Tsakonian language
Encyclopedia
Tsakonian, Tsaconian, Tzakonian or Tsakonic (Greek
: Τσακώνικα) is a Hellenic language
, spoken in the Tsakonian region
of the Peloponnese
, Greece
.
It is named after its speakers, the Tsakonians, which may be descended from 'exo-Laconia
ns' 'Outer Lakonians'.
Tsakonian is found today in a group of mountain towns and villages slightly inland from the Argolic Gulf
, although it was once spoken farther to the south and west as well as on the coasts of Laconia
(ancient Sparta
). There was formerly a Tsakonian colony on the Sea of Marmara
(or Propontis; two villages near Gönen
, Vatika and Havoutsi), probably dating from the 18th century, whose members were resettled in Greece with the 1924 population exchanges
. Propontis Tsakonian appears to have died out around 1970.
have been translated into Tsakonian, but the ancient Koine of the traditional church services is usually used as in other locations in Greece. Some teaching materials in Tsakonian for use in local schools have reportedly also been produced.
Another difference between Tsakonian and the common Demotic Greek dialect is its verb system - Tsakonian preserves different archaic forms, such as participial periphrasis
for the present tense. Certain complementisers
and other adverbial features present in the standard Modern Greek dialect are absent from Tsakonian, with the exception of the Modern που (pu) relativiser, which takes the form πη (pʰi) in Tsakonian (note: the traditional Tsakonian orthography uses the digraph
πφ + η, giving πφη). Noun morphology is broadly similar to Standard Modern Greek, although Tsakonian tends to drop the nominative "s" from masculine nouns, thus Tsakonian ο τσχίφτα for Standard o τρίφτης (o tshifta/o triftis: "grater").
The Propontis dialect was much more heavily influenced by the modern Thracian dialect
and although there were significant grammatical differences, in terms of vocabulary it was much closer to Standard Modern Greek. Compare the Northern and Southern word for water, ύο (io, derived from Ancient Greek ) to Propontic νερέ and Standard νερό (nere, nero).
However, there has always been contact with Koine Greek
speakers and the language was affected by the neighboring Greek dialects. Additionally, there are some lexical borrowings from Arvanitika Albanian
and Turkish
. The core vocabulary remains recognizably Doric
, though experts disagree on the extent to which other true Doricisms can be found. There are only a few hundred, mainly elderly true native speakers alive, although there are a great many more who can speak the language less than fluently.
Geographical
barriers to travel
and communication
kept the Tsakonians relatively isolated from the rest of Greece
until the 19th century, although there was some trade between the coastal towns. The rise of mass education and improved travel beginning after the Greek War of Independence
meant that fluent Tsakonian speakers were no longer as isolated from the rest of Greece and there began a rapid decline from an estimated figure of some 200,000 fluent speakers to the present fluent core estimated in the hundreds.
Since the introduction of electricity
to all villages in Tsakonia by the late 1950s, the Greek mass media
can reach the most remote of areas and profoundly affect the speech of younger speakers. Efforts to revive the language by teaching it in local schools do not seem to have had much success. Standard Modern Greek is the official language of government
, commerce
and education, and it appears inevitable that the continued modernization of Tsakonia will lead to the language's disappearance sometime this century.
ημέρα /imera/ "day", στρατιώτα /stratiˈota/ corresponding to Modern στρατιώτης /stratiˈotis/ "soldier".
Ε) /e/ > /i/ before vowels: e.g. Βασιλήα /vasiˈlia/ instead of βασιλέα /vasiˈlea/.
