Arvanites (;
Arvanitika
Arvanitika (; Arvanitika: , ; Greek: , ), also known as Arvanitic, is the variety of Albanian traditionally spoken by the Arvanites, a population group in Greece. Arvanitika is today endangered, as its speakers have been shifting to the use ...
: , or , ;
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: , ) are a
bilingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
population group in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
of
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
origin. They traditionally speak
Arvanitika
Arvanitika (; Arvanitika: , ; Greek: , ), also known as Arvanitic, is the variety of Albanian traditionally spoken by the Arvanites, a population group in Greece. Arvanitika is today endangered, as its speakers have been shifting to the use ...
, an
Albanian language
Albanian ( endonym: or ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Europ ...
variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
, along with
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
. Their ancestors were first recorded as settlers who came to what is today
southern Greece
Southern Greece ( el, Νότια Ελλάδα) is a loosely defined geographical term, usually encompassing the Peloponnese peninsula and varying parts of Continental Greece (Attica is usually included), as well as the islands of the Cyclades, t ...
in the late 13th and early 14th century. They were the dominant population element in parts of the
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
,
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...
and
Boeotia
Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its lar ...
until the 19th century.
[Trudgill (2000: 255).] They call themselves Arvanites (in Greek) and Arbëror (in their language). Arvanites today self-identify as
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
as a result of a process of
cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's majority group or assume the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group whether fully or partially.
The different types of cultural assi ...
,
[GHM (1995).] and do not consider themselves Albanian.
[Trudgill/Tzavaras (1977).] Arvanitika is in a state of
attrition
Attrition may refer to
*Attrition warfare, the military strategy of wearing down the enemy by continual losses in personnel and material
**War of Attrition, fought between Egypt and Israel from 1968 to 1970
**War of attrition (game), a model of agg ...
due to
language shift
Language shift, also known as language transfer or language replacement or language assimilation, is the process whereby a speech community shifts to a different language, usually over an extended period of time. Often, languages that are perceiv ...
towards
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and large-scale
internal migration Internal migration or domestic migration is human migration within a country. Internal migration tends to be travel for education and for economic improvement or because of a natural disaster or civil disturbance, though a study based on the full ...
to the cities and subsequent intermingling of the population during the 20th century.
Names
The name Arvanites and its equivalents are today used both in Greek (, singular form , feminine ) and in Arvanitika itself ( or ). In Standard Albanian () all three names are used. The name ''Arvanites'' and its variants are based upon the root ''arb/alb'' of the old ethnonym that was at one time used by all Albanians to refer to themselves. It refers to a geographical term, first attested in
Polybius
Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail.
Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...
in the form of a place-name (), and then again in Byzantine authors of the 11th and 12th centuries in the form () or (), referring to a place in what is today Albania. The name ''Arvanites'' ("Arbanitai") originally referred to the inhabitants of that region, and then to all Albanian-speakers. The alternative name ''Albanians'' may ultimately be etymologically related, but is of less clear origin (see
Albania (toponym)
The toponym Albania may indicate several different geographical regions: a country in Southeast Europe; an ancient land in the Caucasus; as well as Scotland, ''Albania'' being a Latinization of a Gaelic name for Scotland, ''Alba''; and even a city ...
). It was probably conflated with that of the "Arbanitai" at some stage due to phonological similarity. In later Byzantine usage, the terms "Arbanitai" and "Albanoi", with a range of variants, were used interchangeably, while sometimes the same groups were also called by the classicising names ''
Illyrians
The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo ...
''. In the 19th and early 20th century, ''Alvani'' (Albanians) was used predominantly in formal registers and ''Arvanites'' (Αρβανίτες) in the more popular speech in Greek, but both were used indiscriminately for both Muslim and Christian Albanophones inside and outside Greece.
[ "Until the Interwar period ''Arvanitis'' (plural ''Arvanitēs'') was the term used by Greek speakers to describe an Albanian speaker regardless of his/hers religious background. In official language of that time the term ''Alvanos'' was used instead. The term ''Arvanitis'' coined for an Albanian speaker independently of religion and citizenship survives until today in Epirus (see Lambros Baltsiotis and Léonidas Embirikos, "De la formation d'un ethnonyme. Le terme Arvanitis et son evolution dans l'État hellénique", in G. Grivaud-S. Petmezas (eds.), ''Byzantina et Moderna'', Alexandreia, Athens, 2006, pp. 417-448."] In Albania itself, the self-designation ''Arvanites'' had been exchanged for the new name ''Shqiptarë'' since the 15th century, an innovation that was not shared by the Albanophone migrant communities in the south of Greece. In the course of the 20th century, it became customary to use only ''Αλβανοί'' for the people of Albania, and only ''Αρβανίτες'' for the Greek-Arvanites, thus stressing the national separation between the two groups.
There is some uncertainty to what extent the term ''Arvanites'' also includes the small remaining Christian Albanophone population groups in
Epirus
sq, Epiri rup, Epiru
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = Historical region
, image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...
and
West Macedonia
Western Macedonia ( el, Δυτική Μακεδονία, translit=Ditikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Macedonia. Located in north-western Greece, it is divided into the regional unit ...
. Unlike the southern Arvanites, these speakers are reported to use the name ''Shqiptarë'' both for themselves and for Albanian nationals, although these communities also espouse a Greek national identity nowadays.
The word ''Shqiptár'' is also used in a few villages of
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...
, where Arvanites migrated from the mountains of
Pindus
The Pindus (also Pindos or Pindhos; el, Πίνδος, Píndos; sq, Pindet; rup, Pindu) is a mountain range located in Northern Greece and Southern Albania. It is roughly 160 km (100 miles) long, with a maximum elevation of 2,637 metres ...
during the 19th century. However they also use the name ''Arvanitis'' speaking in Greek, while th
''Euromosaic'' (1996)reports notes that the designation ''
Chams
The Cham (Cham: ''Čaṃ'') or Champa people (Cham: , ''Urang Campa''; vi, Người Chăm or ; km, ជនជាតិចាម, ) are an Austronesian ethnic group. From the 2nd century to 1832 the Cham populated Champa, a contiguous territo ...
'' is today rejected by the group. The report by GHM (1995) subsumes the
Epirote
Epirus (; el, Ήπειρος, translit=Ípiros, ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region in northwestern Greece.Π.Δ. 51/87 “Καθορισμός των ...
Albanophones under the term ''Arvanites'', although it notes the different linguistic self-designation, on the other hand, applies the term ''Arvanites'' only to the populations of the compact Arvanitic settlement areas in southern Greece, in keeping with the self-identification of those groups. Linguistically, the
Ethnologue
''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensiv ...
identifies the present-day Albanian/Arvanitic dialects of Northwestern Greece (in Epirus and
Lechovo
Lechovo ( el, Λέχοβο), renamed as ''Iroiko'' ( el, Ηρωϊκό) between 1955-1956, is a village and a former community in Florina regional unit, Western Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipal ...
) with those of the Chams, and therefore classifies them together with standard
Tosk Albanian
Tosk ( sq-definite, toskërishtja) is the southern group of dialects of the Albanian language, spoken by the ethnographic group known as Tosks. The line of demarcation between Tosk and Gheg (the northern variety) is the Shkumbin River. Tosk is ...
, as opposed to "Arvanitika Albanian proper" (i.e. southern Greek-Arvanitika). Nevertheless, it reports that in Greek the Epirus varieties are also often subsumed under "Arvanitika" in a wider sense. It puts the estimated number of Epirus Albanophones at 10,000. Arvanitika proper is said to include the outlying dialects spoken in Thrace.
History
![Napoli,_Citta_della_Provincia_della_Morea,_by_C](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Napoli%2C_Citta_della_Provincia_della_Morea%2C_by_C._F._Camocio.jpg)
Arvanites in Greece originate from
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
settlers
who moved south from areas in what is today southern
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
during the Middle Ages. These Albanian movements into Greece are recorded for the first time in the late 13th and early 14th century. The reasons for this migration are not entirely clear and may be manifold. In many instances the Albanians were invited by the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
and
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
rulers of the time. They were employed to re-settle areas that had been largely depopulated through wars, epidemics, and other reasons, and they were employed as soldiers.
