The "Immigrec: Immigration and Language in Canada: Greeks and Greek-Canadians" project started in 2017.
It is an project which aims to document the second wave of Greek immigration to Canada (roughly the period 1945 to 1975) through the collection of oral histories and archival material (travel documents, photographs, etc.) for the purpose of creating a virtual museum, and for research in history, political science, anthropology, and linguistics.
The project has interviewed 453 participants from 12 different communities in Canada, and more than 13 different geographic regions of Greece, yielding an unexpected treasure trove of historical, anthropological, and linguistic data.
Dr Pappas is in Melbourne to present a general overview of the project and some of the preliminary linguistic results.
His research interests are mainly in the areas of historical linguistics, language variation and change, but he is also interested in issues of language contact, Balkan linguistics and the teaching of Modern Greek.
The "Immigrec" project is a collaboration of the "Greek Studies" department of McGill University, the Laboratory of Modern Greek Dialects (LMGD) of the University of Patras, the "Modern Greek Studies" department of York University and "Department of Linguistics" of the Simon Fraser University.
Dr Pappas is hosted by the Greek Studies Program, of the La Trobe University. On Tuesday the 16th of April, at 7pm, he will give present the project at the "Ithacan Philanthropic Society" building (329 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne).