O) occasionally /o/ > /u/: ουφις /ufis/ < όφις /ˈofis/ "snake", τθούμα /ˈtʰuma/ < στόμα /ˈstoma/ "mouth". Final /o/ > /e/ after coronals and front vowels: όνος /ˈonos/ > όνε /ˈone/, χοίρος /ˈxyros/ > χιούρε /ˈxjure/, γραφτός /ɣrafˈtos/ > γραφτέ /ɣrafˈte/, χρέος /ˈxreos/ > χρίε /ˈxrie/, but δρόμος /ˈðromos/ > δρόμο /ˈðromo/
Υ) Pronounced in Modern Greek /i/, this was /u/ in Doric and /y/ in Attic. The reflex of this phoneme in Tsakonian is /u/, and /ju/ after coronals (suggesting an origin in /y/). σούκα /ˈsuka/ corresponding to Modern σύκα /ˈsika/ "figs", άρτουμα /ˈartuma/ corresponding to άρτυμα /ˈartima/ "bread"; λύκος /ˈlykos/ > λιούκο /ˈljuko/ [ˈʎuko] "wolf"
Ω) /ɔː/ in Ancient Greek, regularly goes to /u/: μουρήα /muˈria/ (Ancient μωρέα /mɔːˈrea/, Modern μουριά /murˈja/), αού /au/ < λαλών /laˈlɔːn/ "speaking".
(Note: Tsakonian citation forms for verbs are participles, hence they are given as derived from the ancient participle in -ών.)
. In Tsakonian, this sound has become a fricative v: βάννε /ˈvane/ "sheep", corresponding to Ancient ϝαμνός /wamˈnos/ (Attic ἀμνός).
Tsakonian has extensive changes triggered by palatalisation:
> [tɕ] : κύριος /ˈkyrios/ > τζιούρη /ˈtɕuri/, occasionally /ts/: κεφάλι /keˈfali/ > τσουφά /tsuˈfa/ > [dz] : αγγίζων /aŋˈɡizɔːn/ > αντζίχου /anˈdzixu/ > [c] : πηγάδι /piˈɣaði/ > κηγάδι /ciˈɣaði/ > [c] : τυρός /tyˈros/ > κιουρέ /cuˈre/, occasionally /ts/: τίποτα /ˈtipota/ > τσίπτα /ˈtsipta/ > [n] : Μιχάλης /miˈxalis/ > Ν(ν)ιχάλη /niˈxali/ > /ɲ/ : ανοίγων /aˈniɣɔːn/ > ανοίντου /aˈɲindu/ > /ʎ/ : ηλιάζων /iliˈazɔːn/ > λιάζου /ˈʎazu/ > [ʒ] :ρυάκι /ryˈaki/ > ρζάτζι /ˈʒatɕi/. This sound appears to have been a fricative trill in the 19th century, and [ʒ] survived latterly only in women's usage in Southern Tsakonian.
In Southern Tsakonian, /l/ is deleted before back and central vowels: λόγος /ˈloɣos/ > Northern λόγo /ˈloɣo/, Southern όγo /ˈoɣo/; λούζων /ˈluzɔːn/ > Northern λούκχου /ˈlukʰu/, Southern ούκχου /ˈukʰu/;
Occasionally /θ/ > /s/, which appears to reflect an earlier process in Laconian, but in others /θ/ is retained though the word is absent in Standard Greek: θυγάτηρ /θyˈɣatir/ > σάτη /ˈsati/, but Ancient θύων /ˈθiɔːn/ (Modern σφάζω /ˈsfazo/) > θύου /ˈθiu/
Word-final /s/ > /r/, which reflects an earlier process in Laconian; in Tsakonian, it is a liaison phoneme: τίνος /ˈtinos/ > τσούνερ /ˈtsuner/
Word-initial /r/ > /ʃ/: *ράφων /ˈrafɔːn/ > σχάφου /ˈʃafu/
In the common verb ending -zo, /z/ > /nd/ : φωνάζων /foˈnazɔːn/ > φωνιάντου /foˈɲandu/
Tsakonian avoids clusters, and reduces them to aspirated or prenasalised stops and affricates:
> /tʃ/: δρύας, άνθρωπος, τράγος /ˈðryas, ˈanθropos, ˈtraɣos/ > τσχούα, άτσχωπο, τσχάο /ˈtʃua, ˈatʃopo, ˈtʃao/ > /pʰ, tʰ, tʰ, kʰ, kʰ/: σπείρων, ιστός, επιάσθη, ασκός, ίσχων /ˈspirɔːn, isˈtos, epiˈasθi, asˈkos, ˈisxɔːn/ > πφείρου, ιτθέ, εκιάτθε, ακχό, ίκχου /ˈpʰiru, iˈtʰe, eˈcatʰe, aˈkʰo, ˈikʰu/ > /pʰ, tʰ, kʰ/: ομφαλός, γρονθία, ρύγχος /omfaˈlos, ɣronˈθia, ˈryŋxos/ > απφαλέ, γροτθία, σχούκο /apʰaˈle, ɣroˈtʰia, ˈʃukʰo/ > /ts/: ξερός /kseˈros/ > τσερέ /tseˈre/ > /tʰ/: δάκτυλο, δεχθώ /ˈðaktylo, ðexˈθɔː/ > δάτθυλε, δετθού /ˈðatʰile, ðeˈtʰu/ after consonants often goes to /r/: πλατύ, κλέφτης, γλώσσα, αχλάδες /plaˈty, ˈkleftis, ˈɣlɔːsa, aˈxlaðes/ > πρακιού, κρέφτα, γρούσα, αχράε /praˈcu, ˈkrefta, ˈɣrusa, aˈxrae/ > /mb, nd, ŋɡ, nd/: σκορπίος, άρτος, άρκα, πορδή /skorˈpios, ˈartos, ˈarka, porˈði/ > κχομπίο, άντε, άγκα, πφούντα /kʰomˈbio, ˈande, ˈaŋɡa, ˈpʰunda/