Some later movements are also believed to have been motivated to evade
Islamization
Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occur ...
after the
Ottoman conquest.
Groups of Albanians moved into Thessaly as early as 1268 as mercenaries of
Michael Doukas. The
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
tribes of
Bua,
Malakasioi
The Malakasi were a historical Albanian tribe in medieval Epirus, Thessaly and later southern Greece. Their name is a reference to their area of origin, Mallakastër in southern Albania. They appear in historical records as one of the Albanian t ...
and Mazaraki were described as "unruly" nomads living in the mountains of Thessaly in the early 14th century in
Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos' 'History'. They numbered approximately 12,000. Kantakouzenos describes a pact they made to serve the Byzantine Emperor and pay tribute to him ca. 1332 in exchange for using the lowland areas of Thessaly in the summer months. Albanian groups were given military holdings
Fanari in the 1330s and by the end of the 14th century and the Ottoman takeover of the region, they were an integral part of the military structures of Thessaly. Two of their military leaders known in Byzantine sources as Peter and John Sebastopoulos controlled the small towns of
Pharsala
Farsala ( el, Φάρσαλα), known in Antiquity as Pharsalos ( grc, Φάρσαλος, la, Pharsalus), is a city in southern Thessaly, in Greece. Farsala is located in the southern part of Larissa regional unit, and is one of its largest town ...
and
Domokos
Domokos ( el, Δομοκός), the ancient Thaumacus or Thaumace (Θαυμακός, Θαυμάκη), is a town and a municipality in Phthiotis, Greece. The town Domokos is the seat of the municipality of Domokos and of the former Domokos Province. ...
. Ottoman control began in the late 14th century with the capture of Larissa in 1392-93 and consolidated in the early 15th century. Nevertheless, Ottoman control was threatened throughout this era by groups of Greeks, Albanians and Vlachs who based themselves in the mountainous areas of Thessaly.
The main waves of migration into southern Greece started from 1350, reached a peak some time during the 14th century, and ended around 1600. Albanians first reached
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
, then
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...
, and finally the Peloponnese. One of the larger groups of Albanian settlers, amounting to 10,000, settled the Peloponnese during the reign of
Theodore I Palaiologos
Theodore I Palaiologos (or Palaeologus) ( el, Θεόδωρος Α΄ Παλαιολόγος, translit=Theodōros I Palaiologos) (c. 1355 – 24 June 1407) was despot (''despotēs'') in the Morea from 1383 until his death on 24 June 1407. A son of Em ...
, first in
Arcadia
Arcadia may refer to:
Places Australia
* Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
* Arcadia, Queensland
* Arcadia, Victoria
Greece
* Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese
* Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...
and subsequently in the more southern regions around
Messenia
Messenia or Messinia ( ; el, Μεσσηνία ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a ...
,
Argolis
Argolis or Argolida ( el, Αργολίδα , ; , in ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula and part of the tri ...
,
Elis
Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...
and
Achaea
Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The ...
. Around 1418, a second large group arrived, possibly fleeing
Aetolia
Aetolia ( el, Αἰτωλία, Aἰtōlía) is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional units of Greece, regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania.
Geography
The Achelous ...
,
Acarnania
Acarnania ( el, Ἀκαρνανία) is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today i ...
and
Arta, where Albanian political power had been defeated. After the Ottoman incursion in 1417, other groups from Albania crossed western Greece and may have infiltrated into Achaea. The settled Albanians practiced a nomadic lifestyle based on pastoralism, and spread out into small villages.
In 1453, the Albanians
rose in revolt against
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
and
Demetrios Palaiologos
Demetrios Palaiologos or Demetrius Palaeologus ( el, Δημήτριος Παλαιολόγος, Dēmētrios Palaiologos; 1407–1470) was Despot of the Morea together with his brother Thomas from 1449 until the fall of the despotate in 1460. Deme ...
, due to the chronic insecurity and tribute payment to the Turks; they were also joined by the local Greeks, who by then had a common leader in
Manuel Kantakouzenos
Manuel Kantakouzenos (or Cantacuzenus) (Greek: Μανουήλ Καντακουζηνός, ''Manouēl Kantakouzēnos''), (c. 1326 – Mistra, Peloponnese, 10 April 1380). ''Despotēs'' in the Despotate of Morea or the Peloponnese from 25 Octobe ...
. Following the Ottoman conquest, many Albanians fled to Italy and settled primarily in the
Arbëreshë Arbën/Arbër, from which derived Arbënesh/Arbëresh originally meant all Albanians, until the 18th century. Today it is used for different groups of Albanian origin, including:
* Arbër (given name), an Albanian masculine given name
* Arbëresh ...
villages of
Calabria
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
and
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
. On the other hand, in an effort to control the remaining Albanians, during the second half of the 15th century, the Ottomans adopted favorable tax policies towards them were adopted, likely in continuation of similar Byzantine practices. This policy had been discontinued by the early 16th century.
During the
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
, many Arvanites played an important role on fighting on the Greek side against the Ottomans, often as national Greek heroes. With the formation of modern nations and nation-states in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, Arvanites have come to be regarded as an integral part of the Greek nation. In 1899, leading representatives of the Arvanites in Greece, including descendants of the independence heroes, published a manifesto calling their fellow Albanians outside Greece to join in the creation of a common Albanian-Greek state.
During the 20th century, after the creation of the Albanian nation-state, Arvanites in Greece have come to dissociate themselves much more strongly from the Albanians, stressing instead their national self-identification as Greeks. At the same time, it has been suggested that many Arvanites in earlier decades maintained an assimilatory stance, leading to a progressive loss of their traditional language and a shifting of the younger generation towards Greek. At some times, particularly under the nationalist
4th of August Regime
The 4th of August Regime ( el, Καθεστώς της 4ης Αυγούστου, Kathestós tis tetártis Avgoústou), commonly also known as the Metaxas regime (, ''Kathestós Metaxá''), was a totalitarian regime under the leadership of Gener ...
under
Ioannis Metaxas
Ioannis Metaxas (; el, Ιωάννης Μεταξάς; 12th April 187129th January 1941) was a Greek military officer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He governed constitutionally for t ...
of 1936–1941, Greek state institutions followed a policy of actively discouraging and repressing the use of Arvanitika. In the decades following
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...
, many Arvanites came under pressure to abandon Arvanitika in favour of monolingualism in the national language, and especially the archaizing
Katharevousa
Katharevousa ( el, Καθαρεύουσα, , literally "purifying anguage) is a conservative form of the Modern Greek language conceived in the late 18th century as both a literary language and a compromise between Ancient Greek and the contempor ...
which remained the official variant of Greek until 1976. This trend was prevalent mostly during the
Greek military junta of 1967–1974
The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels, . Also known within Greece as just the Junta ( el, η Χούντα, i Choúnta, links=no, ), the Dictatorship ( el, η Δικτατορία, i Diktatoría, links=no, ) or the Seven Years ( el, η Ε ...
.
Demographics
The 1460-1463 Ottoman taxation cadastre recorded the taxable population of the Peloponnese by households (
''ḫâne''), bachelors, and widows. Specifically, there were 6,551 (58.37%) Greek and 4,672 (41.63%) Albanian households, 909 (66.25%) Greek and 463 (33.75%) Albanian bachelors, and 562 (72.05%) Greek and 218 (27.95%) Albanian widows. Greeks tended to live in large villages and cities, while Albanians in small villages. Specifically, out of the 580 inhabited villages, 407 are listed as Albanian, 169 as Greek, and four as mixed; however, Greek villages had on average 3.5 times more families than Albanian ones.
