Ancient Spartan Dialect Still Alive Despite Ravages of Time and Fortune

[Disir]

Greece, the home of one the oldest civilizations on the globe, is blessed with thousands of priceless monuments, from the Parthenon, the temple at Sounion and the site of Delphi, just to name a few. But perhaps no physical structure anywhere is as important than the living monument of a spoken language which originates directly from the ancient world.

One such language still survives today, despite the ravages of time and the many reversals of fortune that Greece has known, in Leonidio, a living remnant of the language of ancient Sparta, the warrior state which became the byword for an extraordinarily strict and regimented society.

Ancient Spartan Dialect Tsakonika Still Alive Despite Ravages of Time - GreekReporter.com

Tsakonika, the language of ancient Sparta, still survives today, despite the ravages of time and the many reversals of fortune in Greece.

greece.greekreporter.com

Maybe this is the language that I need to learn.

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

OK..

 

[TheParser]

Very informative and interesting. Thanks!

If enough people want to speak a language, then that language will survive.

Personally, IMHO, it is a waste of time and effort to try to keep a language alive if no one wants to speak it. I understand that some languages native to Alaska are gone because younger people simply did not want to speak them.

 

[Unkotare]

Unfortunately, it doesn't stand a chance of surviving as a living language.

 

[Unkotare]

Very informative and interesting. Thanks!

If enough people want to speak a language, then that language will survive.

Personally, IMHO, it is a waste of time and effort to try to keep a language alive if no one wants to speak it. I understand that some languages native to Alaska are gone because younger people simply did not want to speak them.

Within the next 100 years about 90% of languages will go extinct.

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

Very informative and interesting. Thanks!

If enough people want to speak a language, then that language will survive.

Personally, IMHO, it is a waste of time and effort to try to keep a language alive if no one wants to speak it. I understand that some languages native to Alaska are gone because younger people simply did not want to speak them.

Within the next 100 years about 90% of languages will go extinct.

90%..100 years? Nope..don't see it--in will take generations upon generations to erase most languages. The smaller enclaves..sure. I think your stat may be upside down. 10% lost..and 90% retained. In that time frame..now 500 years..maybe 10 languages spoken...and English/Mandarin the top two and the lingua franca for our race.

 

[Unkotare]

Very informative and interesting. Thanks!

If enough people want to speak a language, then that language will survive.

Personally, IMHO, it is a waste of time and effort to try to keep a language alive if no one wants to speak it. I understand that some languages native to Alaska are gone because younger people simply did not want to speak them.

Within the next 100 years about 90% of languages will go extinct.

90%..100 years? Nope..don't see it--in will take generations upon generations to erase most languages. The smaller enclaves..sure. I think your stat may be upside down. 10% lost..and 90% retained. In that time frame..now 500 years..maybe 10 languages spoken...and English/Mandarin the top two and the lingua franca for our race.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Language Loss - The Language Conservancy

languageconservancy.org

.

 

[Disir]

OK..

I think the only wat to get that as close to correct as possible is for me to move there and do the total submersion program.

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

Very informative and interesting. Thanks!

If enough people want to speak a language, then that language will survive.

Personally, IMHO, it is a waste of time and effort to try to keep a language alive if no one wants to speak it. I understand that some languages native to Alaska are gone because younger people simply did not want to speak them.

Within the next 100 years about 90% of languages will go extinct.

90%..100 years? Nope..don't see it--in will take generations upon generations to erase most languages. The smaller enclaves..sure. I think your stat may be upside down. 10% lost..and 90% retained. In that time frame..now 500 years..maybe 10 languages spoken...and English/Mandarin the top two and the lingua franca for our race.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Language Loss - The Language Conservancy

languageconservancy.org

.

***chuckles***

TLC. Well...they have a bit of stake in their position--a financial stake. I don't share their opinion..especially as the caveat they use....'at this rate'...ignores the likelihood that the rate will slow dramatically as the outlier languages go. Cultures keep their languages alive for centuries after they fall into decline. i give you Navajo as one example..Basque as another.

I'd also point out that Laconic Greek is still just a dialect of Greek..and not a separate language.

 

[Unkotare]

Very informative and interesting. Thanks!

If enough people want to speak a language, then that language will survive.

Personally, IMHO, it is a waste of time and effort to try to keep a language alive if no one wants to speak it. I understand that some languages native to Alaska are gone because younger people simply did not want to speak them.

Within the next 100 years about 90% of languages will go extinct.

90%..100 years? Nope..don't see it--in will take generations upon generations to erase most languages. The smaller enclaves..sure. I think your stat may be upside down. 10% lost..and 90% retained. In that time frame..now 500 years..maybe 10 languages spoken...and English/Mandarin the top two and the lingua franca for our race.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Language Loss - The Language Conservancy

languageconservancy.org

.

***chuckles***

TLC. Well...they have a bit of stake in their position--a financial stake. I don't share their opinion.....

Not so much an "opinion" as a simple calculation based on the current rate of language loss. It's not easy to stop, turn, or even slow a massive ship carrying the weight of centuries of linguistic tendencies. Momentum is insistent and indifferent. There is a reason why there is something of a panic among linguists to see endangered languages preserved in some way before the inevitable occurs.

 

[Meathead]

Greece, the home of one the oldest civilizations on the globe, is blessed with thousands of priceless monuments, from the Parthenon, the temple at Sounion and the site of Delphi, just to name a few. But perhaps no physical structure anywhere is as important than the living monument of a spoken language which originates directly from the ancient world.

One such language still survives today, despite the ravages of time and the many reversals of fortune that Greece has known, in Leonidio, a living remnant of the language of ancient Sparta, the warrior state which became the byword for an extraordinarily strict and regimented society.

