Purishte ( sq-definite, Purishtja) is a
sociolect
In sociolinguistics, a sociolect is a form of language ( non-standard dialect, restricted register) or a set of lexical items used by a socioeconomic class, profession, an age group, or other social group.
Sociolects involve both passive acquisi ...
of the
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 ...
spoken by the masons of the Opar region in Western
Korçë District
Korçë District ( sq, Rrethi i Korçës), was one of the 36 districts of Albania, which were dissolved in July 2000 and replaced by 12 counties. It had a population of 143,499 in 2001, and an area of . Its capital was the city of Korçë. Its te ...
,
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 ...
.
Location
The former commune of
Lekas
Lekas is a village and a former municipality in the Korçë County, southeastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Korçë. The population at the 2011 census was 392. in Western
Korçë District
Korçë District ( sq, Rrethi i Korçës), was one of the 36 districts of Albania, which were dissolved in July 2000 and replaced by 12 counties. It had a population of 143,499 in 2001, and an area of . Its capital was the city of Korçë. Its te ...
consists of mainly speakers of Purisht.
[. Page 247] It is overall spoken in the thirteen villages of the ethnographic region of Opar in southeastern Albania,
[ which includes parts of the Lekas and Moglica communes.
]
Diaspora Purisht
Purisht is spoken by those who have migrated out of its home region into the Albanian cities of Korçë
Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau some ...
, Tiranë
Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
and Durrës
Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...
, as well as by migrants outside of Albania's borders, primarily in Greece.[
]
Vocabulary
In the Purishte sociolect the mason is called ''purja'', while the term for the master mason is ''purja i beshëm''.
Romance influence
Purishte is notable for incorporating a large share of vocabulary of Romance
Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to:
Common meanings
* Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings
* Romance languages, ...
origin, including most notably elements of Aromanian origin.[. Page 245] Several aspects of the Aromanian influences in Purishte may be considered Balkanisms.[
]
See also
* Banjački, south Slavic sociolect of bricklayers in Podrinje
Podrinje (Serbian Cyrillic: Подриње) is the Slavic name of the Drina river basin, known in English as the Drina Valley. The Drina basin is shared between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, with majority of its territory being located in ...
, western 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 ...
* Meshterski
Meshterski ( bg, мещерски) or Meshtrenski (мещренски) was a cant, or secret sociolect, of the south Bulgarian builders, bricklayers and masons. The name comes from the word мещра ''meshtra'', "master", from Latin ''magiste ...
, sociolect of south Bulgarian builders, bricklayers and masons
References
Further reading
*Qemal H. Gegollari: ''E folmja purishte: fjalor purisht-shqip (Purisht-Albanian Dictionary)''. Tirana: Emal, 2011
Albanian sociolects
Occupational cryptolects
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