/z, v/ are added between vowels: μυία, κυανός /myˈia, kyaˈnos/ > μούζα, κουβάνε /ˈmuza, kuˈvane/
/ɣ, ð/ often drop out between vowels: πόδας, τράγος /ˈpoðas, ˈtraɣos/ > πούα, τσχάο /ˈpua, ˈtʃao/
English translation
I had a bird in a cage and I kept it happy
I gave it sugar and wine-grapes
and from the great amount of grapes and their essence,
it got naughty (possibly means it got drunk) and escaped.
And its master now runs after it with the cage in his hands:
Come my bird back where you belong, come to your house
I will remove your old bells and buy you new ones.
The present and imperfect indicative in Tsakonian are formed with participles, like English but unlike the rest of Greek: ενεί αού, έμα αού "I am saying, I was saying" < ειμί λαλών, ήμην λαλών
sch). Another sound recalls Czech
ř. Prof. Thanasis Costakis
invented an orthography using dots, spiritus asper
, and caron
for use in his works, which has been used in his grammar and several other works. This is more like the Czech
usage of haceks (such as š). Lastly, unpalatalized n and l before a front vowel can be written double, to contrast with a palatalised single letter. (e.g. in Southern Tsakonian ένι [eɲi] "he is", έννι [eni] "I am" -- the latter corresponding to Northern Tsakonian έμι [emi] and Standard Greek είμαι [ime].)
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: Τσακώνικα) is a Hellenic language
Hellenic languages
Hellenic, as a technical term in historical linguistics, is the branch of the Indo-European language family that includes Greek . According to most traditional classifications, Hellenic contains only Greek as a single language alone in its branch, and is as such co-extensive with "Greek"...
, spoken in the Tsakonian region
Tsakonia
Tsakonia or the Tsakonian region describes the area of the eastern Peloponnese where the Tsakonian language is presently spoken...
of the Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
It is named after its speakers, the Tsakonians, which may be descended from 'exo-Laconia
Laconia
Laconia , also known as Lacedaemonia, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti...
ns' 'Outer Lakonians'.
Geographic distribution
Argolic Gulf
The Argolic Gulf is a small gulf off the east coast of the Peloponnese, Greece, opening into the Aegean Sea. Its main island is Spetses. This gulf and its islands are sometimes combined with the Saronic Gulf and Saronic Islands, with the result called the Argo-Saronic Gulf and the Argo-Saronic...
, although it was once spoken farther to the south and west as well as on the coasts of Laconia
Laconia
Laconia , also known as Lacedaemonia, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti...
