Pomak language ( or , ; ; ) is a term used in Greece and Turkey to refer to some of the Rup dialects of the Bulgarian language spoken by the Pomaks of Western Thrace in Greece and Eastern Thrace in Turkey. These dialects are native also in Bulgaria, and are classified as part of the Smolyan subdialect.Bulgarian dialectology; Stoyan Stoykov; 4th edition, 2002; pp.128-143 Not all Pomaks speak this dialect as their mother language.Иванов, Й. Българска диалектология. Пловдивско Университетско Издателство “П. Хилендарски”. Пловдив, 1994 г., с. 80 (Ivanov, J. Bulgarian Dialectology. Plovdiv University Press “P. Hilendarski”. Plovdiv, 1994, p. 80)
Writing system Several orthographies have been proposed for Pomak, based on the Greek, Latin, and Cyrillic scripts.Иван Г. Илиев, Петко Д. Петков. ЗА НАШЕНСКАТА ЛИТЕРАТУРА. ГЛАВА 7. МЕЖДУ ТРАКИЯ И БЯЛО МОРЕ (in Bulgarian).
One of the proposed alphabets: A a, Ä ä, B b, Ch ch, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, Ï ï, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ö ö, P p, R r, S s, Sh sh, T t, Ts ts, Tz tz, J j, U u, Ü ü, V v, Y y, Z z, Zh zh. That proposal does not follow the usual spelling conventions for Slavic languages, but instead follows English spelling conventions (y for ; ch, sh, zh, j for postalveolars), with Tz tz representing (following the Greek spelling τζ) and Ä ä, Ï ï, Ö ö, Ü ü representing special Pomak vowels. Stressed vowels are indicated consistently using the acute accent (as in Greek); stressed Ä ä, Ï ï, Ö ö, Ü ü are written as  â, Î î, Ô ô, Û û. The letter X x and the digraph Th th are also used in loanwords.
History Some grammatical forms of the Rup dialects, published by the Danish linguist Holger Pedersen in 1907, have a striking resemblance to the grammatical forms of the Armenian language.Պեդերսեն, Հ. Հին հայերէնի ցուցական դերանուները, Վիեննա, 1907, էջ 7 (in Armenian). (Pedersen, H. The Demonstrative Pronouns of the Old Armenian Language. Vienna, 1907, p. 7).Tumanian, E. G. (in Russian) Drevnearmianskiĭ iazyk (Classical Armenian). Moskva, "Nauka", 1971, 448 p. (p. 274). As well, the Rup dialects have slightly different forms of demonstrative suffixes (exercising also functions of the possessive pronouns) from the Bulgarian Tran dialect and the modern standard Macedonian language.Iaroslav Iashchuk. On Possible Origin of the Postpositive Definite Article in Balkan Languages and Contribution of Armenian to Balkan Sprachbund Formation. In: Academia.edu There are publications concerning the vocabulary of the Rup dialectsСелян, Е. (in Bulgarian) Коренът "джур" в българска езикова среда. Сп. "Филология", Изд.: СУ "Св. Кл. Охридски", София, 1983, бр. 12 - 13, с. 137 – 139. (Selian, E. The Root "Jur" in the Bulgarian Language Environment. Magazine "Philology". Publisher: Sofia University "St. Kl. Ohridski", Sofia, 1983, issue 12-13, p. 137-139). and anthroponyms of Armenian origin which overlap areas, populated by Paulicians from the 15th to 18th centuries.Голийски, П. (in Bulgarian) Ономастични и лексикални аспекти на арменското етническо присъствие в българските земи през средновековието. Автореферат на докторска дисертация. СУ "Св. Климент Охридски", ФКНФ, ЦИЕК, катедра "Класически Изток", секция "Арменска филология". София, 2005 г., 241 с. (Goliyski, P. Onomastic and lexical aspects of Armenian ethnic presence in the Bulgarian lands during the Middle Ages. Abstract of doctoral dissertation. Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", FKNF, CELC, Department "Classic East," section "Armenian Studies." Sofia, 2005, p. 241).
