AP PHOTOS: Cyprus’ Maronites fight to stop their Cypriot Maronite Arabic from extinction
A painting of St. George hangs on the wall of St. George Church as the faithful attend a service, in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
KORMAKITIS, Cyprus (AP) — Only about 900 people in the world speak Cypriot Maronite Arabic. The offshoot of Syrian Arabic has been passed on orally over the centuries. Now it is at risk of extinction. That’s according to the Council of Europe’s minority language experts. But the Maronite community in Cyprus is fighting back. It has help from the Cypriot government and the European Union to save the language.
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Catholic Maronite faithful pass under the icon of St. George in an act of supplication during a traditional procession on the saint’s Feast Day outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Catholic Maronite faithful pass under the icon of St. George in an act of supplication during a traditional procession on the saint’s Feast Day outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Maronite Catholic nuns recite hymns during a service in outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Maronite Catholic nuns recite hymns during a service in outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Maronite Catholic faithful attend a service on the Feast Day of St. George in St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Maronite Catholic faithful attend a service on the Feast Day of St. George in St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Maronite Catholic faithful are silhouetted against the sunlit wall of St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Maronite Catholic faithful are silhouetted against the sunlit wall of St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Maronite Catholic faithful attend a service on the Feast Day of St. George in St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Maronite Catholic faithful attend a service on the Feast Day of St. George in St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Maronite Catholic faithful bring their hands together in prayer during a service in outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Maronite Catholic faithful bring their hands together in prayer during a service in outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
A priest swings a senser at an icon of St. George during a traditional procession on the saint’s Feast Day outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
A priest swings a senser at an icon of St. George during a traditional procession on the saint’s Feast Day outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Catholic Maronite faithful pass under the icon of St. George in an act of supplication during a traditional procession on the saint’s Feast Day outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Catholic Maronite faithful pass under the icon of St. George in an act of supplication during a traditional procession on the saint’s Feast Day outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
A Vatican flag waves as the worshippers follow a traditional procession on the Feast Day of St. George outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
A Vatican flag waves as the worshippers follow a traditional procession on the Feast Day of St. George outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Worshippers follow a traditional procession on the Feast Day of St. George outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Worshippers follow a traditional procession on the Feast Day of St. George outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
A man sits outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
A man sits outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Faithful follow a traditional procession on the Feast Day of St. George in St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Faithful follow a traditional procession on the Feast Day of St. George in St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
St. George Church in the Maronite village of of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
St. George Church in the Maronite village of of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)