Laista

{{Infobox Greek Dimos |name = Laista |name_local = {{native name|el|Λάϊστα}}<br/>{{native name|rup|Lakă}} |type = community |periph = Epirus |periphunit = Ioannina |municipality = Zagori |municunit = Tymfi |population = 58 |population_as_of = 2021 |area = |elevation = 1276 |coordinates = {{coord|39|58|22|N|20|57|18|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}} |postal_code = |area_code = |licence = |website = |image_skyline = |caption_skyline = }} '''Laista''' ({{langx|el|Λάϊστα}}, {{langx|rup|Lakă}})<ref name="Koukoudis147"/> is a settlement in Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. The village located in the northern part of the Zagori region.<ref name="Oikonomou163">{{harvnb|Oikonomou|2002|p=163}}.</ref>

== Name == In the 19th century, the scholar Ioannis Lambridis said four families from a village called ''Lasste'' transferred the name of their former place of residence to Laista.<ref name="Oikonomou164"/> Lambridis wrote that ''Laista'' was the oldest name of the village, which was also known as ''Lakka''.<ref name="Oikonomou164"/> The scholar Panagiotis Aravantinos described the toponym as Albanian.<ref name="Oikonomou164"/> It is derived from the Albanian word ''lashtë'' meaning 'ancient, old' and the development of the sound ''i'' in the placename.<ref name="Oikonomou164"/> The linguist Kostas Oikonomou stated the toponym recorded by Lambridis with a double ''s'' indicates an Aromanian pronunciation of ''š'', itself from the Albanian ''sh''.<ref name="Oikonomou164">{{harvnb|Oikonomou|2002|p=164}}.</ref>

== Demographics == Laista has an Aromanian population and is an Aromanian speaking village.<ref name="Kahl106"/><ref name="Oikonomou2163">{{harvnb|Oikonomou|2002|pp=2, 163}}.</ref><ref name="Koukoudis147">{{cite book|last=Koukoudis|first=Asterios|year=2003|title=The Vlachs: Metropolis and Diaspora|url=https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/The_Vlachs/01JoAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=La%C3%AFsta|publisher=Zitros Publications|page=147|isbn=9789607760869|quote=The villages of Vlahozagoro... Laïsta (Lákă)}}</ref> Laista forms an Aromanian dialect cluster with the villages of Vrysochori (Lesnitsa) and Iliochori (Dobrinovo) whose spoken Aromanian differs from other Aromanian speaking villages of the wider area due to some distinct linguistic features.<ref name="Oikonomou163164">{{harvnb|Oikonomou|2002|pp=163–164}}.</ref> In the early 21st century, elderly people were bilingual in the community language and Greek, whereas younger residents under 40 might have understood the community language but did not use it.<ref name="Oikonomou23">{{cite book|last=Oikonomou|first=Kostas E.|year=2002|title=Τα οικωνύμια του νομού Ιωαννίνων. Γλωσσολογική εξέταση|url=https://olympias.lib.uoi.gr/jspui/bitstream/123456789/25635/1/949.53%20%CE%9F%CE%99%CE%9A.pdf|trans-title=The oikonyms of the prefecture of Ioannina. A linguistic examination|language=el|publisher=Nomarchiaki Aftodioikisi Ioanninon|pages=2–3|isbn=9789608316010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241125035650/https://olympias.lib.uoi.gr/jspui/bitstream/123456789/25635/1/949.53%20%CE%9F%CE%99%CE%9A.pdf|archive-date=25 November 2024}}</ref> Some Sarakatsani settled in the village during the early 20th century.<ref name="Kahl106">{{harvnb|Kahl|1999|p=106}}: "Láista: aromunische Zagorisier, einige Familien Sarakatschanen seit Anfang des 20. Jh.s im Ort seßhaft"</ref> The Sarakatsani are Greek speakers.<ref name="Kahl114">{{cite journal|last=Kahl|first=Thede|year=1999|title=Die Zagóri-Dörfer in Nordgriechenland: Wirtschaftliche Einheit – ethnische Vielfalt|url=https://www.academia.edu/34296574|trans-title=The Zagóri Villages in Northern Greece: Economic Unity – Ethnic Diversity|journal=Ethnologia Balkanica|language=de|volume=3|page=114}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Populated places in Ioannina (regional unit) Category:Zagori Category:Aromanian settlements in Greece