Arbëresh
Arbërisht(e)
Pronunciation	[ˌæɾ.bəˈɾiʃ.t]
Spoken in	Italy, Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Albania
Region	Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Molise, Sicily
Total speakers	80,000 (out of an ethnic population of 260,000) [1]
Language family	Indo-European Albanian Tosk Arbëresh
Writing system	Arvanitic alphabet Latin alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-1	sq
ISO 639-2	alb (B)	sqi (T)
ISO 639-3	aae
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

Arbëresh, Arbërisht, or Arbërishte is the dialect of the Albanian language spoken by the Arbëreshë, the group of Albanian-speaking minorities in Italy.

Contents 1 Classification 2 False friends 3 Distinctive features 3.1 Phonology 3.1.1 Vowels 3.1.2 Consonants 3.2 Pronunciation of Final Consonants 3.3 Pronunciation of G 3.4 Morphology 3.5 Stress 3.6 Vocabulary 3.6.1 Comparison with other forms of Albanian 4 Name 5 Classification 6 Writing system 7 Language samples 7.1 Pronouns 7.2 Verb paradigms 7.3 Some common phrases 7.4 Sample text 8 Footnotes 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Classification

Arbëresh derives from the Tosk dialect spoken in southern Albania, and is spoken in Southern Italy in the regions of Calabria, Molise, Puglia, Basilicata, Campania, Abruzzi, and Sicily. All dialects are closely related to each other but are not entirely mutually intelligible.

The Arbëresh language retains many archaisms of medieval Albanian from the pre-Ottoman invasion of Albania in the 15th century. It also retains some Greek language elements, including vocabulary and pronunciation. It has also preserved some conservative features that were lost in mainstream Albanian Tosk. For example, it has preserved certain syllable-initial consonant clusters which have been simplified in Standard Albanian (cf. Arbërisht gluhë /ˈɡluxə/ ('language/tongue'), vs. Standard Albanian gjuhë /ˈɟuhə/). It sounds more archaic than Standard Albanian, but is close enough that it is written using the same Albanian alphabet as Standard Albanian.

Arbërisht was commonly called 'Albanese' (Albanian in the Italian language) in Italy until the 1990s. Until recently, Arbërisht speakers had only very imprecise notions about how related or unrelated their language was to Albanian. Until the 1980s Arbërisht was exclusively a spoken language, except for its written form used in the Italo-Albanian Church, and Arbëreshë people had no practical affiliation with the Standard Albanian language used in Albania, as they did not use this form in writing or in media. When a large number of immigrants from Albania began to enter Italy in the 1990s and came into contact with local Arbëreshë communities, the differences and similarities were for the first time made known. There are mixed feelings towards the "new Albanians".^[1]

Since the 1980s, some efforts have been organized to preserve the cultural and linguistic heritage of the language.

Arbërisht has been under a slow decline in recent decades, but is currently experiencing a revival in many villages in Italy. Figures such as Zef Skirò Di Maxho have done much work on school books and other language learning tools in the language, producing two books 'Udha e Mbarë' and 'Udhëtimi', both used in schools in the village of Piana degli Albanesi.

[edit] False friends

While the relation between Arbërisht and Shqip is close, the two are not 100% mutually intelligible and there are many false friends, for example:

Arbërisht	Meaning	Shqip	Meaning
shurbenj	work	shërbej	serve
punonj	work in the fields	punoj	work
u në jam	I am not	unë jam	I am
kopíl	young man	kopil	illegitimate boy
brekë	trousers	brekë	underpants
brumë	pasta	brumë	dough
zienj	cook	ziej	boil
fund	anus	fund	end

[edit] Distinctive features

Some features of Arbëresh distinguish it considerably from standard Albanian. In some cases these are retentions of older pronunciations.

[edit] Phonology

[edit] Vowels

Ë

The letter "Ë" is pronounced as either a schwa [ə] or as a near-close near-back vowel [ʊ̜]. So the word "Arbëresh" is pronounced either [ɑɾbəˈɾɛʃ] or [ɑɾbʊ̜ˈɾɛʃ] depending on the dialect.

