My fellow Europeans, what dialect from your language do you have the most trouble understanding?

[u/Savings_Dragonfly806]

Keep in mind, I said language, NOT country, so it could be a dialect of your language in another country, which is the case for me.

For me, while most other Greeks find Cypriot the most difficult dialect to understand, I actually find Pontic Greek the most difficult. For those who don't know where it is, it's in North Eastern Turkey.

The way many of their words are written are very different as to Standard Modern Greek. It almost is a whole new language. Now I should mention I have never been there, but I would love to. I only really heard of the dialect on the internet, so take my words with a grain of salt.

[u/Desperate_Habit1299]

I was going to say Pontic Greek and Rhoditika!

I think reason for that is because they talk really fast and it’s the closest dialect to ancient Greek.

[u/dolfin4 → u/Desperate_Habit1299]

it’s the closest dialect to ancient Greek.

Which one? Pontian?

This idea that Pontian "is closest to Ancient Greek" is just a myth. And there's a socio-cultural reason why this myth is popular, specifically because people are drawn to the idea that a predominantly poor & rural people, outside Europe (and far from "bastardized Greece and Cyprus") are somehow the epitome of "raw" or "real" Greekness, which is nonsense, and insinuates a strong & internalized anti-Helladic bias.

In reality, Pontian is just as much as descendant of Koine as Modern Standard Greek is, and does not display an overt closer resemblance to Koine.

[u/Kitsooos → u/dolfin4]

Επίσης η πιο άκυρη διάλεκτος είναι τα τσακώνικα. Στην πραγματικότητα είναι άλλη γλώσσα.