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Greek dialect

Mariupolitan Greek

Also known as: Rumeika, Azov Greek

The Greek of the Mariupol region in Ukraine, descended from communities resettled from Crimea by Catherine the Great in 1778. Endangered; structurally close to Pontic Greek.

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Frequently asked questions

What language is Mariupolitan Greek?

Mariupolitan Greek is a dialect of the Greek language.

Where is Mariupolitan Greek spoken?

Mariupolitan Greek is primarily spoken in Ukraine.

Which region is Mariupolitan Greek associated with?

Mariupolitan Greek is part of the Europe region on DialectAtlas.

Is Mariupolitan Greek known by other names?

Yes — Mariupolitan Greek is also referred to as Rumeika, Azov Greek.

Is Mariupolitan Greek endangered?

Mariupolitan Greek is considered endangered. Children are no longer learning it as a mother tongue at home, and its everyday use is shrinking.

What are the other dialects of Greek?

Greek also includes Standard Modern Greek, Cypriot Greek, Cretan Greek, Pontic Greek, Tsakonian, Cappadocian Greek, Griko. Each variety has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.

Other Greek dialects

See on the atlas →
Pontic Greek

Romeyka · Pontiaka

The Greek variety historically spoken along the Pontic coast of the Black Sea, brought to mainland Greece by refugees of the 1923 population exchange. Its Anatolian-resident form (Romeyka) survives among Muslim communities near Trabzon.

Tsakonian

Tsakonika

The only living descendant of ancient Doric Greek, spoken in a few villages of the Peloponnese around Leonidio. Critically endangered; structurally distinct from all other Greek varieties, which descend from Attic-Ionic.

Griko

Italiot Greek · Salentino Greek

The Greek of southern Italy, spoken in two enclaves in Salento and Calabria. A direct descendant of the Magna Graecia varieties; one of the oldest continuously-spoken Greek varieties outside Greece.

Nearby dialects

See on the atlas →
Southern Russian

165 km away

The southern Russian dialect group spanning Voronezh, Rostov, and the broader steppe. Marked by fricative /ɣ/ and a distinct verb-ending system.

Surzhyk

241 km away

The Russian-Ukrainian mixed colloquial register, widely spoken across central and eastern Ukraine. Treated by linguists as a code-mixing continuum rather than a fixed dialect.

Sloboda Ukrainian

336 km away

The Southeastern Ukrainian variety of the Sloboda region around Kharkiv and Sumy. Close to the standard, but with a distinctive lexicon shaped by long contact with Russian.

Adyghe

340 km away

A Northwest Caucasian language of the Adygea Republic in Russia. Together with Kabardian, makes up the Circassian language continuum, with a large diaspora in Turkey and the Levant.

Crimean Romani

350 km away

A Balkan Romani variety spoken by Roma communities of the Crimean peninsula and the northern Black Sea coast, marked by heavy contact influence from Crimean Tatar and other Turkic languages in both lexicon and phonology.

Crimean Tatar

358 km away

A mixed Turkic language of the Crimean peninsula, descended from contact between Kipchak and Oghuz varieties. Critically endangered after the 1944 Soviet deportation; subject of an active revitalisation effort.

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