[: "The 580 inhabited locations registered in the TT10-1/14662 are divided into 169 Greek villages, 407 Albanian, and four villages of mixed population (Table 4).... The average number of families residing in Greek villages is 41.29 and the Albanian counterpart is 11.86; hence, the average Greek village was approximately three and a half times larger than the Albanian one. The average Peloponnesian village, when we count Greek, Albanian and mixed settlements, hosted 20.69 families."] Many of these settlements have since been abandoned, while others have been renamed. A Venetian source of the mid-15th century estimates that 30,000 Albanians lived in the Peloponnese at that time. Throughout the
Ottoman–Venetian wars, many Albanians died or were captured in service to the Venetians; at
Nafpaktos
Nafpaktos ( el, Ναύπακτος) is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, situated on a bay on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, west of the mouth of the river Mornos.
It is named for Naupaktos (, Latinize ...
,
Nafplio
Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the ...
,
Argos
Argos most often refers to:
* Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece
** Ancient Argos, the ancient city
* Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland
Argos or ARGOS may also refer to:
Businesses
...
,
Methoni,
Koroni
Koroni or Corone ( el, Κορώνη) is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos ...
and
Pylos
Pylos (, ; el, Πύλος), historically also known as Navarino, is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is th ...
. Furthermore, 8,000 Albanian
stratioti
The Stratioti or Stradioti ( gr, στρατιώτες ''stratiotes''; sq, Stratiotë, Stratiotët;, it, stradioti, stradiotti, stratioti, strathiotto, strathioti; french: estradiots; sh, stratioti, stradioti; es, estradiotes) were mercenary u ...
, most of them along with their families, left the Peloponnese to continue their military service under the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
or the
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...
. At the end of the Ottoman–Venetian wars, a large number of Albanians had fled from the Peloponnese to Sicily. In the second half of the 19th century, out of the approximately 730,000 (per the Greek census of 1879) inhabitants of the Peloponnese, and the three neighboring islands of Poros, Hydra and Spetses, Arvanites numbered 90,253 (or 12.3%) in total according to
Alfred Philippson
Alfred Philippson (1 January 1864 – 28 March 1953) was a German geologist and geographer.
He was born at Bonn, son of Ludwig Philippson. He received his education at the gymnasium and university of his native town and at the University of Leipz ...
; while in a critical response to Philippson's study the same year, Christos Koryllos supported 50,352 (or 6.9%) for the Peloponnese and 20,685 for the three aforementioned islands, totalling 71,037 (or 9.7%). In the mid-19th century,
Johann Georg von Hahn
Johann Georg von Hahn (11 July 1811 – 23 September 1869) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian and later Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian diplomat, Philology, philologist and specialist in History of Albania, Albanian history, Albanian language, lan ...
had estimated their number throughout Greece to be between 173,000 and 200,000.
There are no official figures about the number of Arvanites in Greece today (no official data exist for ethnicity in Greece). The last official census figures available come from 1951. Since then, estimates of the numbers of Arvanites has ranged from 25,000 to 200,000. The following is a summary of the widely diverging estimates (Botsi 2003: 97):
*1928 census: 18,773 citizens self-identifying as "Albanophone" in all of Greece.
*1951 census: 22,736 "Albanophones".
*Furikis (1934): estimated 70,000 Arvanites in Attica alone.
*Trudgill/Tzavaras (1976/77): estimated 140,000 in Attica and Boeotia together.
*Sasse (1991): estimated 50,000 Arvanitika speakers in all of Greece.
*Ethnologue, 2000: 150,000 Arvanites, living in 300 villages.
*Federal Union of European Nationalities, 1991: 95,000 "Albanians of Greece" (MRG 1991: 189)
*
Minority Rights Group International
Minority Rights Group International (MRG) is an international human rights organisation founded with the objective of working to secure rights for ethnic, national, religious, linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples around the world. Thei ...
, 1997: 200,000 Arvanites of Greece.
*Jan Markusse (2001): 25.000 Arvanites in Greece
Like the rest of the Greek population, Arvanites have been emigrating from their villages to the cities and especially to the capital
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
. This has contributed to the loss of the language in the younger generation.
File:Pelopones ethnic.JPG, Alfred Philippson's ethnographic map of the Peloponnese
The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
, 1890; Albanian-speaking areas in red.
File:The Historical Atlas, 1911 – Distribution of Races in the Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor.jpg, American ethnographic map of the Balkan Peninsula, 1911; Albanian-inhabited areas in light orange.
File:Ethnic map europe 1923.jpg, Albanians in Greece (light blue shade), 1923 (C.S. Hammond & Co)
File:Mitteleuropa (ethnische_Karte) 1932.jpg, Albanians in Greece (orange shade), 1932 (Carl Troll
Carl Troll (24 December 1899 in Gabersee – 21 July 1975 in Bonn), was a German geographer, brother of botanist Wilhelm Troll. From 1919 until 1922 Troll studied biology, chemistry, geology, geography and physics at the Universität in München. ...
)
Settlements
Today, regions with a strong traditional presence of Arvanites are found mainly in a compact area in southeastern mainland Greece, namely across
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...
(especially in Eastern Attica), southern
Boeotia
Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its lar ...
, the north-east of the Peloponnese, the south of the island of
Euboea
Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...
, the north of the island of
Andros
Andros ( el, Άνδρος, ) is the northernmost island of the Greek Cyclades archipelago, about southeast of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . It is for the most part mountainous, with many fr ...
, and several islands of the
Saronic Gulf
The Saronic Gulf (Greek: Σαρωνικός κόλπος, ''Saronikós kólpos'') or Gulf of Aegina in Greece is formed between the peninsulas of Attica and Argolis and forms part of the Aegean Sea. It defines the eastern side of the isthmus of Co ...
including
Salamis,
Hydra,
Poros
Poros ( el, Πόρος) is a small Greece, Greek island-pair in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf, about south from the port of Piraeus and separated from the Peloponnese by a wide sea channel, with the town of Galatas, Troizina, Galatas on ...
,
Agistri
Agistri, also Angistri or Agkistri (Greek: Αγκίστρι , English: "fishing hook"), is a small populated island and municipality in the Saronic Gulf in the Islands regional unit, Greece. Settlements
There are only three settlements on Agis ...
and
Spetses
Spetses ( el, Σπέτσες, grc, Πιτυούσσα "Pityussa", Arvanitika: Πετσε̱) is an upscale affluent island in Attica, Greece. It is included as one of the Saronic Islands. Until 1948, it was part of the old prefecture of Argolis ...
. In parts of this area they formed a solid majority until about 1900. Within Attica, parts of the capital
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
and its suburbs were Arvanitic until the late 19th century. There are also settlements in some other parts of the Peloponnese, and in
Phthiotis
Phthiotis ( el, Φθιώτιδα, ''Fthiótida'', ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. The capital is the city of Lamia. It is border ...
. Albanians also settled on the islands of
Kea
The kea (; ; ''Nestor notabilis'') is a species of large parrot in the family Nestoridae found in the forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. About long, it is mostly olive-green with a brilliant orange under its wing ...
,
Psara
Psara ( el, Ψαρά, , ; known in ancient times as /, /) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. Together with the small island of Antipsara (Population 4) it forms the municipality of Psara. It is part of the Chios regional unit, which is part of ...
,
Aegina
Aegina (; el, Αίγινα, ''Aígina'' ; grc, Αἴγῑνα) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born ...
,
Kythnos
Kythnos ( el, Κύθνος), commonly called Thermia ( el, Θερμιά), is a Greek island and municipality in the Western Cyclades between Kea and Serifos. It is from the Athenian harbor of Piraeus. The municipality Kythnos is in area and has a ...
,
Skopelos
Skopelos ( el, Σκόπελος, ) is a Greek island in the western Aegean Sea. Skopelos is one of several islands which comprise the Northern Sporades island group, which lies east of the Pelion peninsula on the mainland and north of the island ...
and
Samos
Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...
. They would thereafter assimilate into the Greek population.
[Jochalas, Titos P. (1971): Über die Einwanderung der Albaner in Griechenland: Eine zusammenfassene Betrachtung On the immigration of Albanians to Greece: A summary" München: Trofenik. pg. 89-106.]
