Alphabet and orthographies

Tsakonian uses the Greek alphabet, but with additional sounds absent from Modern Greek, such as the sh [ʃ] sound. Since there is no agreed orthography on Tsakonian, several norms have been developed with different solutions. This page covers the basic features of the Tsakonian alphabet and the orthographies used within the Tsakonian Digital dictionary.

Alphabet and common readings

The Tsakonian language uses the Standard Modern Greek alphabet and follows the same rules with some additional changes. It contains the following letters:
Capital Letter Name Pronunciation (IPA) Transliteration Tsakonian English
Α α Alpha [a] a Άγιε Church
Β β Beta [v] v Βου Cry
Γ γ Gamma [ɣ] g Γα Milk
Δ δ Delta [ð] d Δίου To give
Ε ε Epsilon [e] e Ελλάδα Greece
Ζ ζ Zeta [z] z Ζβαΐχου To read
Η η Eta [i] i Μην Don't
Θ θ Theta [θ] th Θέου To want
Ι ι Iota [i] i Ιδέα Idea
Κ κ Kappa [k] k Κρίε Meat
Λ λ Lambda [l] l Λεκό White
Μ μ Mi [m] m Μάνα Mother
Ν ν Ni [n] n Ναι Yes
Ξ ξ Xi [ks] ks Ξέρου To know
Ο ο Omicron [o] o Όα All
Π π Pi [p] p Παππού Grandfather
Ρ ρ Rho [r] r Ρωτού To ask
Σ σ Sigma [s] s Σάμερε Today
Τ τ Tau [t] t Τερέ Tyros
Υ υ Ipsilon [i] y Ύο Water
Φ φ Phi [f] f Φύου To walk away
Χ χ Chi [x] ch Χειμονικό Winter
Ψ ψ Psi [ps] ps Ψιλέ Eye
Ω ω Omega [o] o Ωραία Great

As in Modern Greek, Tsakonian uses accent marks to indicate the stressed syllable in a word. The accent mark is placed over the vowel of the stressed syllable: εζού (I). The stress must be marked in all words, except for monosyllabic words, such as ναι (yes).

The Greek alphabet has two versions of the σ letter: σ and ς. The first is used at the beginning and in the middle of words, while the second is used at the end of words. In Tsakonian, the σ letter is used in all cases, as in Modern Greek.

Additionally, there are dyphtongs or clusters of letters that represent a single sound or their pronunciation change when surrounded by other letters. These are:

Dygraph Pronunciation Transliteration Tsakonian Pronunciation (IPA) Transliteration English
αι [e] e Ναι [ne] Ne Yes
ει [i] i Κεινού [ki'nou] Kinú To be hungry
οι [i] oi Πάσοι ['pasi'] Pási A lot
ου [u] ou Αού [a'u] Aú To say
μπ [b] mp Μπατάτα [ba'tata] Batáta Potato
ντ [d] nt Ντι [di] Di Yours
γγ [ŋ] ng Έγγου ['eŋu] Éngu To go
γκ [g] g Αφέγκη [a´fegi] Afégi Father
αυ/ευ [af]/[ef] af/ef Ευχαριστού [efxari'stu] Efcharistú To thank

If dyphtongs are not pronounced as a single sound, ι or υ will have a diearesis (¨) to indicate that they are pronounced separately. For example, αϊ is pronounced as [ai] and not [e]. The accent mark and the diaeresis can be combined in the same letter, such as in ζβαΐχου (to read), pronounced as [zvai'xu].

The Tsakonian language also includes several unique sounds that are not present in Modern Greek, most notably the aspirated sounds [kʰ], [tʰ], [pʰ].

Sound (IPA) Transliteration
[ʃ] sh
[ʒ] zh
[kʰ] kh
[tʰ] th
[pʰ] ph

Since these sounds are not present in Modern Greek, there is no universally agreed way to write them. To solve this, different orthographies have been developed.

