Only 900 speakers of the Sanna language remain. Now Cyprus' Maronites are mounting a comeback

KORMAKITIS, Cyprus (AP) — Ash dangled precariously from Iosif Skordis' cigarette as he reminisced with fellow villagers in a language on the edge of extinction, one that partly traces its roots to the language Jesus Christ once spoke.

The 97-year-old Skordis is one of only 900 people in the world who speak Cypriot Maronite Arabic, or Sanna. Today, his village of Kormakitis is the last bastion of a language once spoken by tens of thousands of people across dozens of villages.

The tongue, an offshoot of Syrian Arabic that has absorbed some Greek, has been passed from generation to generation in this windswept community in Cyprus. Until less than two decades ago, there was no written script, or even an alphabet, since parents transmitted it to children in conversation. Only a handful of people are trained to teach it.

Sanna is at risk of disappearing, according to the Council of Europe’s minority language experts. One Indigenous language dies every two weeks, the United Nations estimates, diminishing the tapestry of human knowledge one strand at a time.

But the 7,500-strong Maronite community in Cyprus is pushing back. With help from the Cypriot government and the European Union, it has built schools, created a Sanna alphabet to publish textbooks and begun classes to keep the language alive and thriving.

“Sanna … is undoubtedly one of the most distinguishing features of our cultural identity,” said Yiannakis Moussas, the Maronite community’s representative in the Cypriot legislature. He spoke in the Kormakitis coffeehouse adorned with soccer trophies and banners emblazoned with a Lebanese cedar.

“And it’s striking evidence of our heritage. The fact that we speak a kind of Arabic over so many centuries makes it clear that we descend from areas of Syria and Lebanon.”

The language was brought to Cyprus by waves of Arab Christians fleeing persecution by invading Arab Muslim fighters in what is now Syria, Lebanon and Israel, starting as early as the 8th century.

Sanna at its root is a semitic language that, unlike other Arabic dialects, contains traces of the Aramaic that was spoken by populations prior to the Arab invasion of the Levant, according to University of Cyprus linguistics professor Marilena Kariolemou, who leads the team responsible for the language’s revitalization.

That’s because the Maronite community in Cyprus was isolated from other Arabic-speaking populations.

But as Maronites increasingly interacted with the island’s majority Greek-speaking population and became bilingual, Sanna evolved to incorporate several Greek words, adding to its uniqueness among the many Arabic dialects.

According to Kariolemou, Sanna contains five vowels similar to Greek and another three similar to Aramaic, while consonants whose sounds are formed in the back of the throat have diminished, likely because of the Greek influence. Sanna also adopted Greek syntax, she said.

Until the mid-1970s, the Maronite community was largely centered around four villages: Asomatos, Ayia Marina, Karpasia and Kormakitis as the cultural center.

But the 1974 Turkish invasion that split Cyprus into a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north and a Greek Cypriot south, where the internationally recognized government is based, saw most Maronites dispersed throughout the south.

Asomatos and Ayia Marina are empty of Maronite inhabitants and are now Turkish army camps.

Moussas, the community representative, said the consequences of 1974 were “catastrophic” for the Maronites as they gravitated toward the island’s major cities, putting their culture and language at risk as children attended Greek-speaking schools and intermarriage with Greek Cypriots increased.

It’s said that currently, only one in five Maronite marriages are between members of the community.

That left Kormakitis as the linguistic “hive” for Cypriot Maronite Arabic, only spoken by residents over 50, according to retired teacher Ilias Zonias. Born in Kormakitis, Zonias is the only native Sanna speaker qualified to teach the language.

Kormakitis was a closed society in which residents spoke Sanna, while their kids went to school not knowing Greek. That’s how the language was preserved, Zonias said.

Still, speakers after 1974 began to dwindle until around the turn of the millennium, when the Maronite community with the help of the Cypriot government increased efforts to save the language.

Cyprus’ 2004 membership in the EU was a milestone for Sanna as the bloc poured resources into safeguarding Indigenous minority languages, a designation that Cypriot authorities had bestowed.

Kariolemou said her team in 2013 set up a recorded archive of spoken Sanna, some 280 hours long, for further study.

A 27-letter alphabet was created in mostly Latin characters, thanks mainly to the work of linguist Alexander Borg. Grammar was formulated and refined, enabling the publication of books for teaching Sanna.

Language courses are in their early stages, Skordis said, with about 100 children and adults in classes in Kormakitis and the Saint Maronas primary school in Lakatamia, a suburb of Nicosia, the country's capital. A summer language camp for children and adults in Kormakitis has also been created.

An initiative is underway for native-born speakers — primarily Kormakitis residents — to learn how to teach Sanna.

At Ayios Maronas primary school, 20 kindergarten-age children are learning the language with books containing QR codes that can be scanned so students can follow an audio adaptation on school-provided tablets.

But for Sanna to have a real future, there is no substitute for young families returning in large numbers to Kormakitis, where the language can be taught in the newly built, EU-funded school, Moussas said.

Community leaders, however, aren’t pleased with the low number of people expressing interest. Moussas said community leaders and the Cypriot government are looking into offering incentives, primarily to make it easier to find housing.

For Zonias, keeping the language alive for the ages would be the crowning achievement of his career.

“I don’t want to be the last teacher of Sanna,” he said.