This is a list of settlements with a historical population of Arvanites:
*
Boeotia
Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its lar ...
:
**
Thespies
Thespies ( el, Θεσπιές; before 1934: ''Erimókastro'') is a village in Boeotia, Greece. A former municipality, which included the village, shared the same name. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Aliartos, ...
**
Tanagra
Tanagra ( el, Τανάγρα) is a town and a municipality north of Athens in Boeotia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Schimatari. It is not far from Thebes, and it was noted in antiquity for the figurines named after it. The Ta ...
**
Leontari, Boeotia
Leontari ( gr, Λεοντάρι, before 1930: Κασκαβέλι - ''Kaskaveli'') is a town in the municipal unit of Thespies in Boeotia, Greece.
History
The city of Leontari was founded at the end of the 14th or beginning of the 15th century by ...
**
Oinofyta
Oinofyta (Greek: Οινόφυτα) is a village and former municipality in eastern Boeotia, Greece. Following the local government reform of 2011 it is now part of the municipality of Tanagra, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit ha ...
*
Phthiotis
Phthiotis ( el, Φθιώτιδα, ''Fthiótida'', ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. The capital is the city of Lamia. It is border ...
:
**
Livanates
Livanates ( el, Λιβανάτες) is a seaside town (population in 2011: 2,559) in Phthiotis, central Greece. It is located 68 km southeast of Lamia and it was the seat of the municipality of Dafnousia between 1997 and 2011.
History
Kynos, ...
**
Martino, Phthiotis
Martino ( el, Μαρτίνο) is an Arvanitic settlement in the regional unit of Phthiotis in Central Greece, and belongs to the municipality of Lokroi. Martino is located 120 km north from Athens, at an altitude of 210m. Neighbouring settle ...
**
Malesina
*
Euboea
Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...
:
**
Kafireas
Kafireas ( el, Καφηρέας) is a former community in Euboea, Greece, named after the nearby Cape Kafireas. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Karystos, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has ...
**
Styra
**
Zarakes
*
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...
:
**
Acharnes
Acharnes ( el, Αχαρνές, , before 1915: Μενίδι Menidi, ) is a northwestern suburb of Athens, Attica, Greece. With 106,943 inhabitants (2011 census), it is the most populous municipality in East Attica. It is part of the Athens Urban ar ...
**
Afidnes
Afidnes ( el, Αφίδνες, or Ἀφίδναι, from the Middle Ages until 1919: Κιούρκα - ''Kiourka'') is a small town in East Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Oropos, of which it is ...
**
Agios Stefanos
**
Ano Liosia
Ano Liosia ( el, Άνω Λιόσια) is a suburb and a former municipality in the northern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Fyli, of which it is the seat and a munici ...
**
Aspropyrgos
**
Avlonas
**
Chalandri
Chalandri ( el, Χαλάνδρι, Ancient Greek: Φλύα, ''Phlya'') is a suburb in the northern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. It is a municipality of the Attica region.
Geography
Chalandri is a suburb in Northern Athens, around fr ...
**
Elefsina
Elefsina ( el, Ελευσίνα ''Elefsina''), or Eleusis (; Ancient Greek: ''Eleusis'') is a suburban city and municipality in the West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is situated about northwest from the centre of Athens and is part of i ...
**
Erythres
Erythres ( el, Ερυθρές, formerly known as Kriekouki, Greek: Κριεκούκι) is a village and a former municipality in the northernmost part of West Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality M ...
**
Fyli
Fyli ( el, Φυλή, , meaning "tribe") is a town and a municipality in the northwestern part of Attica, Greece. It lies in the northeastern corner of the West Attica regional unit, and is a suburb of Athens. The seat of the municipality is the to ...
**
Grammatiko
Grammatiko ( el, Γραμματικό) is a village in East Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Marathon, of which it is a municipal unit. It is part of Athens metropolitan area.
Geography
Gramm ...
**
Kalamos
Kalamos ( grc, Κάλαμος, lit=reed, reed pen; la, Calamus) is a Greek mythological figure. He is son of Maiandros, the god of the Maeander river.
Mythology
A story in Nonnus's ''Dionysiaca'' tells about the love of two youths, Kalamos and K ...
**
Kalyvia Thorikou
Kalyvia Thorikou ( el, Καλύβια Θορικού) is a town and a former municipality in East Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Saronikos, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The m ...
**
Kapandriti
Kapandriti ( el, Καπανδρίτι) is a town in the north of East Attica in Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Oropos, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 36.789 k ...
**
Kamatero
Kamatero ( el, Καματερó ; officially ΚαματερόνNational Statistic Service of Greece surveys. Last accessed December 4, 2009. (in Greek) ) is a suburb northwest of Athens city center, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform ...
**
Keratea
Keratea ( el, Κερατέα) is a town in East Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lavreotiki, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 129.864 km2. It is part of ...
**
Kifissia
**
Kryoneri
**
Malakasa
Malakasa ( el, Μαλακάσα) is a village and former community of East Attica in Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Oropos, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 10.450&nb ...
**
Mandra
Mandra ( el, Μάνδρα), is a town and former municipality in West Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Mandra-Eidyllia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an a ...
**
Marathonas
**
Markopoulo Mesogaias
Markopoulo Mesogaias ( el, Μαρκόπουλο Μεσογαίας) is a suburban town and a municipality in East Attica, Greece. The municipality has an area of .
Geography
The municipality Markopoulo Mesogaias is situated in the Mesogaia plai ...
**
Markopoulo Oropou
Markopoulo Oropou ( el, Μαρκόπουλο Ωρωπού) is a town and a former community of East Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Oropos, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit ...
**
Marousi
Marousi or Maroussi ( el, Μαρούσι, also Αμαρούσιο ''Amarousio'') is a suburb in the northeastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. Marousi dates back to the era of the History of Athens, ancient Athenian Republic; its ancie ...
**
Metamorfosi
Metamorfosi ( el, Μεταμόρφωση, Metamórfosi, transfiguration; before 1957: Koukouvaounes ( el, link=no, Κουκουβάουνες, Koukouváounes) is a suburb in the northern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece, and a municipalit ...
**
Oropos
Oropos ( el, Ωρωπός) is a small town and a municipality in East Attica, Greece.
The village of Skala Oropou, within the bounds of the municipality, was the site an important ancient Greek city, Oropus, and the famous nearby sanctuary of ...
**
Paiania
Paiania (or ''Paeanea'' or ''Peania'' el, Παιανία, , before 1915: Λιόπεσι - ''Liopesi'', ; Arvanitika: Λοπε̱σ romanized: Lopës) is a town and a municipality in East Attica, Greece. It is an eastern suburb of Athens, located e ...
**
Plaka
Pláka ( el, Πλάκα) is the old historical neighborhood of Athens, clustered around the northern and eastern slopes of the Acropolis, and incorporating labyrinthine streets and neoclassical architecture. Plaka is built on top of the residentia ...
**
Polydendri
Polydendri (Greek language, Greek: Πολυδένδρι, English language, English: "Many trees") is a town and former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, community of East Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of ...
**
Spata
Spata ( el, Σπάτα), is a town east of downtown Athens, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Spata-Artemida, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit (officially named Spata-L ...
**
Sykamino
Sykamino (Greek: Συκάμινο meaning mulberry) is a town and former community of Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Oropos, of which it is a municipal unit.
Sykamino has historically been an ...
**
Vari
Vari ( el, Βάρη) is a southern suburb of Athens and former municipality in East Attica, Greece along the Athens coast. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Vari-Voula-Vouliagmeni, of which it is a municipal un ...
**
Varnavas
Varnavas ( el, Βαρνάβας "Barnabas") is a town in East Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Marathon, of which it is a municipal unit. It is part of Athens metropolitan area.
Geography
Va ...
**
Varympompi
Varympompi or Varibobi ( el, Βαρυμπόμπη) is a suburb of Athens in the municipality of Acharnes, East Attica, Greece.
Geography
Varympompi is situated at the foot of the forested Parnitha mountains, 3 km east of Thrakomakedones, 4 km wes ...