(ancient Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
). There was formerly a Tsakonian colony on the Sea of Marmara
Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis , is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black...
(or Propontis; two villages near Gönen
Gönen
Gönen is a district of Balıkesir Province of Turkey, located in the southern part of Marmara Sea. The town is mostly known for its therapeutic hot springs, leather processing and rice production. The mayor is Hüseyin Yakar .-Location:...
, Vatika and Havoutsi), probably dating from the 18th century, whose members were resettled in Greece with the 1924 population exchanges
Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey was based upon religious identity, and involved the Greek Orthodox citizens of Turkey and the Muslim citizens of Greece...
. Propontis Tsakonian appears to have died out around 1970.
Official status
Tsakonian has no official status. Prayers and liturgies of the Greek Orthodox ChurchChurch of Greece
The Church of Greece , part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, is one of the autocephalous churches which make up the communion of Orthodox Christianity...
have been translated into Tsakonian, but the ancient Koine of the traditional church services is usually used as in other locations in Greece. Some teaching materials in Tsakonian for use in local schools have reportedly also been produced.
Dialects
Tsakonian is divided by scholars into three dialects, Northern Tsakonian, Southern Tsakonian and Propontis Tsakonian.Another difference between Tsakonian and the common Demotic Greek dialect is its verb system - Tsakonian preserves different archaic forms, such as participial periphrasis
Periphrasis
In linguistics, periphrasis is a device by which a grammatical category or grammatical relationship is expressed by a free morpheme , instead of being shown by inflection or derivation...
for the present tense. Certain complementisers
Complement (linguistics)
In grammar the term complement is used with different meanings. The primary meaning is a word, phrase or clause that is necessary in a sentence to complete its meaning. We find complements that function as an argument and complements that exist within arguments.Both complements and modifiers add...
and other adverbial features present in the standard Modern Greek dialect are absent from Tsakonian, with the exception of the Modern που (pu) relativiser, which takes the form πη (pʰi) in Tsakonian (note: the traditional Tsakonian orthography uses the digraph
Digraph (orthography)
A digraph or digram is a pair of characters used to write one phoneme or a sequence of phonemes that does not correspond to the normal values of the two characters combined...
πφ + η, giving πφη). Noun morphology is broadly similar to Standard Modern Greek, although Tsakonian tends to drop the nominative "s" from masculine nouns, thus Tsakonian ο τσχίφτα for Standard o τρίφτης (o tshifta/o triftis: "grater").
Thracian dialect
The Thracian dialect is a dialect of the Bulgarian language, member of the Rup or Southeastern Bulgarian dialects. The present range of the dialect includes the regions of Haskovo, Parvomay, Elhovo, Harmanli, Svilengrad, Topolovgrad and Ivaylovgrad...
and although there were significant grammatical differences, in terms of vocabulary it was much closer to Standard Modern Greek. Compare the Northern and Southern word for water, ύο (io, derived from Ancient Greek ) to Propontic νερέ and Standard νερό (nere, nero).
However, there has always been contact with Koine Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
speakers and the language was affected by the neighboring Greek dialects. Additionally, there are some lexical borrowings from Arvanitika Albanian
Arvanitika
Arvanitika also known Arvanitic is the variety of Albanian traditionally spoken by the Arvanites, a population group in Greece...
and Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
. The core vocabulary remains recognizably Doric
Doric Greek
Doric or Dorian was a dialect of ancient Greek. Its variants were spoken in the southern and eastern Peloponnese, Crete, Rhodes, some islands in the southern Aegean Sea, some cities on the coasts of Asia Minor, Southern Italy, Sicily, Epirus and Macedon. Together with Northwest Greek, it forms the...
, though experts disagree on the extent to which other true Doricisms can be found. There are only a few hundred, mainly elderly true native speakers alive, although there are a great many more who can speak the language less than fluently.