Y to I

Arbërisht lacks the close front rounded vowel [y] of Albanian, which is replaced by the close front unrounded vowel [i]. For example "ty" ('you') becomes "ti", "hyni" ('enter') becomes "hini".

[edit] Consonants

GJ

The letter "GJ" is pronounced as a palatalized voiced velar plosive [ɡʲ] rather than a voiced palatal plosive [ɟ] as in Albanian. Therefore, the word "gjith" ('all') is pronounced [ɡʲiθ] rather than [ɟiθ].

GL

In some words, Albanian "GJ", Arbëresh has preserved the consonant cluster "GL"; e.g. "glet" not "gjet" ('s/he looks like...').

H

The letter "H" is pronounced as a voiceless velar fricative [x] (a sound also found in Greek: "χαρά" [xaˈra], 'joy'). As such, the Albanian word "ha" ('eat') is pronounced [xɑ], not [hɑ] as in Albanian.

HJ

Arbëresh has a palatalized palatalized voiceless velar fricative, [xʲ]. Therefore, the word "hjedh" ('throw') is pronounced [xʲɛθ]. The letter combination HJ is present in a few Albanian words (without a voiceless velar fricative), but is not treated as a separate letter of the alphabet as it is in Arbëresh.

LL

The letter "LL" is pronounced as a voiced velar fricative [ɣ] (also found in Greek: "γάλα" [ˈɣala], 'milk'). As such, the Albanian word "llah" ('to eat until stuffed') is pronounced [ɣɑx], not [ɫɑh] as in Albanian.

Q

The letter "Q" is pronounced as a palatalized voiceless velar plosive [kʲ] rather than a voiceless palatal plosive [c] as in Albanian. Therefore, the word "qiell" ('heaven') is pronounced [kʲiɛx] rather than [ciɛɫ].

KL

In some words, Albanian "Q", Arbëresh has preserved the consonant cluster "KL"; e.g. "klumësh" not "qumësht" ('milk').

[edit] Pronunciation of Final Consonants

In contrast with standard Albanian Arberesh has retained an archaic sysytem of pronouncing consonants in their final positions. The consonants that change when in final position or before another consonant are: b, d, dh, g, gj, ll, v, x, xh, z, zh.

B

devoices to P: e.g. "thelb" (clove) - "thelp."

D

devoices to T: e.g. "vend" (place) - "vent."

DH

devoices to TH: e.g. "zgledh" (read) - "zgleth."

G

devoices to K: e.g. "lig" (bad) - "lik."

GJ

devoices to Q: "zogj" (chicks) - "zoq."

LL

devoices to H: "uthull" (vinegar) - "uthuh."

X

devoices to C: "ndanx" (near) - "ndanc."

Z

devoices to S: "loz" (dance) - "los."

ZH

devoices to SH: "gozhda" (pin) - "goshda."

[edit] Pronunciation of G

The letter G is usually pronounced as a voiced velar fricative [ɣ] as in the pronunciation of the Arberesh letter "ll."

For example:

Ghajdhur (donkey)

is pronounced (ɣajður)

Ghrish (invite)

is pronounced (ɣriʃ)

[edit] Morphology

In Arbëresh the first person present indicative (e.g. "I work") is marked by the word ending in "NJ", whereas in Albanian this is normally marked by "J". So, 'I go' is "shkónj" in Arbëresh and "shkoj" in Albanian.

[edit] Stress

Stress in Arbëresh is usually on the penultimate syllable, as in Italian.

[edit] Vocabulary

Arbëresh retains many archaisms which have since disappeared from Albanian or else are only remembered by the elderly or found in old texts. Many of these archaisms appear to be cognate to the corresponding Greek words.

Examples:

• haristís [xaɾiˈstis] ('thank') shared with Greek "εὐχαριστῶ" [e̞fˌxariˈsto̞] ('thank you').
• parkalés [paɾkaˈlɛs] ('I plead', 'please') shared with Greek "παρακαλώ" [paˌrakaˈlo̞] ('please').
• hórë [xɔˈɾə] ('village') shared with Greek "χωρα" (Chora: land, main village).
• amáhj [aˈmaxʲ] ('war') shared with Greek "μάχη" [maˈxi] ('battle')."