**
Vilia
Vilia ( el, Βίλια; formerly Eidyllia, Ειδυλλία) is a village and a former municipality of West Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Mandra-Eidyllia, of which it is a municipal unit. I ...
*
Corinthia
Corinthia ( el, Κορινθία ''Korinthía'') is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated around the city of Corinth, in the north-eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula.
Geography
Cori ...
:
**
Examilia
Examilia ( el, Εξαμίλια) is a town in the municipality of Corinth, Greece. It is situated about 5 km south of Corinth, and 6 km west of Kechries (ancient Cenchreae).
History
The town was first attested in 1676 by French archaeologi ...
*
Argolis
Argolis or Argolida ( el, Αργολίδα , ; , in ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula and part of the tri ...
**
Kranidi
Kranidi ( el, , Katharevousa: ) is a town and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ermionida, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal u ...
**
Methana
Methana ( el, Μέθανα) is a town and a former municipality on the Peloponnese peninsula, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Troizinia-Methana, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has ...
**
Prosymna
Prosymna ( grc, Πρόσυμνα) was a town in ancient Argolis, in whose territory the celebrated Heraion of Argos, Heraeum, or temple of Hera, stood. Statius gives it the epithet "celsa." Pausanias (geographer), Pausanias mentions only a distric ...
Language use and language perception
![Apollon1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Apollon1.JPG)
Arvanitika is a dialect of the
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
language, sharing similar features primarily with other
Tosk
Tosk ( sq-definite, toskërishtja) is the southern group of dialects of the Albanian language, spoken by the ethnographic group known as Tosks. The line of demarcation between Tosk and Gheg (the northern variety) is the Shkumbin River. Tosk is t ...
varieties. The name ''Arvanítika'' and its native equivalent Arbërisht are derived from the ethnonym ''Arvanites'', which in turn comes from the toponym Arbëna (Greek: Άρβανα), which in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
referred to a region in what is today
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
. Its native equivalents (''Arbërorë, Arbëreshë'' and others) used to be the self-designation of Albanians in general. While Arvanitika was commonly called ''Albanian'' in Greece until the 20th century, the wish of Arvanites to express their ethnic identification as Greeks has led to a stance of rejecting the identification of the language with
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
as well.
In recent times, Arvanites had only very imprecise notions about how related or unrelated their language was to Albanian. Since Arvanitika is almost exclusively a spoken language, Arvanites also have no practical affiliation with the Standard Albanian language used in Albania, as they do not use this form in writing or in media. The question of linguistic closeness or distance between Arvanitika and Albanian has come to the forefront especially since the early 1990s, when a large number of Albanian immigrants began to enter Greece and came into contact with local Arvanitic communities.
Since the 1980s, there have been some organized efforts to preserve the cultural and linguistic heritage of Arvanites. The largest organisation promoting Arvanitika is the "Arvanitic League of Greece" ().
Arvanitika is currently considered in danger of extinction due to it having no legal status in Greece. The language is also not available at any level of the educational system in Greece. Social changes, government policies, and public indifference have also contributed to the decline of the language.
Intercommunity relations
Arvanites were regarded as ethnically distinct from the Greeks until the 19th century.
Amongst the Arvanites, this difference was expressed in words such as ''shkljira'' for a Greek person and ''shkljerishtë'' for the Greek language that had until recent decades negative overtones. These words in Arvanitika have their related counterpart in the pejorative term ''shqa'' used by Northern Albanians for
Slavs
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
.
[ Ultimately these terms used amongst Albanian speakers originate from the Latin word ''sclavus'' which contained the traditional meaning of "the neighbouring foreigner".][Pipa, Arshi (1989). ''The politics of language in socialist Albania''. East European Monographs. p. 178. "North Albanian call Slavs shqé (sg. shqá
With participation in the ]Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
and the Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...
, this has led to increasing assimilation amongst the Arvanites.[Hall, Jonathan M. ''Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity''. Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 29, .] The common Christian Orthodox religion they shared with the rest of the local population was one of the main reasons that led to their assimilation. Although sociological studies of Arvanite communities still used to note an identifiable sense of a special "ethnic" identity among Arvanites, the authors did not identify a sense of 'belonging to Albania or to the Albanian nation'. Many Arvanites find the designation "Albanians" offensive as they identify nationally and ethnically as Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
and not Albanians
The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...
. Jacques Lévy describes the Arvanites as "Albanian speakers who were integrated into Greek national identity as early as the first half of the nineteenth century and who in no way consider themselves as an ethnic minority".
Relations between Arvanites and other Albanian speaking populations have varied over time. During the onset of the Greek war of Independence, Arvanites fought alongside Greek revolutionaries and against Muslim Albanians.[ For example Arvanites participated in the 1821 ]Tripolitsa Massacre
The siege of Tripolitsa or fall of Tripolitsa ( el, Άλωση της Τριπολιτσάς, Álosi tis Tripolitsás, ), also known as the Tripolitsa massacre ( tr, Tripoliçe katliamı), was an early victory of the revolutionary Greek forces ...
of Muslim Albanians,[Heraclides, Alexis (2011). ]
The essence of the Greek-Turkish rivalry: national narrative and identity
'. Academic Paper. The London School of Economics and Political Science. p. 15. "On the Greek side, a case in point is the atrocious onslaught of the Greeks and Hellenised Christian Albanians against the city of Tripolitza in October 1821, which is justified by the Greeks ever since as the almost natural and predictable outcome of more than '400 years of slavery and dudgeon'. All the other similar atrocious acts all over Peloponnese, where apparently the whole population of Muslims (Albanian and Turkish-speakers), well over twenty thousand vanished from the face of the earth within a spat of a few months in 1821 is unsaid and forgotten, a case of ethnic cleansing through sheer slaughter (St Clair 2008: 1-9, 41-46) as are the atrocities committed in Moldavia (were the "Greek Revolution" actually started in February 1821) by prince Ypsilantis." while some Muslim Albanian speakers in the region of Bardounia remained after the war, converting to Orthodoxy.[Andromedas, John N. (1976). "Maniot folk culture and the ethnic mosaic in the southeast Peloponnese". ''Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences''. 268. (1): 200. "In 1821, then, the ethnic mosaic of the southeastern Peloponnese (the ancient Laconia and Cynouria) consisted of Christian Tsakonians and Albanians on the east, Christian Maniats and Barduniotes, and Moslem Albanian Barduniotes in the southwest, and an ordinary Greek Christian population running between them. In 1821, with a general Greek uprising impending, rumors of a "Russo-Frankish" naval bombardment caused the "Turkish" population of the southeastern Peloponnese to seek refuge in the fortresses of Monevasia, Mystra, and Tripolitza. Indeed, the Turkobarduniotes were so panic stricken that they stampeded the Moslems of Mystra along with them into headlong flight to Tripolitza. The origin of this rumor was the firing of a salute by a sea captain named Frangias in honor of a Maniat leader known as "the Russian Knight." Some Moslems in Bardunia, and elsewhere, remained as converts to Christianity. Thus almost overnight the whole of the southeastern Peloponnese was cleared of "Turks" of whatever linguistic affiliation. This situation was sealed by the ultimate success of the Greek War for Independence. The Christian Albanians, identifying with their Orthodox coreligionists and with the new nationstate, gradually gave up the Albanian language, in some instances deliberately deciding not to pass it on to their children."] In recent times, Arvanites have expressed mixed opinions towards Albanian immigrants within Greece. Negative views are perceptions that Albanian immigrants are "communists" arriving from a "backward country", or an opportune people with questionable morals, behaviors and a disrespect for religion. Other Arvanites during the late 1980s and early 1990s expressed solidarity with Albanian immigrants, due to linguistic similarities and being politically leftist. Relations too between Arvanites and other Orthodox Albanian speaking communities such as those of Greek Epirus are mixed, as they are distrusted regarding religious matters due to a past Albanian Muslim population living amongst them.