Geographical
Geography of Greece
Greece is a country located in Southern Europe, on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula. Greece is surrounded on the north by Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia and Albania; to the west by the Ionian Sea; to the south by the Mediterranean Sea and to the east by the Aegean Sea and Turkey...
barriers to travel
Travel
Travel is the movement of people or objects between relatively distant geographical locations. 'Travel' can also include relatively short stays between successive movements.-Etymology:...
and communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
kept the Tsakonians relatively isolated from the rest of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
until the 19th century, although there was some trade between the coastal towns. The rise of mass education and improved travel beginning after the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
meant that fluent Tsakonian speakers were no longer as isolated from the rest of Greece and there began a rapid decline from an estimated figure of some 200,000 fluent speakers to the present fluent core estimated in the hundreds.
Since the introduction of electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
to all villages in Tsakonia by the late 1950s, the Greek mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
can reach the most remote of areas and profoundly affect the speech of younger speakers. Efforts to revive the language by teaching it in local schools do not seem to have had much success. Standard Modern Greek is the official language of government
Politics of Greece
The Politics of Greece takes place in a large parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Greece is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Hellenic Parliament...
, commerce
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
and education, and it appears inevitable that the continued modernization of Tsakonia will lead to the language's disappearance sometime this century.
Vowels
A) /a/ can appear as a reflex of Doric /aː/, in contexts where Attic had η /ɛː/ and Modern Greek has /i/: αμέρα /aˈmera/ corresponding to Modernημέρα /imera/ "day", στρατιώτα /stratiˈota/ corresponding to Modern στρατιώτης /stratiˈotis/ "soldier".
Ε) /e/ > /i/ before vowels: e.g. Βασιλήα /vasiˈlia/ instead of βασιλέα /vasiˈlea/.
O) occasionally /o/ > /u/: ουφις /ufis/ < όφις /ˈofis/ "snake", τθούμα /ˈtʰuma/ < στόμα /ˈstoma/ "mouth". Final /o/ > /e/ after coronals and front vowels: όνος /ˈonos/ > όνε /ˈone/, χοίρος /ˈxyros/ > χιούρε /ˈxjure/, γραφτός /ɣrafˈtos/ > γραφτέ /ɣrafˈte/, χρέος /ˈxreos/ > χρίε /ˈxrie/, but δρόμος /ˈðromos/ > δρόμο /ˈðromo/
Υ) Pronounced in Modern Greek /i/, this was /u/ in Doric and /y/ in Attic. The reflex of this phoneme in Tsakonian is /u/, and /ju/ after coronals (suggesting an origin in /y/). σούκα /ˈsuka/ corresponding to Modern σύκα /ˈsika/ "figs", άρτουμα /ˈartuma/ corresponding to άρτυμα /ˈartima/ "bread"; λύκος /ˈlykos/ > λιούκο /ˈljuko/ [ˈʎuko] "wolf"
Ω) /ɔː/ in Ancient Greek, regularly goes to /u/: μουρήα /muˈria/ (Ancient μωρέα /mɔːˈrea/, Modern μουριά /murˈja/), αού /au/ < λαλών /laˈlɔːn/ "speaking".
(Note: Tsakonian citation forms for verbs are participles, hence they are given as derived from the ancient participle in -ών.)
Consonants
Tsakonian in some words preserves the pre-classical Greek w-sound, represented in some Ancient Greek texts by the digammaDigamma
Digamma is an archaic letter of the Greek alphabet which originally stood for the sound /w/ and later remained in use only as a numeral symbol for the number "6"...
. In Tsakonian, this sound has become a fricative v: βάννε /ˈvane/ "sheep", corresponding to Ancient ϝαμνός /wamˈnos/ (Attic ἀμνός).
