Origin of Albanians - Definition and Overview

The origin of Albanians has been for some time a matter of dispute among historians. Albanians are people who speak Albanian, an Indo-European language that has no other close living relative, making it dificult to determine from what ancient Balkan language it evolved.

Place of origin

The place where Albanian was formed is also disputed, but by studying the language we can learn that Albanian was formed in a mountainous region rather than plain or seacoast: while the words for plants and animals that are characteristic of the mountainous regions are entirely original, the names for sea-fishes and those for agricultural activities, (such as ploughing) are borrowed from other languages.

We can also be sure that the Albanians didn't live in Dalmatia, because the Latin influence over Albanian is of Balkan Romance (that evolved into Romanian) origin rather than of Dalmatian origin. This Balkan Romance influence includes Latin words exhibiting idiomatic expressions and meaning changes that are only found in Romanian and not in other Romance languages. Adding this to the words common only to Albanian and Romanian, we can assume that the Romanians and Albanians once lived closely. Generally the areas where this might have happened are considered to be regions varying from Transylvania, Eastern Serbia (region around Naissus/Nis), Kosovo and Northern Albania/Macedonia.

However, Romanian has most agricultural terms of Latin origin, but not terms related to city activities, showing that Romanians, as opposed to Albanians (who were originally shepherds), were agricultural people in the low-plains.

Some scholars even explain the gap between Bulgarian and Serbian languages by an Albanian-Romanian buffer-zone east of the Morava river. (although an intermediary Serbian dialect exists, it was formed only later after the Serbian expansion to the east)

Another argument that sustains a northern origin of Albanians is the relative small number of words of Greek origin, although Southern Illyria was under the influence of Greek/Byzantine civilization and language, especially after the break-down of the Roman Empire.

Earliest mentions of Albanians in Albania

• The first mention of Albanians in the region corresponding to modern Albania is as the Arbanites of Arbanon in Anna Commenas account of the troubles in that region caused in the reign of her father Alexius I Comneus (1081- 1118) by the Normans. (The Alexiad, 4)
• In ‘History’ written in 1079-1080, Byzantine historian Michael Attaliates was first to refer to the "Albanoi" as having taken part in a revolt against Constantinople in 1043 and to the Arbanitai as subjects of the duke of Dyrrachium.
• 1285 in Dubrovnik (Ragusa) where a sizeable Albanian community had existed for some time. In the investigation of a robbery in the house of Petro del Volcio of Belena (now Prati), a certain Matthew, son of Mark of Mançe, who appears to have been witness to the crime, states: "Audivi unam vocem clamantem in monte in lingua albanesca" (I heard a voice crying in the mountains in the Albanian language).

Ethnic origin

The two chief candidates considered by historians are Illyrian or Thracian. The Illyrian language and the Thracian language are generally considered to have been on different Indo-European branches. Not much is left of the old Illyrian or Thracian tongues, making it difficult to match Albanian with any of them.

There is debate whether the Illyrian language was Centum or Satem, and there is no definite evidence either way. It is also uncertain whether the Illyrians spoke a homogenous language or rather a collection of dialects or even different languages that were wrongly considered the same language by ancient writers. The same is sometimes said of the Thracian language. For example, based on the toponyms, it has been argued that Thracian and Dacian may be different languages or dialects.

In the early half of the 20th century, many scholars thought that Thracian and Illyrian were one language, but due to the lack of evidence, most linguists are skeptical and now reject this idea, and usually place them on different branches. The Messapian language is often considered to have been an Illyrian language, but this is disputed.

Illyrian Origin

The theory is that the Albanian language represents a survival of an indigenous Illyrian language. There is a gap of eight centuries between the last historical mention of the Illyrians and the first mention of Albanians and of the names 'Albanon' and 'Arbanon' to indicate the region. Supporters of the theory say that the term 'Albanian' gradually came to be applied to the surviving Illyrians.

Arguments for:

• the strongest evidence for the connection between Illyrian and Albanian must be the few direct correspondances of vocabulary often cited [6]
• Some Illyrian names among Albanians are used, yet it is known that the names were only lately and consciously introduced to emphasize the Illyrian ancestry that is claimed
• It is claimed that some archaeological finds support the Illyrian-Albanian continuity theory
• Kosova's toponomy is allegedly another indication that the ancestors of the Albanians must have inhabited Dardania
• Relationships between the Albanian language and the ancient Greek and Latin suggest that the Albanian language took shape and developed side by side with these two neighbouring languages on the shores of the Adriatic and Ionian seas.
• there are no records that indicate a migration of Albanians into present day Albania
• Messapic and Albanian which affinity would also be clear from linguistic fact (for ex: for both have a common transition of indoeuropean o to a), would in this way reperesent the ancient south Illyrian, while the northillyric were represented of venetic.
• Northern and southern Illyria fell under different influences and there are differences in their historical development. This may explain the differences between the Tosk and Geg dialects of Albanian. The southern dialect is claimed to show more evidence of Greek influence and used the Greek written system while the northern dialect shows evidence of old Latin influence and used the Latin written system.

