Albanian dialects

Map showing the various dialects of Albanian in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Italy and Greece (The map does not imply that the Albanian language is the majority or the only spoken language in these areas.)

The Albanian language is composed of many dialects, divided into two major groups: Gheg and Tosk.[1] The Shkumbin river is roughly the geographical dividing line, with Gheg spoken north of the Shkumbin and Tosk south of it.[2]

Historical considerations

The characteristics of the Albanian dialects Tosk and Gheg,[3] in the treatment of the native and loanwords from other languages, have led to the conclusion that the dialectal split preceded the Slavic migration to the Balkans[4][5] According to another view, during the process of dialect split Albanian populations were roughly in their present location.[6][7]

Gheg dialects

Main article: Gheg Albanian

Gheg is divided into four sub-dialects: Northwest Gheg, Northeast Gheg, Central Gheg, and Southern Gheg. Northwest Gheg is spoken throughout Montenegro, northwestern Kosovo (west of Pejë), Lezhë, northwestern Mirditë, Pukë, and Shkodër. Northeast Gheg is spoken throughout most of Kosovo, Preševo, Has, northeastern Mirditë, Kukës, Tropojë, and northern Tetovo. Central Gheg is spoken in Debar, Gostivar, Krujë, Peshkopi, southern Mirditë, Mat, eastern Struga, Kumanovo, and southern Tetovo. Southern Gheg is spoken in Durrës, northern Elbasan, northern Peqin, Kavajë, northwest Struga, and Tirana.

Gheg features

Transitional dialects

The transitional dialects are spoken in southern Elbasan (Cërrik, Dumre, Dushk, Papër, Polis, Qafe, Shpat, Sulovë, Thanë), southern Peqin, northwestern Gramsh, extreme southern Kavajë, northern and central Lushnjë, and southern Librazhd (Bërzeshtë, Rrajcë),and Flazian-Falazdim-whish spoken in north of Albania.

Transitional features

Tosk dialects

Main article: Tosk Albanian

Tosk is divided into five sub-dialects: Northern Tosk, Labërisht, Çam, Arvanitika, and Arbëresh. Northern Tosk is spoken in Berat, Fier, extreme southeastern Elbasan, most of Gramsh, Kolonjë, Korçë, Ohër, Përmet, east of the Vjosë river of Tepelenë, southern Struga (western shore of Lake Ohër), Pogradec, Prespa and northern Vlorë. Labërisht is spoken in southern Vlorë, Dukat, Himarë, Mallakastër, Delvinë, west of the Vjosë river of Tepelenë, Gjirokastër and Sarandë. Çam is spoken in southern Sarandë (Konispol, Ksamil, Markat, Xarrë) and in parts of northern Greece. Tosk dialects are spoken by most members of the large Albanian immigrant communities of Egypt, Turkey, and Ukraine. Çamërisht is spoken in North-western Greece, while Arvanitika is spoken by the Arvanites in southern Greece, mainly Peloponnese, Attica, Euboea, and the adjacent islands. Arbëresh is spoken by the Arbëreshë, descendants of 15th and 16th century migrants who settled in southeastern Italy, in small communities in the regions of Sicily, Calabria, Basilicata, Campania, Molise, Abruzzi, and Apulia.

Tosk features

Extinct dialects

Comparison

Standard Tosk Gheg (west, east) English
Shqipëri Shqipëri Shqypní / Shqipni Albania
një një nji / njâ one
nëntë nëntë nândë / nânt / nân nine
është është âsht / â, osht / o is
bëj bëj bâj I do
emër emër êmën name
pjekuri pjekuri pjekuni mellowness
gjendje gjëndje gjêndje / gjênje state, condition
zog zog zog, zëq / zëç / zëg bird
mbret mbret mret / regj king
për të punuar për të punuar me punue / me punu, për t'punũ to work
rërë rërë rânë sand
qenë qënë kjênë / kênë / kânë to be
dëllinjë enjë bërshê juniper
baltë llum lloq, llok mud
fshat fshat katun village
qumësht qumësht tâmël / tâmbël milk
cimbidh mashë danë fire-iron
mundem mundem mûj / mûnem, munëm / mûnëm I can
vend vënd ven place
dhelpër dhelpër skile / dhelpen fox

References

  1. ↑ Gjinari
  2. ↑ Brown and Ogilvie (2008), p. 23. The river Shkumbin in central Albania historically forms the boundary between those two dialects, with the population on the north speaking varieties of Geg and the population on the south varieties of Tosk.
  3. ↑ Brown and Ogilvie (2008), p. 23. In Tosk /a/ before a nasal has become a central vowel (shwa), and intervocalic /n/ has become /r/. These two sound changes have affected only the pre-Slav stratum of the Albanian lexicon, that is the native words and loanwords from Greek and Latin
  4. ↑ Fortson, p. 392. The dialectal split into Gheg and Tosk happened sometime after the region become Christianized in the fourth century AD; Christian Latin loanwords show Tosk rhotacism, such as Tosk murgu"monk" (Geg mungu) from Lat. monachus.
  5. ↑ Mallory and Adams, p. 9. The Greek and Latin loans have undergone most of the far-reaching phonological changes which have so altered the shape of inherited words while Slavic and Turkish words do not show those changes. Thus Albanian must have acquired much of its present form by the time Slavs entered into Balkans in the fifth and sixth centuries AD
  6. ↑ Demiraj, Shaban. Prejardhja e shqiptarëve në dritën e dëshmive të gjuhës shqipe.(Origin of Albanians through the testimonies of the Albanian language) Shkenca (Tirane) 1999
  7. ↑ Hamp, p. 98. The isogloss is clear in all dialects I have studied, which embrace nearly all types possible. It must be relatively old, that is, dating back into the post-Roman first millennium. As a guess, it seems possible that this isogloss reflects a spread of the speech area, after the settlement of the Albanians in roughly their present location, so that the speech area straddled the Jireček Line.

Bibliography

External links

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