Amongst the wider Greek speaking population however, the Arvanites and their language Arvanitika were viewed in past times in a derogatory manner. These views contributed toward shaping negative attitudes held by Arvanites regarding their language and thereby increasing assimilation. In post-dictatorial Greece, the Arvanites have rehabilitated themselves within Greek society through for example the propagation of the Pelasgian theory regarding Arvanite origins.[ The theory created a counter discourse that aimed to give the Arvanites a positive image in Greek history by claiming the Arvanites as the ancestors and relations of contemporary Greeks and their culture.][ The Arvanite revival of the Pelasgian theory has also been recently borrowed by other Albanian speaking populations within and from Albania in Greece to counter the negative image of their communities.][De Rapper, Gilles (2009).]
Pelasgic Encounters in the Greek–Albanian Borderland: Border Dynamics and Reversion to Ancient Past in Southern Albania.
''Anthropological Journal of European Cultures''. 18. (1): 60-61. "In 2002, another important book was translated from Greek: Aristides Kollias' ''Arvanites and the Origin of Greeks'', first published in Athens in 1983 and re-edited several times since then (Kollias 1983; Kolia 2002). In this book, which is considered a cornerstone of the rehabilitation of Arvanites in post- dictatorial Greece, the author presents the Albanian speaking population of Greece, known as Arvanites, as the most authentic Greeks because their language is closer to ancient Pelasgic, who were the first inhabitants of Greece. According to him, ancient Greek was formed on the basis of Pelasgic, so that man Greek words have an Albanian etymology. In the Greek context, the book initiated a 'counterdiscourse' (Gefou-Madianou 1999: 122) aiming at giving Arvanitic communities of southern Greece a positive role in Greek history. This was achieved by using nineteenth-century ideas on Pelasgians and by melting together Greeks and Albanians in one historical genealogy (Baltsiotis and Embirikos 2007: 130—431, 445). In the Albanian context of the 1990s and 2000s, the book is read as proving the anteriority of Albanians not only in Albania but also in Greece; it serves mainly the rehabilitation of Albanians as an antique and autochthonous population in the Balkans. These ideas legitimise the presence of Albanians in Greece and give them a decisive role in the development of ancient Greek civilisation and, later on, the creation of the modern Greek state, in contrast to the general negative image of Albanians in contemporary Greek society. They also reverse the unequal relation between the migrants and the host country, making the former the heirs of an autochthonous and civilised population from whom the latter owes everything that makes their superiority in the present day." However, this theory has been rejected by modern scholars and it is seen as a myth.
Arvanitic culture
Fara
''Fara'' (, means "seed", "descendants" in Arvanitika
Arvanitika (; Arvanitika: , ; Greek: , ), also known as Arvanitic, is the variety of Albanian traditionally spoken by the Arvanites, a population group in Greece. Arvanitika is today endangered, as its speakers have been shifting to the use ...
, from Proto-Albanian
The Proto-Albanian language is the unattested language from which Albanian later developed. Albanian evolved from an ancient Paleo-Balkan language, traditionally thought to be Illyrian, or otherwise a totally unattested Balkan Indo-European ...
''*pʰarā'') is a descent model, similar to the Albanian tribal system of ''fis''. Arvanites were organised in phares (φάρες) mostly during the reign of the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. The ''apical ancestor'' was a warlord and the phara was named after him. In an Arvanitic village, each phara was responsible to keep genealogical records (see also registry offices), that are preserved until today as historical documents in local libraries. Usually, there were more than one phares in an Arvanitic village and sometimes they were organised in phratries that had conflicts of interest. Those phratries didn't last long, because each leader of a phara desired to be the leader of the phratry and would not be led by another.
Role of women
Women held a relatively strong position in traditional Arvanitic society. Women had a say in public issues concerning their phara, and also often bore arms. Widows could inherit the status and privileges of their husbands and thus acquire leading roles within a ''fara'', as did, for instance, Laskarina Bouboulina
Laskarina Bouboulina ( el, Λασκαρίνα Μπουμπουλίνα; 1771 – 22 May 1825) was a Greek naval commander, heroine of the Greek War of Independence in 1821, and considered the first woman to attain the rank of admiral.
She was b ...
.
Arvanitic songs
Traditional Arvanite folk songs offer valuable information about social values and ideals of Arvanitic societies.
Dress
The traditional clothing of Arvanites included distinctive attire that sometimes identified them in past times as Arvanites from other neighbouring populations.[ Arvanite males on the Greek mainland wore the '']fustanella
Fustanella (for spelling in various languages, see chart below) is a traditional pleated skirt-like garment that is also referred to as a kilt worn by men of many nations in the Balkans (Southeast Europe). In modern times, the fustanella is par ...
'', a pleated like skirt garment or kilt, while those who lived on some Aegean islands wore baggy breeches of the seafaring Greeks.[Welters, Lisa (1995). "Ethnicity in Greek dress". In Eicher, Joanne. ]
Dress and ethnicity: Change across space and time
'. Oxford: Berg Publishers. . p.59. "According to old travel books, the nineteenth-century traveler could readily identify Greek-Albanian peasants by their dress. The people and their garb, labeled as "Albanian", were frequently described in contemporary written accounts or depicted in watercolours and engravings. The main components of dress associated with Greek-Albanian women were a distinctly embroidered chemise or shift and a thick white woolen sleeveless coat called sigouni and for men an outfit with a short full skirt known as the foustanella. Some names for the components of women's garments were Albanian rather than Greek (Welters 1988: 93-4). For instance, bridal and festival chemises with hems embroidered in silk were termed foundi, meaning "the end" in Albanian."[
Arvanite women were known for wearing a chemise shirt that was heavily embroidered.][ They also wore a heavily embroidered ''foundi'' or gown like garment that was heavily embroidered in silk and on the mainland the ''sigouni'', a woolen thick white coat.][ On the Aegean islands, Arvanite women wore silk gowns with Turkish influences.][Welters. ''Ethnicity in Greek dress''. 1995. p.68. "Whereas the foustanella represented Greek nationalism to Greeks and non-Greeks alike, the lesser known foundi of the peasant women of Attica communicated that the wearer was Greek-Albanian to the inhabitants of a much smaller geographical area. Greek dress could also have more than one meaning. For example, within Attica, the colours and patterns of the embroidered foundi indicated both ethnicity (Greek-Albanian) and geographical origin (Messoghia villages of Attica). Thus, Greek dress can be simultaneously both ethnic dress and regional dress... One hypothesis generated by the field research projects in Attica and Argolidha-Corinthia was that the white sigouni was associated with Greek Albanians. In villages throughout Attica Greek-Albanian villagers identified this garment as theirs. Other ethnic groups in Attica knew that the outfit with the white sigouni was worn by the Arvanites. In Argolidha and Corinthia, where the population was of mixed ethnic background, I was told again that only the Arvanites wore the sigouni."; p.69. "Similarly, not all areas of Albanian settlement in Greece have traditional clothing which includes the sigouni. Traditional attire attributed to the wealthy islands of Hydra and Aegina was of a type associated with the seafaring Greeks, baggy breeches for men and Turkish inspired silk gowns for women."] Terms for Arvanite female clothing were in Arvanitika rather than in Greek.[
]
Notable Arvanites
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
*Laskarina Bouboulina
Laskarina Bouboulina ( el, Λασκαρίνα Μπουμπουλίνα; 1771 – 22 May 1825) was a Greek naval commander, heroine of the Greek War of Independence in 1821, and considered the first woman to attain the rank of admiral.
She was b ...
, female member of Filiki Etaireia
Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends ( el, Φιλικὴ Ἑταιρεία ''or'' ) was a secret organization founded in 1814 in Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek state. (''retr ...
[Kollias (1983).]
*Georgios Kountouriotis
Georgios Kountouriotis ( el, Γεώργιος Κουντουριώτης) (1782 – 13 March 1858) was a Greek ship-owner and politician who served as prime minister from March to October 1848.
Life
He was born in 1782 on the Saronic island of ...
