The Greek Cypriot language is a dialect distinct from the Greek language (note that different dialects exist on many of the Greek islands) as it is spoken in mainland Greece. It is considered by linguists to be the secondmost differentiated dialect from "standard Greek", after the Pontic Greek dialect spoken by Greek populations on the Black Sea Coast of Anatolia. Although all Cypriots understand mainland Greeks (as the vast majority of Greek language media is produced in mainland Greek), and all Cypriots are taught standard Greek in the Cypriot educational system, the dialect is not always mutually intelligible with the standard variant (both in terms of pronunciation and local idioms). This is particularly true of many of the localized dialects spoken in western Cyprus, around Pafos and in the Troodos mountains.

The Greek Cypriot language is a source of pride for the Greek Cypriot population - many Greek Cypriots consider the dialect to be closer to the Classical Greek language than standard Greek, thus providing a direct linkage between Greek Cypriots and noted ancient Greeks such as Homer and Plato. There are, regrettably, few scholarly works in English that explore the Cypriot dialect, probably because it is spoken by a limited number of people.

In many ways, the Greek Cypriot pride and interest in perpetuating their unique dialect and distinct identity from the mainland Greeks is similar to that of the Turkish Cypriots interest in doing so with the mainland Turkish dialect and population.