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 saying, I was saying" < ειμί λαλών, ήμην λαλών.
- 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
Read more about this topic: Tsakonian Language
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“Grammar is the logic of speech, even as logic is the grammar of reason.”
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“Grammar is a tricky, inconsistent thing. Being the backbone of speech and writing, it should, we think, be eminently logical, make perfect sense, like the human skeleton. But, of course, the skeleton is arbitrary, too. Why twelve pairs of ribs rather than eleven or thirteen? Why thirty-two teeth? It has something to do with evolution and functionalism—but only sometimes, not always. So there are aspects of grammar that make good, logical sense, and others that do not.”
—John Simon (b. 1925)
“Like everything metaphysical the harmony between thought and reality is to be found in the grammar of the language.”
—Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)