,[Απομνημονεύματα Μακρυγιάννη.] from Hydra, admiral (and briefly Prime Minister)
*Ioannis Orlandos
Ioannis Orlandos ( el, Ιωάννης Ορλάνδος) was a Greek politician and revolutionary who participated in the Greek War of Independence.
Early life and Greek Revolution
His father Constantinos-Anagnostis Orlandos came from Spetses to ...
*Odysseas Androutsos
Odysseas Androutsos ( el, Οδυσσέας Ανδρούτσος; 1788 – 1825; born Odysseas Verousis el, Οδυσσέας Βερούσης) was a Greek military and political commander in eastern mainland Greece and a prominent figure of the ...
*Lazaros Kountouriotis
Lazaros Kountouriotis ( el, Λάζαρος Κουντουριώτης; 1769 - 6 June 1852 or 12 June 1852) was a Greek Senator of the 1844 Senate and a major actor of the Greek War of Independence.
Life
Lazaros Kountouriotis was born in Hydra in A ...
*Andreas Miaoulis
Andreas Vokos, better known by his nickname Miaoulis ( el, Ανδρέας Βώκος Μιαούλης; 1765 – 24 June 1835), was a Greek revolutionary, admiral, and politician who commanded Greek naval forces during the Greek War of Indepe ...
*Dimitris Plapoutas
)
, birth_place = Paloumpa, Morea Eyalet, Ottoman Empire (now Greece)
, death_place = Paloumpa, Kingdom of Greece
, allegiance = * First Hellenic Republic
* Kingdom of Greece
, branch = * Filiki Etaireia
*
, serviceyears = ...
* Hatzigiannis Mexis
Presidents of Greece
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
*Pavlos Kountouriotis
Pavlos Kountouriotis ( el, Παύλος Κουντουριώτης; 9 April 1855 – 22 August 1935) was a Greek rear admiral during the Balkan Wars, regent, and the first President of the Second Hellenic Republic. In total he served four times ...
, admiral
Prime Ministers of Greece
This is a list of the heads of government of the modern Greek state, from its establishment during the Greek Revolution to the present day. Although various official and semi-official appellations were used during the early decades of independen ...
*Antonios Kriezis
Antonios Kriezis ( el, Αντώνιος Κριεζής, 1796–1865) was a captain of the Hellenic navy during the Greek War of Independence and a Prime Minister of Greece from 1849 to 1854.
Kriezis was born in Troezen in 1796 to an Arvanite fam ...
[Κριεζής, Θεόδωρος (1948), ''Οι Κριεζήδες του Εικοσιένα''.] (also served in the Greek navy
The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of vario ...
during the Revolution)
* Alexandros Diomidis
Politicians
* Theodoros Pangalos, former minister of foreign affairs and deputy prime minister
Clergymen
*Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens
Ieronymos II ( el, Ιερώνυμος B’, ''Ierōnymos II'', ; born 10 March 1938) is the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece and as such the primate (bishop), primate of the Autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox Church of Greece. He ...
, incumbent Archbishop of Athens
The Archbishopric of Athens ( el, Ιερά Αρχιεπισκοπή Αθηνών) is a Greek Orthodox archiepiscopal see based in the city of Athens, Greece. It is the senior see of Greece, and the seat of the autocephalous Church of Greece. It ...
.
Military
* Theodoros Pangalos,[Πάγκαλος, Θεόδωρος (1950). ''Τα απομνημονευματά μου, 1897–1947: η ταραχώδης περιόδος της τελευταίας πεντηκονταετίας''.] general and briefly military dictator.
* Alexandros Kontoulis
* Dimitrios Kriezis
Literature
* Panayotis Koupitoris
*Anastas Kullurioti
Anastas Kullurioti or Anastasios Koulouriotis ( el, Αναστάσιος Κουλουριώτης; 1822–1887) was an Arvanite Albanian writer and nationalist figure in Greece.
Biography
Born in Salamis, Ottoman Greece of Arvanite descent, he s ...
Folklore
*Aristeidis Kollias
Aristeidis P. Kollias ( el, Αριστείδης Π. Κόλλιας; sq, Aristidh Kola, July 8, 1944 October 1, 2000), was a Greece, Greek lawyer, publicist, historian and folklorist. He was also president of the Association of the Arvanites ''Ma ...
* Vangelis Liapis
Science
* Tasos Neroutsos, physician and scholar
Artists
* Eleni Boukoura-Altamoura, painter
See also
* Albanians in Greece
*Arvanitika
Arvanitika (; Arvanitika: , ; Greek: , ), also known as Arvanitic, is the variety of Albanian traditionally spoken by the Arvanites, a population group in Greece. Arvanitika is today endangered, as its speakers have been shifting to the use ...
* Arvanitic alphabet
*Souliotes
The Souliotes were an Orthodox Christian Albanian tribal community in the area of Souli in Epirus from the 16th century to the beginning of the 19th century, who via their participation in the Greek War of Independence came to identify with the ...
*Arbëreshë Arbën/Arbër, from which derived Arbënesh/Arbëresh originally meant all Albanians, until the 18th century. Today it is used for different groups of Albanian origin, including:
* Arbër (given name), an Albanian masculine given name
* Arbëresh ...
*Arnauts
Arnaut ( ota, ارناود) is a Turkish ethnonym used to denote Albanians. ''Arvanid'' (), ''Arnavud'' (), plural: ''Arnavudlar'' (): modern Turkish: ''Arnavut'', plural: ''Arnavutlar''; are ethnonyms used mainly by Ottoman and contempor ...
*Stratioti
The Stratioti or Stradioti ( gr, στρατιώτες ''stratiotes''; sq, Stratiotë, Stratiotët;, it, stradioti, stradiotti, stratioti, strathiotto, strathioti; french: estradiots; sh, stratioti, stradioti; es, estradiotes) were mercenary u ...
* The Voice of Albania (newspaper)
References
Sources
*
*Bakaoukas, Michael. "Modern Greek National Identity". Center for Applied Philosophy: The Radical Academy
(Online text)
*Banfi, Emanuele (1996), "Minoranze linguistiche in Grecia: Problemi storico- e sociolinguistici" Linguistic minorities in Greece: Historical and sociolinguistic problems" In: C. Vallini (ed.), ''Minoranze e lingue minoritarie: Convegno internazionale''. Naples: Universitario Orientale. 89-115.
*Bintliff, John (2003), "The Ethnoarchaeology of a "Passive" Ethnicity: The Arvanites of Central Greece" in K.S. Brown and Yannis Hamilakis, eds., ''The Usable Past: Greek Metahistories'', Lexington Books. .
*Biris, Kostas (1960): ''Αρβανίτες, οι Δωριείς του νεότερου Ελληνισμού: H ιστορία των Ελλήνων Αρβανιτών''. Arvanites, the Dorians of modern Greece: History of the Greek Arvanites" Athens. (3rd ed. 1998: )
*Botsi, Eleni (2003): ''Die sprachliche Selbst- und Fremdkonstruktion am Beispiel eines arvanitischen Dorfes Griechenlands: Eine soziolinguistische Studie.'' ("Linguistic construction of the self and the other in an Arvanitic village in Greece: A sociolinguistic study"). PhD dissertation, University of Konstanz, Germany
Online text
*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.
*Christoforides, Konst. (1904): ''Lexikon tis Alvanikis Glossis''. Athens: P.D. Sakellariou.
*Clogg, Richard (2002): ''Minorities in Greece: Aspect of a Plural Society''. Oxford: Hurst.
*Dede, Maria (1978): ''Αρβανίτικα Τραγούδια.'' Athens: Καστανιώτης.
*Dede, Maria (1987): ''Οι Έλληνες Αρβανίτες.'' The Greek Arvanites" Ioannina: Idryma Voreioipirotikon Erevnon.
*P. Dimitras, M. Lenkova (1997):
'Unequal rights' for Albanians in the southern Balkans
. Greek Helsinki Monitor Report, AIM Athens, October 1997.
