[1] The features of the dialect have been shaped through a history of interaction with Turks, Armenians, Italians, Franco-Levantines, as well as the maintenance of contact with Standard Greek.

[citation needed] This resembles the articulation of back vowels in Turkish, and is likely due to a language contact effect arising from the long running contact between Greek and Turkish in the city, dating back to at least 1450.

Also attributed to Turkish contact are the presence of dark L in the dialect,[2] as well as the postalveolar affricates /t͡ʃ/ and /d͡ʒ/.

[1] Both features are held to be indexical of Istanbul Greek speech, velar L being more so than /t͡ʃ/.

It is a differentiating factor from the Turkish surroundings of its speakers, but also from the Standard Greek they are exposed to.

On the other hand, those who try to avoid using it may say they do so in order to preserve the "homogeneity" or unity of the Greek ethnos.

Among communities of Istanbul Greek origin in Greece, the use of dark L has been stigmatized and is avoided.