Tsakonia or the Tsakonian region refers to the small area in the eastern Peloponnese where the Tsakonian language is spoken, in the area surrounding 13 towns, villages and hamlets located around Pera Melana in Arcadia. It is not a formally defined political entity of the modern Greek state.
Panoramic view of Kastanitsa.
Tsakonian: Γρούσσα νάμου είνι τα Τσακώνικα. Ρωτήετε να νιούμ΄ αλήωι. Standard Greek: Η γλώσσα μας είναι τα Τσακώνικα. Ρωτήστε να σας πουν. "Our language is Tsakonian. Ask people to speak it with you". A bilingual (Tsakonian and Standard Greek) sign.
Tsakonian or Tsaconian is a highly divergent modern variety of Greek, spoken in the Tsakonian region of the Peloponnese, Greece. Unlike all other extant varieties of Greek, Tsakonian derives from Doric Greek rather than from the Attic-Ionic branch. Although it is conventionally treated as a dialect of Greek, some compendia treat it as a separate language.
Tsakonian is critically endangered, with only a few hundred/thousand, mostly elderly, fluent speakers left. Although Tsakonian and standard Modern Greek are related, they are not mutually intelligible.
(Tsakonian/Greek) "Our language is Tsakonian. Ask and they'll tell you./Groússa námou eíni ta Tsakónika. Rotíete na nioúm' alíoi./I glóssa mas eínai ta Tsakónika. Rotíste na sas poun.", bilingual (Tsakonian and Standard Greek) sign in the town of Leonidio.