*Prévélakis, Georges. "The Hellenic Diaspora and the Greek State: A Spatial Approach". ''Geopolitics'', Autumn 2000, Vol. 5 Issue 2, p. 171-185.
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*Ducellier, Alain (1994): ''Οι Αλβανοί στην Ελλάδα (13-15 αι.): Η μετανάστευση μίας κοινότητας.'' The Albanians in Greece (13th-15th cent.): A community's migration" Athens: Idhrima Gulandri Horn.
*Euromosaic (1996): "L'arvanite / albanais en Grèce". Report published by the Institut de Sociolingüística Catalana
Online version
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*Furikis, Petros (1934): "Η εν Αττική ελληνοαλβανική διάλεκτος". The Greek-Albanian dialect in Attica"''Αθήνα'' 45: 49-181.
*Gefou-Madianou, Dimitra. "Cultural Polyphony and Identity Formation: Negotiating Tradition in Attica." ''American Ethnologist''. Vol. 26, No. 2., (May 1999), pp. 412–439.
*Gkikas, Yannis (1978): ''Οι Αρβανίτες και το αρβανίτικο τραγούδι στην Ελλάδα'' Arvanites and arvanitic song in Greece" Athens.
*Goodwin, Jason. Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire. Macmillan, 2003.
*Gounaris, Vassilis (2006): "Σύνοικοι, θυρωροί και φιλοξενούμενοι: διερεύνοντας τη 'μεθώριο' του ελληνικού και του αλβανικού έθνους κατά τον 19ο αιώνα." Compatriots, doorguards and guests: investigating the 'periphery' of the Greek and the Albanian nation during the 19th century"In: P. Voutouris and G. Georgis (eds.), Ο ελληνισμός στον 19ο αιώνα: ιδεολογίες και αισθητικές αναζητήσεις. Athens: Kastanioti.
*Grapsitis, Vasilis (1989): ''Οι Αρβανίτες'' The Arvanites" Athens.
*GHM (=Greek Helsinki Monitor) (1995): "Report: The Arvanites"
Online report
*Haebler, Claus (1965): ''Grammatik der albanischen Mundarten von Salamis'' The grammar of the Albanian dialects of Salamis" Wiesbaden: Harassowitz.
*Jochalas, Titos P. (1971): ''Über die Einwanderung der Albaner in Griechenland: Eine zusammenfassene Betrachtung'' On the immigration of Albanians to Greece: A summary" München: Trofenik.
*Kollias, Aristidis (1983): ''Αρβανίτες και η καταγωγή των Ελλήνων.'' Arvanites and the descent of the Greeks" Athens.
*Kocollari, Irakli (1992): ''Arvanitet'' The Arvanites" Tirana.
*Lawrence, Christopher (2007): ''Blood and oranges: European markets and immigrant labor in rural Greece''. Berghan Books. ()
*Levy, Jacques (2000): ''From Geopolitics to Global Politics: A French Connection'' ()
*Magliveras, Simeon.
Organic Memory, Local Culture and National History: An Arvanite Village
University of Durham Department of Anthropology
*Mavrogordatos, George. ''Stillborn Republic: Social Conditions and Party Strategies in Greece, 1922–1936.'' Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983.
*Moraitis, Thanassis (2002): ''Anthology of Arvanitika songs of Greece''. Athens. ()
*MRG (=Minority Rights Group) (1991): ''Greece and its minorities.'' London: Minority Rights Publications.
*Panagiotopulos, Vasilis (1985): ''Πληθυσμός και οικισμοί της Πελοποννήσου, 13ος-18ος αιώνας.'' Population and settlements in the Peloponnese, 13th-18th centuries" Athens: Istoriko Archeio, Emporiki Trapeza tis Elladas.
*Paschidis, Athanasios (1879): ''Οι Αλβανοί και το μέλλον αυτών εν τω Ελληνισμώ'' The Albanians and their future in the Greek nation" Athens.
*Poulos, Ioannis (1950): "Η εποίκησις των Αλβανών εις Κορινθίαν" The settlement of the Albanians in Corinthia" ''Επετηρίς μεσαιωνικού αρχείου'', Athens. 31-96.
*Sasse, Hans-Jürgen (1985): "Sprachkontakt und Sprachwandel: Die Gräzisierung der albanischen Mundarten Griechenlands" Language contact and language change: The Hellenization of the Albanian dialects of Greece" ''Papiere zur Linguistik'' 32(1). 37-95.
*Sasse, Hans-Jürgen (1991): ''Arvanitika: Die albanischen Sprachreste in Griechenland'' Arvanitic: The Albanian language relics in Greece" Wiesbaden.
*Schukalla, Karl-Josef (1993): "Nationale Minderheiten in Albanien und Albaner im Ausland." National minorities in Albania and Albanians abroad" In: K.-D. Grothusen (ed.), ''Südosteuropa-Handbuch: Albanien.'' Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. 505-528.
*Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie; Fischer, Bernd Jürgen, eds. (2002): ''Albanian Identities: Myth and History''. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ()
*Sella-Mazi, Eleni (1997): "Διγλωσσία και ολιγώτερο ομιλούμενες γλώσσες στην Ελλάδα" Diglossia and lesser-spoken languages in Greece" In: K. Tsitselikis, D. Christopoulos (eds.), ''Το μειονοτικό φαινόμενο στην Ελλάδα'' The minority phenomenon in Greece" Athens: Ekdoseis Kritiki. 349-413.
*Stylos, N. (2003): ''Στοιχεία προϊστορίας σε πανάρχαια αρβανίτικα κείμενα.'' Prohistorical evidence in ancient Arvanitic texts" Ekdoseis Gerou
*Trudgill, Peter (1976/77): "Creolization in reverse: Reduction and simplification in the Albanian dialects of Greece." ''Transactions of the Philological Society'' (Vol?), 32-50.
*Trudgill, Peter (1986): ''Dialects in contact''. Oxford: Blackwell.
*Trudgill, Peter (2000): "Greece and European Turkey: From Religious to Linguistic Identity", in S Barbour, C Carmichael (eds.), Language and nationalism in Europe, Oxford University Press.
*Trudgill, Peter (2004): "Glocalisation 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
*Trudgill, Peter, George A. Tzavaras (1977): "Why Albanian-Greeks are not Albanians: Language shift in Attika and Biotia." In: H. Giles (ed.), ''Language, ethnicity and intergroup relations.'' London: Academic Press. 171-184.
*Tsigos, Athanasios (1991): ''Κείμενα για τους Αρβανίτες.'' Texts about Arvanites" Athens.
*Tsitsipis, Lukas (1981): ''Language change and language death in Albanian speech communities in Greece: A sociolinguistic study.'' PhD dissertation, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
*Tsitsipis, Lukas (1983): "Language shift among the Albanian speakers of Greece." ''Anthropological Linguisitcs'' 25(3): 288-308.
*Tsitsipis, Lukas (1995): "The coding of linguistic ideology in Arvanitika (Albanian): Language shift, congruent and contradictory discourse." ''Anthropological Linguistics'' 37: 541-577.
*Tsitsipis, Lukas (1998): ''Αρβανίτικα και Ελληνικά: Ζητήματα πολυγλωσσικών και πολυπολιτισμικών κοινοτήτων.'' Arvanitic and Greek: Issues of multilingual and multicultural communities" Vol. 1. Livadeia.
*Vranousi, E. (1970): "Οι όροι 'Αλβανοί' και 'Αρβανίται' και η πρώτη μνεία του ομωνύμου λαού εις τας πηγάς του ΙΑ' αιώνος." The terms 'Albanoi' and 'Arbanitai' and the earliest references to the people of that name in the sources of the 11th century" Σuμμεικτα 2: 207-254.
*
*
*
*
External links
Arvanite music performed by Thanasis Moraitis
Arvanitic League of Greece
*
Arvanitic Music
kithara.gr
Η Καινή Διαθήκη Δίγλωττος τουτέστι Γραικική και Αλβανιτική
{{Greece topics
Greek people of Albanian descent