“It does not mean that we are Greek”: Romeyka language and collective identity in social media

Çoban Oran F., Bilgili A., Dursun S.

Southeast European and Black Sea Studies , cilt.1, sa.1, ss.1-17, 2026 (SSCI)

Özet

Romeyka, an endangered Archaic Greek, is spoken in the mountain villages of the Eastern Black Sea region. Despite the limited use in Turkish traditional media, the free environment of social media helps preserve languages at risk of disappearing. Based on this assumption, this study conducts fieldwork in Trabzon to investigate how social media contributes to reimagining the Romeyka culture and collective identity. The findings revealed that using Romeyka in virtual spaces facilitates the reproduction of this distinct language and culture; however, the Romeyka speakers have different definitions of self-identity and its place in the Turkish nation.