Tsakonian language

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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-Laconians' 'Outer Lakonians'.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Classification

History of the Greek language (see also: Greek alphabet)

Proto-Greek

Mycenaean (c. 1600–1100 BC)

Ancient Greek (c. 800–330 BC) Dialects: Aeolic, Arcadocypriot, Attic-Ionic, Doric, Locrian, Pamphylian; Homeric Greek. Possibly Macedonian.

Koine Greek (c. 330 BC–330)*

Medieval Greek (330–1453)

Modern Greek (from 1453) Dialects: Cappadocian, Cheimarriotika, Cretan, Cypriot, Demotic, Griko, Katharevousa, Pontic, Tsakonian, Sarakatsanian, Maniot, Yevanic This box: view · talk · edit *Dates (beginning with Ancient Greek) from Wallace, D. B. (1996). Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. p. 12. ISBN 0310218950.

Tsakonian derives from Doric Greek.^[1]

[edit] Geographic distribution

Old ethnic map of Peloponnese. Tsakonian-speaking areas in blue.

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.

[edit] Official status

Tsakonian has no official status. Prayers and liturgies of the Greek Orthodox Church 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.^[2]

[edit] 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 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").

(English/Tsakonian/Greek) "Our language is Tsakonian. Ask and they'll tell you./Groússa námou eíni ta Tsakónika. Rotéete na nioúm'aléoi./E glóssa mas eínai ta Tsakónika. Rotéste na sas poun.", bilingual (Tsakonian and Standard Greek) sign in the town of Leonidio and Tyros Greece.

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 ὕδωρ) 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 1970s, 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.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Sounds

[edit] Vowels

A) /a/ can appear as a reflex of Doric /aː/, in contexts where Attic had η /ɛː/ and Modern Greek has /i/: αμέρα /amera/ corresponding to Modern ημέρα /imera/ "day", στρατιώτα /stratiota/ corresponding to Modern στρατιώτης /stratiotis/ "soldier".
Ε) /e/ > /i/ before vowels: e.g. Βασιλήα /vasilia/ instead of βασιλέα /vasilea/.
O) occasionally /o/ > /u/: ουφις /ufis/ < όφις /ofis/ "snake", τθούμα /tʰuma/ < στόμα /stoma/ "mouth". Final /o/ > /e/ after coronals and front vowels: όνος /onos/ > όνε /one/, χοίρος /xyros/> χιούρε /xjure/, γραφτός /ɣraftos/> γραφτέ /ɣrafte/, χρέος /xreos/ > χρίε /xrie/, but δρόμος /ðromos/> δρόμο /ðromo/
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 /suka/ corresponding to Modern σύκα /sika/ "figs", άρτουμα /artuma/ corresponding to άρτυμα /artima/ "bread"; λύκος /lykos/ > λιούκο /ljuko/ [ʎuko] "wolf"
Ω) /ɔː/ in Ancient Greek, regularly goes to /u/: μουρήα /muria/ (Ancient μωρέα /mɔːrea/, Modern μουριά /murja/), αού /au/ < λαλών /lalɔːn/ "speaking".

(Note: Tsakonian citation forms for verbs are participles, hence they are given as derived from the ancient participle in -ών.)

[edit] Consonants

Tsakonian in some words preserves the pre-classical Greek w-sound, represented in some Ancient Greek texts by the digamma. In Tsakonian, this sound has become a fricative v: βάννε /vane/ "sheep", corresponding to Ancient ϝαμνός /wamnos/ (Attic ἀμνός).

Tsakonian has extensive changes triggered by palatalisation:

• /k/ > [tɕ] : κύριος /kyrios/ > τζιούρη /tɕuri/, occasionally /ts/: κεφάλι /kefali/ > τσουφά /tsufa/
• /ɡ/ > [dz] : αγγίζων /angizɔːn/ > αντζίχου /andzixu/
• /p/ > [c] : πηγάδι /piɣaði/ > κηγάδι /ciɣaði/
• /t/ > [c] : τυρός /tyros/ > κιουρέ /cure/, occasionally /ts/: τίποτα /tipota/ > τσίπτα /tsipta/
• /m/ > [n] : Μιχάλης /mixalis/ > Ν(ν)ιχάλη /nixali/
• /n/ > /ɲ/ : ανοίγων /aniɣɔːn/ > ανοίντου /aɲindu/
• /l/ > /ʎ/ : ηλιάζων /iliazɔːn/ > λιάζου /ʎazu/
• /r/ > [ʒ] :ρυάκι /ryaki/ > ρζάτζι /ʒatɕi/. 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 /loɣos/ > Northern λόγo /loɣo/, Southern όγo /oɣo/; λούζων /luzɔːn/ > Northern λούκχου /lukʰu/, Southern ούκχου /ukʰu/;

