Cylingo launched in Northern Cyprus — a digital dictionary of Cypriot dialects

The Cylingo project was launched in Cyprus as a digital platform for archiving and studying local dialects — Cypriot Turkish, Cypriot Greek, Maronite, and the "migrant language." The project initiators, Ugurcan Karşılı and Doruk Ekingen, state that the goal of the service is to preserve the island's linguistic heritage and facilitate its study by young people.

The platform is available through a website and social media accounts; users can add words and comments, making the project an interactive research resource. According to the founders, research revealed a large number of shared borrowings (of Italian, Latin, French origin) and similar grammatical and phonetic features in the dialects of both communities, which, they note, helps strengthen intercommunal ties. As an example, they cite the reaction of Greek Cypriots to the word "gancelli," which was familiar to their grandmothers.

Cylingo is positioned as an apolitical and non-commercial project: the website does not host ads, the project seeks sponsors and is open to donations. Developers plan a mobile application, but its implementation is delayed due to a lack of funds. For residents of Northern Cyprus, Cylingo can become a resource for education, teaching, and the preservation of cultural identity; the authors encourage local residents to contribute and support the initiative.