[edit] Comparison with other forms of Albanian

There are many instances in which Arberisht differs greatly from Standard Albanian, for instance:

Arbërisht	Shqip	Meaning
vje' më rarë	do të thotë	It means
bëjëm të shkonj	le mua për të shkoj	Let me pass
shkomë musturin	më jep piperin	Pass me the pepper
zotrote ë një zot?	a jeni një prift?	Are you a priest?
i ghrish për një pasijatë	ju ftoj për një shëtitje	I invite you for a stroll
zglith mirë	lexoni mirë	Read well
ka pripararjëm të ngrënit	do të bëjmë gatuar ushqimi	We will prepare the food
u ka jecur deri qaca	unë kam ecur deri sheshi	I have walked to the square
ghajdhuri isht ghrishur në horën	gomari është ftuar në fshatin	The donkey is invited into the village
nani me vete ngulem	tani unë do të fle	I'm going to sleep now
lyp ndjesë se ka zgarrartur shumë	më fal se kam gabuar shumë	I'm sorry that I've made so many errors
ajo ë e shoqjën time	ajo është gruën time	She is my wife
flit arbërisht me mua	fol shqip me mua	Speak Albanian with me
shoqi jim ë e ngulet	burri im është duke fjetur	My husband is sleeping
më përqen ritratën tënë	më pëlqen fotografijën tonë	I like our photograph
mortatë	hallë	Aunt
vovi	xhaxhë	Uncle
tata	baba	Father
tatloshi	gjyshi	Grandfather

The Lord's Prayer Sicilian Arbëresh (first row) Compared with Standard Tosk Albanian (second row), and Gheg Albanian (third row). Áti jinë çë je në qiell, shejtëruarkloftë embri jít. Ati ynë që je në qiell, u shënjtëroftë emri yt. Ati ynë që je në qiell, shejtnue kjoftë emni yt. Our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name járthshit rregjëria jóte; ubëftë vullimi jít, arthtë mbretëria jote; u bëftë dëshira jote, ardhtë mbretnia jote; u baftë vullnesa jote, thy kingdom come thy will be done si në qiell, ashtú në dhé; si në qiell, edhe mbi dhe. si në qiell ashtu në dhe. on earth as it is in heaven bukën tënë të përditshme ena neve sòt; bukën tonë të përditëshme jepna neve sot; bukën tonë të përditshme epna ne sot; give us this day our daily bread ndjena dëtyrët tóna, edhe falna fajet tona, e ndiejna ne fajet e mëkatet tona, and forgive us our trespasses si na ja ndjejëm dëtyruamëvet tanë; sikundër edhe ne ua falim fajtorëvet tanë; si i ndiejmë na fajtorët tanë; as we forgive those who trespass against us e mos na le të bien në ngarje, pó lirona nga i ligu; edhe mos na shtjerë në ngasje, po shpëtona nga i ligu; e mos na len me ra në keq, por largona prej gjith së keq; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil se jótja isht rregjëria, fuqia e lëvdia për jétë të jetëvet. sepse jotja është mbretëria e fuqia e lavdia në jetët të jetëvet. sepse joteja âsht rregjinija e fuqia e lafti në jetët të jetëvet. for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.

[edit] Name

The name Arbërishte is derived from the ethnonym "Albanoi", which in turn comes from the toponym "Arbëria" (Greek: Άρβανα), which in the Middle Ages referred to a region in what is today Albania (Babiniotis 1998). Its native equivalents (Arbërorë, Arbëreshë and others) formerly were the self-designation of Albanians in general. Both "Arbëria" and "Albania/Albanian" go further back to name forms attested since antiquity.

[edit] Classification

Italo-Arbërisht is descended from Arvanitika, which is the eldest sub-dialect of Arbërisht, part of the Tosk dialect group of Albanian.^[2] It was brought to southern Greece during the late Middle Ages by settlers from what is today southern Albania and Epirus, and subsequently taken to Italy from there. Italo-Arbërisht has retained some words identical to Greek words dhrom 'road', from δρόμος; Ne 'yes', from ναι, in the village of Greci. Italo-Arbërisht and Greco-Arbërisht have a mutually intelligible vocabulary base, the unintelligible elements of the two dialects stem from the usage of Italian or Greek modernisms in the absence of native ones.