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 /θyɣatir/ > σάτη /sati/, but Ancient θύων /θiɔːn/ (Modern σφάζω /sfazo/) > θύου /θiu/

Word-final /s/ > /r/, which reflects an earlier process in Laconian; in Tsakonian, it is a liaison phoneme: τίνος /tinos/ > τσούνερ /tsuner/

Word-initial /r/ > /ʃ/: *ράφων /rafɔːn/ > σχάφου /ʃafu/

In the common verb ending -zo, /z/ > /nd/ : φωνάζων /fonazɔːn/ > φωνιάντου /foɲandu/

Tsakonian avoids clusters, and reduces them to aspirated or prenasalised stops and affricates:

• /ðr, θr, tr/ > /tʃ/: δρύας, άνθρωπος, τράγος /ðryas, anθropos, traɣos/ > τσχούα, άτσχωπο, τσχάο /tʃua, atʃopo, tʃao/
• /sp, st, sθ, sk, sx/ > /pʰ, tʰ, tʰ, kʰ, kʰ/: σπείρων, ιστός, επιάσθη, ασκός, ίσχων /spirɔːn, istos, epiasθi, askos, isxɔːn/ > πφείρου, ιτθέ, εκιάτθε, ακχό, ίκχου /pʰiru, itʰe, ecatʰe, akʰo, ikʰu/
• /mf, nθ, nx/ > /pʰ, tʰ, kʰ/: ομφαλός, γρονθία, ρύγχος /omfalos, ɣronθia, rynxos/ > απφαλέ, γροτθία, σχούκο /apʰale, ɣrotʰia, ʃukʰo/
• /ks/ > /ts/: ξερός /kseros/ > τσερέ /tsere/
• /kt, xθ/ > /tʰ/: δάκτυλο, δεχθώ /ðaktylo, ðexθɔː/ > δάτθυλε, δετθού /ðatʰile, ðetʰu/
• /l/ after consonants often goes to /r/: πλατύ, κλέφτης, γλώσσα, αχλάδες /platy, kleftis, ɣlɔːsa, axlaðes/ > πρακιού, κρέφτα, γρούσα, αχράε /pracu, krefta, ɣrusa, axrae/
• /rp, rt, rk, rð/ > /mb, nd, ŋɡ, nd/: σκορπίος, άρτος, άρκα, πορδή /skorpios, artos, arka, porði/ > κχομπίο, άντε, άγκα, πφούντα /kʰombio, ande, aŋɡa, pʰunda/

/z, v/ are added between vowels: μυία, κυανός /myia, kyanos/ > μούζα, κουβάνε /muza, kuvane/

/ɣ, ð/ often drop out between vowels: πόδας, τράγος /poðas, traɣos/ > πούα, τσχάο /pua, tʃao/

[edit] Prosody

English translation

[edit] 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).

[edit] 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 listening, I was listening" < εινί ναού, έμα ναού

• 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

[edit] 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 German 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].)

[edit] Examples

[edit] See also

• Tsakonia
• Tsakonian people

[edit] References

[edit] Sources

• Costakis, Athanasios (Thanasis) P. (1951). Σύντομη Γραμματική της Τσακωνικής Διαλέκτου (Brief Grammar of the Tsakonian Dialect). Athens: Institut Français d'Athènes. 
• Horrocks, Geoffrey (1997). Greek: A history of the language and its speakers. London: Longman. 
• Nicholas, Nick (unpublished). [n/a A Critical Lexicostatistical Examination of Ancient and Modern Greek and Tsakonian]. Second Draft. n/a. 
• Nicholas, Nick (1999). The Story of pu: The grammaticalisation in space and time of a Modern Greek complementiser. Final. http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/Work/thesis.html. 
• Pernot, H. (1934). Introduction à l'étude du dialecte tsakonien. Paris. 

[edit] External links

Tsakonian language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator

• 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 (RealAudio)
• Tsakonian in the Tree for Hellenic