Arguments against:

• the Albanians were not mentioned in Byzantine chronicles until 1043, although Illyria was part of the Byzantine Empire. [3]
• it is believed that most inhabitants of Illyria were Hellenized (the Southern part) and later Romanized. (see the Jireček Line) [7]
• most Illyrian toponyms, hydronyms, names, and words have not been shown to be related to Albanian, and they do not indicate that Illyrians spoke a proto-Albanian language (opponents say that many of these toponyms, hydronyms and names are Hellenized and Romanized, though it is unlikely that the change in form was dramatic).
• ancient Illyrian toponyms (such as Shkoder from the ancient Scodra, Tomor from ancient Tomarus) were not directly inherited in Albanian, as their modern names do not correspond to the phonetic laws of Albanian [2]
• the texts written in Messapian (generally considered an Illyric language) found in southern Italy are very different from modern Albanian, and may indicate that Illyrian appertains to another Indo-European branch. [3]
• a number of scholars believe that Illyrian was a Centum language, though others disagree. If Illyrian was Centum, then it is unlikely that Albanian (which is basically Satem) is an Illyrian language [3]

Thracian/Dacian origin

Arguments for:

• Albanian shares several hundred common words with Romanian, believed to be part of the Dacian substrate (see: List of Dacian words), as well as grammatical and phonological features (see: Balkan language union) [4]
• the phonetics of Dacian language (based largely on toponyms) are claimed to be close to those of Albanian [1]
• names of the cities that follow Albanian phonetic laws (which include Shtip, Shkupi and Nish) are in the areas once inhabited by Thracians, Dardani, and Paeonians. [8]
• There are some correspondances between Thracian and Albanian words [3]

Arguments against:

• many Dacians and Thracian placenames were made out of joined names (such as "Sucidava" or "Bessapara"), while Albanian language does not allow this. [3]
• there are no records that indicate a migration of Dacians into present day Albania. [3]
• the common non-Romance words between Albanian and Romanian may possibly be explained by another scenario, and some of these common words may have been words that were exchanged between proto-Albanians and Dacians and Thracians in ancient times, the exchange going both ways, however, this would not explain the common Romance words and expressions
• the claimed closeness in phonetics between Dacian and Albanian is not unanimously accepted and is based on fragmentary evidence
• the Balkan language union may date back to Neolithic times, so what phonetic similarities may have existed between Dacian and Albanian could be explained by linguistic interactions over the centuries [5]

Pelasgian/Etruscan origin

The Pelasgians are generally considered to be the people that were living in the Balkans before the Indo-European arrival, the Greek writers mentioning them as autochthonic peoples that predated hellenic settlement. The Etruscans were also indigenous people of Europe, but it is not known whether they were or not related to the Pelasgians.

The Communist regime of Albania embraced the ideology that the Albanians were descendants of the Etruscans (based on the books of French scholar Zacharia Mayani) and used this for propaganda, discarding the fact proven scientifically that Albanian is an Indo-European language (having known kins would make Albanians less unique).

Mainstream linguists and historians never seriously considered the idea of Albanians having an Etruscan origin, because the proponents of the Etruscan-theory were not using a scientific method, but were using pure linguistic coincidences.

Caucasus origin

In Ancient Times, there was another region called "Albania", in the Caucasus, bordering the Caspian Sea. However, that name was simply a coincidence, "alb" being a common Indo-European word meaning "white" or "mountain" with many toponyms deriving from it, including the Alps and Alba, the Gaelic name of Scotland.

See also: History of Albania, Dacia, Illyria, Origin of Romanians

References

1. Duridanov, Ivan. "The Language of the Thracians" (http://members.tripod.com/~Groznijat/thrac/thrac_9.html), (Ezikyt na trakite), Nauka i izkustvo, Sofia, 1976
2. Georgiev, Vladimir. "Genesis of the Balkan People" (http://members.tripod.com/~Groznijat/vg/vg.html), The Slavonic and East European Review 44, no. 103, 1960, p. 285-297
3. Malcolm, Noel. "Kosovo, a short history" (http://vmro.150m.com/en/nm/kosovo.html), Macmilan, London, 1998, p. 22-40
4. Rosetti, Alexandru. "History of the Romanian language" (Istoria limbii române), 2 vols., Bucharest, 1965-1969.
5. Alinei, Mario. "Balkan sprachbund may date back to Neolithic times" (http://www.continuitas.com/interdisciplinary.pdf), May 2003.
6. Wilkes, John. "The Illyrians", Oxford, 1992.
7. Jirecek, Konstantin. "The history of the Serbians" (Geschichte der Serben), Gotha, 1911
8. Cabej, Eqrem "Die aelteren Wohnsitze der Albaner auf der Balkanhalbinsel im Lichte der Sprache und Ortsnamen", Florence, 1961