Kostakis' orthography

Thanasis Kostakis, a Tsakonian linguist born in Pera Melana, developed an orthography for Tsakonian for in his works. From these, the Dictionary of the Tsakonian Dialect stands out as being the most comprehensive dictionary on Tsakonian up to this date. He used diacritics to represent the additional sounds of Tsakonian as well as allophones. It is used by scholars and specialized works, such as the manual Για να κ̔οντούμε τα γρούσσα ναμου (Gia na khontoume ta groussa namou) by Ioannis Kambysis and others.
Letter Sound Tsakonian Greek English
κ̔ [kʰ] κ̔αρα φωτιά fire
τ̔ [tʰ] τ̔αίνου σηκώνω lift
π̔ [pʰ] επ̔έρι χθες yesterday
σ̌ [ʃ] σ̌ίνα βουνό mountain
ζ̌ [ʒ] κάζ̌υ καρύδι walnut
τ͡σ [t͡s] τ͡σαι και and

The Greek letters ν and λ have special rules: in general, ν is pronounced as [n] and, when followed by an [i] sound (ι, υ, ει, οι...), it is pronounced as [ɲ], as the Spanish ñ. There are cases where νι is pronounced [ni] and not [ɲi]. To mark this, Kostakis used the letter ν̇. Distinguishing between these two sounds is important in some cases, especially in ένι (I am), pronounced ['eɲi] and έν̇ι (he is), pronounced ['eni]. Additionally, when the particle νι (to him, to her, to it) is followed by a word starting with a vowel, it is usually contracted to ν̂', pronounced as [ɲ].

A similar rule applies to λ: it is pronounced as [l] and, when followed by an [i] sound, it is pronounced as [ʎ], as the Italian gli. When this change does not apply, Kostakis used the letter λ̣ to mark the [l] sound, such as in κάλ̣ι (wood), read as ['kali] and not ['kaʎi].

Letter Sound Tsakonian Greek English
ν [n] γουνέκα γυναίκα woman
ν̇ι [ni] έν̇ι είμαι I am
ν̂' [ɲ] ν̂'επέκα τον είπα I told it to him
λι [ʎi] αλλιά αλλού in other place
λ̣ι [li] μάλ̣ι μήλο apple

Marneris' orthography

The Marneris orthography was developed by Panos Marneris as part of his efforts of promoting and teaching the Tsakonian language. It aims to simply the orthography and make it more accessible to the general public. It does so by using dygrpahs with the Greek alphabet and the letter h. This avoids the need of specialized tools for diacritics. There is also no special dygraph equivalent to Kostakis' τ͡σ. It uses ννι to represent the [ɲi] sound, which in Kostakis is represented as ν̇ι. It does not mark the distinction between λι and λ̣ι, as Kostakis does.
Letter Sound Tsakonian Greek English
κχ [kʰ] κχάρα φωτιά fire
τθ [tʰ] τθαίνου σηκώνω lift
πφ [pʰ] επφέρι χθες yesterday
σh [ʃ] σhίνα βουνό mountain
ζh [ʒ] κάζhυ καρύδι walnut
ν [n] γουνέκα γυναίκα woman
νν [ɲ] έννι είμαι I am

Nowakowski's orthography

Nowakowski's orthography was designed in 2024 by the Polish linguist Marcel Nowakowski. It aims to avoid the usage of special keyboards and non-Unicode characters, reducing ambiguity in spelling and limiting the set of rules applied. There is no distinction between Kostakis' τ͡σ and τσ.
Letter Sound Tsakonian Greek English
κχ [kʰ] κχάρα φωτιά fire
τθ [tʰ] τθαίνου σηκώνω lift
πφ [pʰ] επφέρι χθες yesterday
σζ [ʃ] σζίνα βουνό mountain
ρζ [ʒ] κάρζυ καρύδι walnut
ν [n] γουνέκα γυναίκα woman
νχ [ɲ] ένχι είμαι I am
λχ [ʎ] αλλχιά αλλού in other place
In the rare cases where Kostakis' orthography would use the cluster ρζ, such as in ζαρζαβατικά (vegetables), Nowakowski would still use ρζ, but read as Kostakis' ρζ [rz], not ζ̌ [ʒ].

Comparison of Orthographies

English Kostakis Marneris Nowakowski
fire κ̔αρα κχάρα κχάρα
lift τ̔αίνου τθαίνου τθαίνου
yesterday επ̔έρι επφέρι επφέρι
mountain σ̌ίνα σhίνα σζίνα
walnut κάζ̌υ κάζhυ κάρζυ
I am ένι έννι ένχι
he is έν̇ι ένι ένι
wood κάλ̣ι κάλι κάλι
in other place αλλιά αλλιά αλλχιά
and τ͡σαι τσαι τσαι

References

  • Kamvysis, Ioannis (2020). Για να κ̔οντούμε τα γρούσσα ναμου. Αρχείο Τσακωνιάς, Leonidio.
  • Marneris, Panos (2024). Το βιβλίε νάμου. Α Τσακωνοπαρέα.
  • Nowakowski, Marcel (2024). Orthography proposal for the Tsakonian language at the closing session of the Third Tsakonian Summer School. Leonidio.