Tsakonian has extensive changes triggered by palatalisation:
> [tɕ] : κύριος /ˈkyrios/ > τζιούρη /ˈtɕuri/, occasionally /ts/: κεφάλι /keˈfali/ > τσουφά /tsuˈfa/ > [dz] : αγγίζων /aŋˈɡizɔːn/ > αντζίχου /anˈdzixu/ > [c] : πηγάδι /piˈɣaði/ > κηγάδι /ciˈɣaði/ > [c] : τυρός /tyˈros/ > κιουρέ /cuˈre/, occasionally /ts/: τίποτα /ˈtipota/ > τσίπτα /ˈtsipta/ > [n] : Μιχάλης /miˈxalis/ > Ν(ν)ιχάλη /niˈxali/ > /ɲ/ : ανοίγων /aˈniɣɔːn/ > ανοίντου /aˈɲindu/ > /ʎ/ : ηλιάζων /iliˈazɔːn/ > λιάζου /ˈʎazu/ > [ʒ] :ρυάκι /ryˈaki/ > ρζάτζι /ˈʒatɕi/. This sound appears to have been a fricative trill in the 19th century, and [ʒ] survived latterly only in women's usage in Southern Tsakonian.
In Southern Tsakonian, /l/ is deleted before back and central vowels: λόγος /ˈloɣos/ > Northern λόγo /ˈloɣo/, Southern όγo /ˈoɣo/; λούζων /ˈluzɔːn/ > Northern λούκχου /ˈlukʰu/, Southern ούκχου /ˈukʰu/;
Occasionally /θ/ > /s/, which appears to reflect an earlier process in Laconian, but in others /θ/ is retained though the word is absent in Standard Greek: θυγάτηρ /θyˈɣatir/ > σάτη /ˈsati/, but Ancient θύων /ˈθiɔːn/ (Modern σφάζω /ˈsfazo/) > θύου /ˈθiu/
Word-final /s/ > /r/, which reflects an earlier process in Laconian; in Tsakonian, it is a liaison phoneme: τίνος /ˈtinos/ > τσούνερ /ˈtsuner/
Word-initial /r/ > /ʃ/: *ράφων /ˈrafɔːn/ > σχάφου /ˈʃafu/
In the common verb ending -zo, /z/ > /nd/ : φωνάζων /foˈnazɔːn/ > φωνιάντου /foˈɲandu/
Tsakonian avoids clusters, and reduces them to aspirated or prenasalised stops and affricates:
> /tʃ/: δρύας, άνθρωπος, τράγος /ˈðryas, ˈanθropos, ˈtraɣos/ > τσχούα, άτσχωπο, τσχάο /ˈtʃua, ˈatʃopo, ˈtʃao/ > /pʰ, tʰ, tʰ, kʰ, kʰ/: σπείρων, ιστός, επιάσθη, ασκός, ίσχων /ˈspirɔːn, isˈtos, epiˈasθi, asˈkos, ˈisxɔːn/ > πφείρου, ιτθέ, εκιάτθε, ακχό, ίκχου /ˈpʰiru, iˈtʰe, eˈcatʰe, aˈkʰo, ˈikʰu/ > /pʰ, tʰ, kʰ/: ομφαλός, γρονθία, ρύγχος /omfaˈlos, ɣronˈθia, ˈryŋxos/ > απφαλέ, γροτθία, σχούκο /apʰaˈle, ɣroˈtʰia, ˈʃukʰo/ > /ts/: ξερός /kseˈros/ > τσερέ /tseˈre/ > /tʰ/: δάκτυλο, δεχθώ /ˈðaktylo, ðexˈθɔː/ > δάτθυλε, δετθού /ˈðatʰile, ðeˈtʰu/ after consonants often goes to /r/: πλατύ, κλέφτης, γλώσσα, αχλάδες /plaˈty, ˈkleftis, ˈɣlɔːsa, aˈxlaðes/ > πρακιού, κρέφτα, γρούσα, αχράε /praˈcu, ˈkrefta, ˈɣrusa, aˈxrae/ > /mb, nd, ŋɡ, nd/: σκορπίος, άρτος, άρκα, πορδή /skorˈpios, ˈartos, ˈarka, porˈði/ > κχομπίο, άντε, άγκα, πφούντα /kʰomˈbio, ˈande, ˈaŋɡa, ˈpʰunda/
/z, v/ are added between vowels: μυία, κυανός /myˈia, kyaˈnos/ > μούζα, κουβάνε /ˈmuza, kuˈvane/
/ɣ, ð/ often drop out between vowels: πόδας, τράγος /ˈpoðas, ˈtraɣos/ > πούα, τσχάο /ˈpua, ˈtʃao/
Prosody
| original song-Tsakonian | In Roman transliteration |
|---|---|
τάχιγα νι εμα ζάχαρι ποκίχα νι έμα μόσκο, τσαί από το μόσκο το περσού τσαί από τα μυρωδιά εσκαντάλιστε το κλουβί τσ' εφύντζε μι τ'αϊδίνι. Τσ'αφέγκι σι νιε τσυνηγού με το κλουβί τθα τζέρρι. Έλα πουλί τθο τόπο ωτι έλα τθα κατοιτσία ω'αλάτσου τα κουδούνια ωτι να βάλου άλλα τσαινούρζα. |
