Tsakonian
Facts
- Language: Tsakonian
- Alternate names: Tsakonia, Tsaconian, Tzakonian, Tsakonic, Τσακωνική διάλεκτος or Τσακώνικα
- Language code: tsd
- Language family: Indo-European, Classical Indo-European, Graeco-Phrygian, Greek
- Number of speakers: 1200
- Vulnerability: Endangered [Read more...]
- Script: Greek
More information:
Introduction
Tsakonian is a Hellenic language, spoken in the Tsakonian region of the Peloponnese, Greece. Tsakonian derives from Doric Greek, being its only living descendant. Tsakonian is critically endangered, with only a few hundred, mostly elderly, fluent speakers left.
The Tsakonian Verb
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.
Sample verb Ενεί 'I am'
| Present | Past | |
|---|---|---|
| Sg.1 | Ενεί (Enee) | Έμα (Ema) |
| Sg.2 | Εσεί (Esi) | Έσα (Esa) |
| Sg.3 | Έννι (Eni) | Έκη (Eki) |
| Pl.1 | Έμε (Eme) | Έμαϊ (Emai) |
| Pl.2 | Έτε (Ete) | Έταϊ (Etai) |
| Pl.3 | Είνι (Eeni) | Ήγκιαϊ (Igiai) |