Spoken Arbërisht is internally richly diversified into sub-dialects, and no further standardization towards a common (spoken or written) Standard Arbërisht has taken place. At the same time, Arbërisht speakers do not use Standard Albanian as their standard language either, as they are generally not literate in the standard Albanian orthography, and are not reported to use spoken-language media in Standard Albanian. In this sense, then, Arbërisht is not functionally subordinated to Standard Albanian as a dachsprache ("roof language"), in the way dialects of a national language within the same country usually are.

[edit] Writing system

The language is not usually written outside of the church and a few highly educated families, but officials are now using the standard Albanian alphabet, which is used on street signs in the villages as well as taught in schools.

[edit] Language samples

[edit] Pronouns

	Personal pronouns		Possessive pronouns
1Sg.	û	I	jími	mine
2Sg.	ti	you	jíti	yours
3Sg.m.	ái	he	i/e tíj	his
3Sg.f.	ajó	she	i/e sáj	hers
1Pl.	ne	we	jíni	ours
2Pl.	ju	you	júaj	yours
3Pl.m.	atá	they (m.)	atíre	theirs (m.)
3Pl.f.	ató	they (f.)	atíre	theirs (f.)

[edit] Verb paradigms

	The verb HAVE				The verb BE
	Pres.	Imperf.	Subj.Impf.	Subj.Perf.	Pres.	Imperf.	Subj.Impf.	Subj.Perf.
1Sg.	kam	keshë	të kem	të keshë	jam	jeshë	të jem	të jeshë
2Sg.	ke	keshe	të kesh	të keshe	je	jeshe	të jesh	të jëshe
3Sg.	ka	kish	të ket	të kish	ishtë, është	ish	të jet	të ish
1Pl.	kemi	keshëm	të kemi	te keshëm	jemi	jeshëm	të jeshëm	të jeshëm
2Pl.	kini	keshëtë	të kini	te keshëtë	jini	jeshëtë	të jeshëtë	të jeshëtë
3Pl,	kanë	kishnë	të kenë	të kishnë	janë	ishnë	të jenë	të ishnë

[edit] Some common phrases

Falem	Hello.
Çë je bën?	What are you doing?
Si rri?	How are you?
Jam shumë mirë, naní ngë bunj mosgjë	I am very well, I'm not doing anything now.
Të haristis, ti je mirë??	Thank you, and are you well?
O, jam edhe u mirë?	Yes, I'm fine too.
Flet arbërisht?	Do you speak Arbërisht?
Flas shumë pak.	I speak very little.
Ka vjen?	Where are you from?
U vinj ka Palermë.	I'm from Palermo.
Ngë je arbëresh?	Not are you Arbëresh?
Jam gjimse gjimse, mëmën jime ë arbëreshe po áti jím ë lëtir.	I'm half half, my mother is Arbëresh but my father is Italian.
Jadhá je vidhéma arbëresh, vetëm ka kesh pak gjak!	Therefore you are Arbëresh too, one need only have a little blood!
Të parkales	Please
Gëzonem të të njoh	Pleased to meet you
Mirë menatë	Good morning
Shihemi	See you soon
Gjegjemi	We'll speak soon
Si të thonë?	What's your name?
Mua më thonë Marieja	My name is Maria
O/ëj	Yes (Piana degli Albanesi)
Ara	Yes (Santa Cristina Gela)
Jo	No

[edit] Sample text

Shërbesa e Kurorës - The Arbëresh Marriage Ceremony

Zoti : Gjergj, do ti të marrëshë për grua Lina çë ke këtú te ana, si urdhuron Klisha Shejte, e të qëndrosh lidhur me atë në të mirën si edhé në të ligën gjithë ditët e gjellës tënde?

Priest: Do you Gjergj want to take as your legitimate wife Lina who is present here according to the the instructions of the Holy Church and to be faithful through the good and the bad all of your life?