tachigha ni ema zachari pokicha ema mosko tse apo to mosko to persu tse apo ta mirodia eskantaliste to klouvi ts efitze mi taidine. Tsafegi si ni tsinighou me to klouvi t-tha chera Ela pouli t-tho topo oti ela t-tha katitsia o alatsou ta koudhounia oti na valou alla tsenourza. |
| In modern Greek | Modern Greek pronunciation - Roman guideline |
|---|---|
το τάιζα ζάχαρι και το πότιζα μόσχο και από τον πολύ τον μόσχο και την μυρωδιά του εσκανταλίστη και το κλουβί και μου έφυγε τ'αϊδόνι Κι ο αφέντης το κυνηγάει με το κλουβί στο χέρι: Έλα πουλί στον τόπο σου, έλα στην κατοικία σου ν'αλλάξω τα κουδούνια σου να βάλω άλλα καινούργια |
to taiza zachari ke to potiza moscho ke apo ton poli ton moscho ke tin mirodia tou eskantalisti le to klouvi ke mou efyghe taidoni. ke o afegis to kinigai me to klouvi sto cheri Ela pouli ston topo sou, ela stin katikia sou Nallaxo ta koudounia sou na valo alla kenourgia. |
English translation
I gave it sugar and wine-grapes
and from the great amount of grapes and their essence,
it got naughty (possibly means it got drunk) and escaped.
And its master now runs after it with the cage in his hands:
Come my bird back where you belong, come to your house
I will remove your old bells and buy you new ones.
Phonotactics
Tsakonian avoids consonant clusters, as seen, and drops final /s/ and /n/; as a result, syllable structure tends more to CV than in Standard Modern Greek. (The use of digraphs in tradition spelling tends to obscure this). For instances, ancient /hadros/ "hard" goes to Tsakonian /a.tʃe/, where /tʃ/ can be considered a single phoneme; it is written traditionally with a trigraph as ατσχέ (= atskhe).Grammar
Tsakonian has undergone considerable morphological simplification: there is minimal case inflection.The present and imperfect indicative in Tsakonian are formed with participles, like English but unlike the rest of Greek: ενεί αού, έμα αού "I am saying, I was saying" < ειμί λαλών, ήμην λαλών
- Ενεί (Enee) = I am
- Εσεί (Esi) = you are
- Έννι (Eni) = he/she/it is
- Έμε (Eme) = we are
- Έτε (Ete) = you are
- Είνι (Eeni) = they are
- Έμα (Ema) = I was
- Έσα (Esa) = you were
- Έκη (Eki) = he/she/it was
- Έμαϊ (Emai) = we were
- Έταϊ (Etai) = you were
- Ήγκιαϊ (Igiai) = they were
- φερήκου (males) φερήκα (females) (ferikou/ferika) = I bring
- φερήκεις (ferikis) = you bring
- φερήκει (feriki) = he/she/it brings
- φερήκουντε (ferikoude) = we bring
- φερήκουτε (ferikoute) = you bring
- φερήκουσι (ferikousi) = they bring
Writing system
Traditionally, Tsakonian used the standard Greek alphabet, along with digraphs to represent certain sounds which either do not occur in Demotic Greek, or which do not commonly occur in combination with the same sounds as they do in Tsakonian. For example, the "sh" sound, which does not occur in standard Greek, does in Tsakonian, and is spelled "σχ" (much like GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
sch). Another sound recalls Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
ř. Prof. Thanasis Costakis
Thanasis Costakis
Thanasis Costakis was a Greek linguist and lexicographer best known for his work on the now-moribund Tsakonian language spoken in the eastern Peloponnese....
