Tsakonians

ETHNONYM: Tzakonians

Tsakonians are a pastoral people of Greece. Their numbers have been estimated at anywhere from 300 to 10,000 and they reside on the eastern coast of the Peloponnesos. In the summer they tend their flocks in the mountains west of Leonidi, and their winters are spent in Leonidi and other nearby towns. Tsakonian is a dialect of Greek and is related to, though not mutually intelligible with, modern Greek. It is derived from the dialect of ancient Greek spoken by Spartans in Laconia.

Bibliography

Thumb, Albert (1894). "Die ethnographische Stellung der Zokonen." Indogermanische Forschung 4:195-213.