Catholic Maronite faithful pass under the icon of St. George in an act of supplication during a traditional procession on the saint's Feast Day outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

St. George Church in the Maronite village of of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

A man sits outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

A Vatican flag waves as the worshippers follow a traditional procession on the Feast Day of St. George outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

A priest swings a senser at an icon of St. George during a traditional procession on the saint's Feast Day outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Catholic Maronite faithful pass under the icon of St. George in an act of supplication during a traditional procession on the saint's Feast Day outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Worshippers follow a traditional procession on the Feast Day of St. George outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Faithful follow a traditional procession on the Feast Day of St. George in St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Maronite Catholic faithful are silhouetted against the sunlit wall of St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Maronite Catholic nuns recite hymns during a service in outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Maronite Catholic faithful attend a service on the Feast Day of St. George in St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Maronite Catholic faithful attend a service on the Feast Day of St. George in St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Maronite Catholic faithful bring their hands together in prayer during a service in outside St. George Church in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

A painting of St. George hangs on the wall of St. George Church as the faithful attend a service, in the Maronite village of Kormakitis in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tens of thousands of people marched in Minneapolis on Saturday to protest the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer there and the shooting of two people in Portland, Oregon. Minnesota leaders urged demonstrators to remain peaceful.

The protest was one of hundreds planned for towns and cities across the country over the weekend. It came in a city on edge since the killing of Renee Good on Wednesday by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

“We’re all living in fear right now,” said Meghan Moore, a mother of two from Minneapolis who joined the protest. “ICE is creating an environment where nobody feels safe and that’s unacceptable.”

On Friday night, a protest outside a Minneapolis hotel that attracted about 1,000 people turned violent as demonstrators threw ice, snow and rocks at officers, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said. One officer suffered minor injuries after being struck with a piece of ice, O’Hara said. Twenty-nine people were cited and released, he said.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stressed that while most protests have been peaceful, those who cause damage to property or put others in danger will be arrested. He faulted “agitators that are trying to rile up large crowds.”

“This is what Donald Trump wants,” Frey said of the president who has demanded massive immigration enforcement efforts in several U.S. cities. “He wants us to take the bait.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz echoed the call for peace.

“Trump sent thousands of armed federal officers into our state, and it took just one day for them to kill someone,” Walz posted on social media. “Now he wants nothing more than to see chaos distract from that horrific action. Don’t give him what he wants.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says its deployment of immigration officers in the Twin Cities is its biggest ever immigration enforcement operation. Trump's administration has said both shootings were acts of self-defense against drivers who “weaponized” their vehicles to attack officers.

Connor Maloney said he was attending the Minneapolis protest to support his community and because he's frustrated with the immigration crackdown.

“Almost daily I see them harassing people,” he said. “It’s just sickening that it’s happening in our community around us.”

He was among thousands of protesters, including children, who braved subfreezing temperatures and a light dusting of snow, carrying handmade signs saying declaring, “De-ICE Minnesota!” and “ICE melts in Minnesota.”

They marched down a street that is home to restaurants and stores where various nationalities and cultures are celebrated in colorful murals.

Steven Eubanks, 51, said he felt compelled to attend a protest in Durham, North Carolina, because of the “horrifying” killing in Minneapolis.

“We can’t allow it,” Eubanks said. “We have to stand up.”

Indivisible, a social movement organization that formed to resist the Trump administration, said hundreds of protests were scheduled in Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Florida and other states.

In Minneapolis, a coalition of migrant rights groups organized the demonstration that began in a park about half a mile from the residential neighborhood where the 37-year-old Good was shot on Wednesday.

But the large protest apparently did not deter federal officers from operating in the city.

A couple of miles away, just as the demonstration began, an Associated Press photographer witnessed heavily armed officers — at least one in Border Patrol uniform — approach a person who had been following them. Two of the agents had long guns out when they ordered the person to stop following them, telling him it was his “first and final warning.”

The agents eventually drove onto the interstate without detaining the driver.

Protests held in the neighborhood have been largely peaceful, and in general there has been minimal law enforcement presence, in contrast to the violence that hit Minneapolis in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in 2020. Near the airport, some confrontations erupted on Thursday and Friday between smaller groups of protesters and officers guarding the federal building used as a base for the Twin Cities crackdown.

O’Hara said city police officers have responded to calls about cars abandoned because their drivers have been apprehended by immigration enforcement. In one case, a car was left in park and a dog was left inside another.

He said immigration enforcement activities are happening “all over the city” and that 911 callers have been alerting authorities to ICE activity, arrests and abandoned vehicles.

The Trump administration has deployed thousands of federal officers to Minnesota under a sweeping new crackdown tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents. More than 2,000 officers were taking part.

Three congresswomen from Minnesota attempted to tour the ICE facility in the Minneapolis federal building on in the morning and were initially allowed to enter but then told they had to leave about 10 minutes later.

U.S, Reps. Ilhan Omar, Kelly Morrison and Angie Craig accused ICE agents of obstructing members of Congress from fulfilling their duty to oversee operations there.

A federal judge last month temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing policies that limit congressional visits to immigration facilities. The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by 12 members of Congress who sued in Washington, D.C. to challenge ICE’s amended visitor policies after they were denied entry to detention facilities.

This story has updated to correct that the people shot in Portland were not protesters.

Associated Press writers Allen Breed in Durham, North Carolina, and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed.

Protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People place flowers for a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Friday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Demonstrators march outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Demonstrators march outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Rep. Kelly Morrison D-Minn., center, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., second from the right, and Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., far right, at the Bishop Whipple Federal Building, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference as Police Chief Brian O'Hara listens, on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Federal agents stand outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building as protesters gather in Minneapolis, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Federal agents stand outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building as protesters gather in Minneapolis, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Federal agents look on as protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

A woman holds a sign for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis earlier in the week, as people gather outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Two people sit in the street with their hands up in front of Minnesota State Patrol during a protest and noise demonstration calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Minnesota State Patrol officers are seen during a protest and noise demonstration calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Minnesota State Patrol officers are seen during a protest and noise demonstration calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Two people sit in the street holding hands in front of Minnesota State Patrol during a protest and noise demonstration calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)