Some Sociolinguistic Features of Modern Greek as Spoken in Montreal

Abstract

Two aspects of language behavior are very important from a social point of view; the function of language in establishing social relationships and the role played by language in conveying information about the speaker (Labov, 1966). These two aspects are examined as they relate to Greek-Canadian speakers of Modern Greek living in Montreal.

The vocabulary of Montreal Greek is partly different from that of Standard Modern Greek in that it includes a large number of borrowings from English. These borrowings are examined in terms of their structure; and one type of loanwords consisting of English words which are nativized, that is which enter the inflectional system of Greek, is described. They are referred to as hybrids. An effort is made to show how the use of these hybrids is conditioned by socio-economic factors and linguistic context.