Dhëndërri: O, e dua!

Groom: Yes, I do want that!

Zoti: Bekuar kloft Perëndia jínë ka herë, naní e për gjithëmonë e për jetë të jetëvet.

Priest: blessed be our God for all time, now and always in the centuries of centuries.

Populli: Amín.

People: Amen.

Zoti: Në paqe parkalesjëm t'ën Zonë.

Priest: In peace we pray to the Lord.

Populli: Lipisí, o i Madh'yn'Zot.

People: Our Great God, we beseech you.

Bekimi të unazavet

Zoti: Me këtë unazë shërbëtori i Perëndis Gjergj lidhet me shërbëtorën e Perëndis Lina në embër të Atit, të Birit e të Shpirtit Shejt.

Priest: The servant of God Gjergj is tied to the servant of God Lina, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Zoti jepë krinjët e këndon Msalmin 127: Të limë atá çë i trëmben t'ynë Zoti e çë jecjën te udhët e Tij.

the priest delivers the candles and intones Psalm 127 Make happy those who fear the Lord and may they walk in His ways.

Lëvdi tij, o i madh'yn'Zot, lëvdi tij. Dhóksa si, o Theós imón, dhóksa si Glory to you, our God, glory to you.

Se ti ka hashë bukën e shërbëtyrës s'duarvet tote. Lumë ti e fatbardhë ka jeshë. Jotë shoqe ka jet si dhri me pemë te muret e shpis tënde. Bijët tatë si degë ullinjësh rrethë triesës tënde. Shi këstú ka jet bekuar njeriu çë ka trëmbësirën e Perëndisë.

That you will eat the bread of the work of your hands. You will be happy and enjoy all that is good. See your wife as a fertile vine in the intimacy of your home. That your daughters will be like olive branches around your table. That those who fear the Lord will be blessed.

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

• Babiniotis, Georgios (1985): Συνοπτική Ιστορία της ελληνικής γλώσσας με εισαγωγή στην ιστορικοσυγκριτική γλωσσολογία. ["A concise history of the Greek language, with an introduction to historical-comparative linguistics] Athens: Ellinika Grammata.
• Babiniotis, Georgios (1998), Λεξικό της Νέας Ελληνικής Γλώσσας ["Dictionary of Modern Greek"]. Athens: Kentro Lexikologias.
• Breu, Walter (1990): "Sprachliche Minderheiten in Italien und Griechenland." ["Linguistic minorities in Italy and Greece"]. In: B. Spillner (ed.), Interkulturelle Kommunikation. Frankfurt: Lang. 169-170.
• GHM (=Greek Helsinki Monitor) (1995): "Report: The Arvanites". Online report
• Gordon, Raymond G. (ed.) (2005): Ethnologue: Languages of the world. 15th edition. Dallas: SIL International. Online database
• Hammarström, Harald (2005): Review of Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 15th Edition. LINGUIST List 16.2637 (5 Sept 2005). Online article

Vol. II. Livadia: Exandas, 1999 PDF.

• Η Καινή Διαθήκη στα Αρβανίτικα: Διάτα ε Ρε ['The New Testament in Arvanitika']. Athens: Ekdoseis Gerou. No date.
• Kloss, Heinz (1967): "Abstand-languages and Ausbau-languages". Anthropological linguistics 9.
• Salminen, Tapani (1993-1999): Unesco Red Book on Endangered Languages: Europe. [2].
• Strauss, Dietrich (1978): "Scots is not alone: Further comparative considerations". Actes du 2^e Colloque de Language et de Litterature Ecossaises, Strasbourg 1978. 80-97.
• Thomason, Sarah G. (2001): Language contact: An introduction. Washington: Georgetown University Press. Online chapter
• Trudgill, Peter (2004): "Glocalisation [sic] and the Ausbau sociolinguistics of modern Europe". In: A. Duszak, U. Okulska (eds.), Speaking from the margin: Global English from a European perspective. Frankfurt: Peter Lang. Online article

[edit] External links

• Arbëreshë Albanian at Ethnologue