invented an orthography using dots, spiritus asper
Spiritus asper
In the polytonic orthography of Ancient Greek, the rough breathing , is a diacritical mark used to indicate the presence of an sound before a vowel, diphthong, or rho. It remained in the polytonic orthography even after the Hellenistic period, when the sound disappeared from the Greek language...
, and caron
Caron
A caron or háček , also known as a wedge, inverted circumflex, inverted hat, is a diacritic placed over certain letters to indicate present or historical palatalization, iotation, or postalveolar pronunciation in the orthography of some Baltic, Slavic, Finno-Lappic, and other languages.It looks...
for use in his works, which has been used in his grammar and several other works. This is more like the Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
usage of haceks (such as š). Lastly, unpalatalized n and l before a front vowel can be written double, to contrast with a palatalised single letter. (e.g. in Southern Tsakonian ένι [eɲi] "he is", έννι [eni] "I am" -- the latter corresponding to Northern Tsakonian έμι [emi] and Standard Greek είμαι [ime].)
| Representing Tsakonian sounds. Sources: Nicholas, Houpis, Costakis | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digraphs | Costakis | IPA | |||||||||||
| σχ | ʃ | ||||||||||||
| τσχ | tʃ | ||||||||||||
| ρζ | ρζ | rʒ | |||||||||||
| τθ | tʰ | ||||||||||||
| κχ | kʰ | ||||||||||||
| πφ | pʰ | ||||||||||||
| τζ | (Κ) τζ - τζ & τρζ – τρζ (Λ) τζ - τζ |
(K) tɕ, trʒ (L) tɕ d͡ʒ |
|||||||||||
| νν | n (not ɲ) | ||||||||||||
| λλ | λ̣ | l (not ʎ) | |||||||||||
| *Note: (K) is for the northern dialect of Kastanitsa & Sitaina, (Λ) and (L) for the southern which is spoken around Leonidio and Tyros. | |||||||||||||
Examples
| English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
Modern Greek Modern Greek Modern Greek refers to the varieties of the Greek language spoken in the modern era. The beginning of the "modern" period of the language is often symbolically assigned to the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, even though that date marks no clear linguistic boundary and many characteristic... |
Tsakonian (Greek alphabet Greek alphabet The Greek alphabet is the script that has been used to write the Greek language since at least 730 BC . The alphabet in its classical and modern form consists of 24 letters ordered in sequence from alpha to omega... ) |
Tsakonian (Latin alphabet Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome... ) |
Tsakonian (Costakis Notation) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where is my room? | Πού είναι το δωμάτιό μου; | Κιά έννι τθο όντα νι; | Ciá éñi o óda ni? | |
| Where is the beach? | Πού είναι η παραλία; | Κιά έννι τθο περιγιάλλι; | Ciá éñi to perigiálli? | |
| Where is the bar? | Πού είναι το μπαρ; | Κιά έννι τθο μπαρ; | Ciá éñi to bar? | |
| Don't touch me there! | Μη μ' αγγίζεις εκεί! | Μη' μ' αντζίτζερε όρπα! | Mē' m'adzíchere órpa! |
External links
- Brief Description - Ethnologue
- Linguistic Lineage
- Projet Homere (text sample and audio files)
- Tsakonian Bibliography
- The Lord's Prayer in Tsakonian (text sample)
- Church Service in Tsakonian (RealAudioRealAudioRealAudio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fidelity formats for music. It can also be used as a streaming audio format, that is...
) - Tsakonian in the Tree for Hellenic