Ancient Spartan Dialect Tsakonika Still Alive Despite Ravages of Time - GreekReporter.com

Tsakonika, the language of ancient Sparta, still survives today, despite the ravages of time and the many reversals of fortune in Greece.

greece.greekreporter.com

Maybe this is the language that I need to learn.

" Despite being banished to the hills and mountains 55-100 km (34-62 miles) outside the city state after it was attacked and conquered by the Visigoths almost 2,400 years ago "

I am Greek and that's just nuts. The Visigoths were not recorded 2400 years ago.

Visigoths - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Unkotare]

More sources for further reading, some with more optimistic estimates.

17th Edition of the Ethnologue - The Rosetta Project

rosettaproject.org

Dying languages: scientists fret as one disappears every 14 days

As many as half of the world’s 7,000 languages are expected to be extinct by the end of this century.

www.thestar.com

Saving the World's Dying and Disappearing Languages

Every two weeks a language dies. Wikitongues wants to save them.

www.nationalgeographic.com

 

[Meathead]

Greece, the home of one the oldest civilizations on the globe, is blessed with thousands of priceless monuments, from the Parthenon, the temple at Sounion and the site of Delphi, just to name a few. But perhaps no physical structure anywhere is as important than the living monument of a spoken language which originates directly from the ancient world.

One such language still survives today, despite the ravages of time and the many reversals of fortune that Greece has known, in Leonidio, a living remnant of the language of ancient Sparta, the warrior state which became the byword for an extraordinarily strict and regimented society.

Ancient Spartan Dialect Tsakonika Still Alive Despite Ravages of Time - GreekReporter.com

Tsakonika, the language of ancient Sparta, still survives today, despite the ravages of time and the many reversals of fortune in Greece.

greece.greekreporter.com

Maybe this is the language that I need to learn.

" Despite being banished to the hills and mountains 55-100 km (34-62 miles) outside the city state after it was attacked and conquered by the Visigoths almost 2,400 years ago "

I am Greek and that's just nuts. The Visigoths were not recorded 2400 years ago.

Visigoths - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Isolated mountainous areas often develop dialects which are quickly disappearing because of migration and of course communication media today. I have been to the mountains of Crete where it takes a while to discern what they are saying, despite being a fluent speaker of modern Greek.

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

Greece, the home of one the oldest civilizations on the globe, is blessed with thousands of priceless monuments, from the Parthenon, the temple at Sounion and the site of Delphi, just to name a few. But perhaps no physical structure anywhere is as important than the living monument of a spoken language which originates directly from the ancient world.

One such language still survives today, despite the ravages of time and the many reversals of fortune that Greece has known, in Leonidio, a living remnant of the language of ancient Sparta, the warrior state which became the byword for an extraordinarily strict and regimented society.

Ancient Spartan Dialect Tsakonika Still Alive Despite Ravages of Time - GreekReporter.com

Tsakonika, the language of ancient Sparta, still survives today, despite the ravages of time and the many reversals of fortune in Greece.

greece.greekreporter.com

Maybe this is the language that I need to learn.

" Despite being banished to the hills and mountains 55-100 km (34-62 miles) outside the city state after it was attacked and conquered by the Visigoths almost 2,400 years ago "

I am Greek and that's just nuts. The Visigoths were not recorded 2400 years ago.

Visigoths - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

You are correct...the Visigoths did sack Sparta, after the battle of Adrianople...in 378AD. So 1642 years ago. Still amounts to a long time..but you caught em. Embarrassing error when they purport to be reputable.

 

[Meathead]

You are correct...the Visigoths did sack Sparta, after the battle of Adrianople...in 378AD. So 1642 years ago.

Well, IIve seen your posts before, so ...

 

[Meathead]

More sources for further reading, some with more optimistic estimates.

17th Edition of the Ethnologue - The Rosetta Project

rosettaproject.org

Dying languages: scientists fret as one disappears every 14 days

As many as half of the world’s 7,000 languages are expected to be extinct by the end of this century.

www.thestar.com

Saving the World's Dying and Disappearing Languages

Every two weeks a language dies. Wikitongues wants to save them.

www.nationalgeographic.com

But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing farther then he uttered—not a feather then he fluttered—
Till I scarcely more than muttered “Other friends have flown before—
On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.”
Then the bird said “Nevermore.”

 

[Disir]

So, if I learn modern Greek will it be easier to learn the dialect?

I have a browser up and I am looking at Rosetta Stone and Duolingo.

 

[Unkotare]

So, if I learn modern Greek will it be easier to learn the dialect?

I have a browser up and I am looking at Rosetta Stone and Duolingo.

You won't really learn any language via an online program, but you'll get more out of Duo than Rosetta.

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

So, if I learn modern Greek will it be easier to learn the dialect?

I have a browser up and I am looking at Rosetta Stone and Duolingo.

Not a whole let of similarity between the dialect and modern Greek. The dialect derives from the Doric branch of the Greek language tree...modern Greek is Ionic and Attic in nature.

alphabets look similar--might help with learning to read.

The last speakers of ancient Sparta

The iconic city-state may have fallen nearly 2,400 years ago, but today, 2,000 people still speak the language of these ancient warriors.

www.bbc.com

Tsakonika is based on the Doric language spoken by the ancient Spartans and it is the only remaining dialect from the western Doric branch of Hellenic languages. In contrast, Greek descends from the Ionic and Attic dialects on the eastern branch. While each of these use a similar alphabet, Tsakonika has more phonetic symbols and differs in structure and pronunciation. Unsurprisingly, Tsakonika is closer to ancient than modern Greek, but none of these languages are mutually intelligible

 

[Anomalism]

Within the next 100 years about 90% of languages will go extinct.

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