According to the 1935 census in Turkey, 3881 people in Eastern Thrace identified their mother tongue as Bulgarian and 18,382 as Pomak. The overall statistic from 1935 shows that 41,041 people spoke Pomak as their mother tongue or as a secondary dialect.
In the mid-1990s, "Grammar of the Pomash language", "Pomash-Greek" and "Greek-Pomash dictionary" were published in Greece, which, according to Bulgarian linguists, were a political attempt at glottotomy. Pomak is also noted for its dialectal differences, as highlighted in recent work by Sercan Karakas (2022), which demonstrates that the language's case system exhibits dialectal variation.
Examples
Some phrases and words
English Rhodope Pomak Dialect (Xanthi, Komotini, Alexandroupoli)HelloDobar den (Formal), Zdravej (Informal)I am Pomak/Bulgarian/Bulgarian Muslim (man)Ja sam Pomak/Balgarin/Balgarski MohamedaninI speak bulgarianJa lafim balgarckoHow are you?Kak si?Thank youBlagodarjaGood dayDobar denChildrenDetineThis chairAisos skemleThat auntieAinos lelkaIbrahim is my uncleIbrahim e moj amiđaHatiđa is my sister Hatiđa e moja sestraMy fatherMojet bubajkoWhat are you doing?Kina rabutaš?I knewJa znajehDo you know?Znaješ li ti?He was a good manToj beše dobar čilakI am from XanthiJa sam ot SkečaOne woman from the new villageEnna žena ot novoto selo One day and one nightEdin den i enna noštLast yearLani I love you Milovam te
Most words, grammar and phrases in the Pomak language are borrowed from Bulgarian, while to a lesser extent the language consists of some Turkish and Greek words.
Grammar
Spatio-pragmatic and temporal-modal uses of nominals and noun modifiers
Three deictics (-s-, -t- and -n-) are used for spatio-pragmatic and temporal-modal reference in nominals. These deictics are used among others in noun modifiers such as definite articles and demonstratives: Adamou, E. 2011, Temporal uses of Definite Articles and Demonstratives in Pomak (Slavic, Greece), Lingua 121(5) : 871-889.
The cat (close to the speaker, here and now) KotesoThe cat (close to the addressee or realis past) KotetoThe cat (distal, realis future, irrealis or habitual) KotenoThis is grand-father's snake Aisos e dedvasa zmieThat is grand-father's chair Ainos e dedvasa skemle
References
Further reading Стойков, Ст. Българска диалектология. София, 1968. (Stoykov St. Bulgarian Dialectology. Sofia, 1968). Милетич, Л. Ловчанските помаци. София, Български преглед, г. V, кн. I, 1898, c. 67–78. (Miletic, L. The Lovech Pomaks. Sofia, Bulgarian Review, y. V, vol. I, 1898, p. 67-78). Савов, В. Ловчанските помаци и техния говор. Известия на семинара по славянска филология. София, 1931, кн. VII, с. 1–34. (Savov, V. The Lovech Pomaks and their language. Proceedings of the Workshop on Slavic Studies. Sofia, 1931, vol. VII, p. 1–34). Миков, В. Българските мохамедани в Тетевенско, Луковитско и Белослатинско. Родина, 1940 - 1941, No 3, с. 51–68. (Mikov, V. Bulgarian Muslims in Teteven, Lukovit, and Byala Slatina Country. Rodina, 1940–1941, No 3, p. 51–68). Български диалектен атлас. София, 1980, т. IV: с. Галата /под No 1471/, с. Добревци /под No 1458/ и с. Кирчево (Помашка Лешница) /под No 2306/. (Bulgarian Dialect Atlas. Sofia, 1980, section IV: the village of Galata –under No 1471, Dobrevtsi /under No 1458/, and Kirchevo (Pomak Leshnitsa) /under No 2306/).
External links Report on the Pomak language by the Greek Helsinki Committee Стойков, Ст. Българска диалектология, с. 119, 120. (Stoykov St. Bulgarian Dialectology, p. 119, 120).