialects spoken as well. Cretan Cretan Greek is spoken by upwards of half a million people on the island of Crete, as well as in the Greek Diaspora . It is rarely used in written speech, and differs much less from Standard Greek than other dialects. Pontic The Pontic Greeks also have A Distinct Dialect , spoken by 200,000 in Greece. Tsakonian The little-spoken Tsakonian Dialect is used by some in the Tsakonia region of Peloponnese . The dialect is split into three sub-dialects, Northern, Southern, and Propontis. The dialect is spoken by only 1,200 people. Yevanic A Jewish dialect of Greek spoken by the Romaniotes , Yevanic is almost completely extinct today. There are a total of roughly 50 speakers, around 35 of whom now reside in Israel . The language may still be used by some elderly Romaniotes in Ioannina . MINORITY LANGUAGES ''See also, Minorities In Greece .'' in the Balkans.]] Albanian ''See also, Albanians In Greece .'' Albanians make up the largest group of immigrants to Greece (as of 2001, there are at least 443,550 Albanian citizens in the country {Link without Title} ). As such, the Albanian Language is widely spoken by these emigrants. Arvanitika Arvanitika language spoken by the Arvanites . These people do not consider themselves nor considered by others as an ethnic minority. Some people regard them as a linguistic and/or cultural group. There is an estimate of 30,000 to 140,000 Arvanites in Greece today. Cham The Cham Albanians traditionally lived in Chameria, but many (mainly the Muslim Chams, who were a majority of the community) were expelled during the Second World War. Some have returned after the opening of the Albanian borders. Aromanian ''See also, Aromanians In Greece .'' The Aromanians , also known as Vlachs , are a population group linguistically related to Romanians . The Aromanian Language , an Eastern Romance Language , is spoken by the some 40,000 Aromanians in Greece. Slavic In Greece, although groups may be considered to be speaking dialects , Kastoria , Edessa , and Thessaloniki regions. Greece does not officially recognize the language as Macedonian nor the Slavic speaking minority as Macedonian; instead it calls these Greek citizens as "Slavophone Greeks". This has caused many international observers concerned over minority rights in Greece. The recognition of a Macedonian minority and language as well as human rights issues have been the main agenda of the self-determined as Macedonian political party of Greece "Vinozhito-Rainbow" {Link without Title} . In October 2006 [http://florina.org/html/2006/abecedar_vinozhito_gr.html the [http://florina.org/html/2006/presentation_of_abecedar_in_solun.html . Bulgarian There are an estimated 30,000 native speakers of the , a Bulgarian People who are Muslim by faith. Armenian ''See also, Armenian Diaspora .'' Of the 35,000 Armenians in Greece today, some 20,000 speak the language. Romani In the population of 200,000 to 300,000 Roma , or Gypsy, people in Greece today, the Romani Language is spoken widely. Romani is an Indo-Aryan Language similar to many Indian languages, due to the origins of the Roma people in northern India . The dialect spoken in Greece (as well as in Bulgaria , Albania , Macedonia , Moldova , Montenegro , Serbia , Romania , parts of Turkey , and Ukraine ) is known as Balkan Romani . There are 160,000 Romani speakers in Greece today (90% of the Roma population). {Link without Title} Turkish , a much smaller number remain. The Turkish-speaking population of Greece is mainly concentrated in the regions of Thrace and Aegean . Turkish speakers also make up a large part of Greece's Muslim minority. Ladino . It is maintained today by between 2,000 and 8,000 people in Greece. REFERENCES |
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