Tosk ( sq-definite, toskërishtja) is the southern group of dialects 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, Eur ...
, spoken by the ethnographic group known as
Tosks
Tosks ( sq, Toskët) are one of two major dialectal subgroups of Albanians (the other being the Ghegs) differentiated by their cultural, linguistic, social and religious characteristics.
Territory
''Tosk'' may refer to the Tosk-speaking Alb ...
. The line of demarcation between Tosk and
Gheg (the northern variety) is the
Shkumbin River
The Shkumbin (; ; la, Genusus, also la, Genessus, label=none or la, Scampis, label=none), also commonly Shkembi, is a river in Southern Europe. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is .
Etymology
It derives from La ...
. Tosk is the basis of the standard Albanian language.
Major Tosk-speaking groups include the Myzeqars of
Myzeqe
The Myzeqe (; sq-definite, Myzeqeja; rup, Muzachia) is a plain in the Western Lowlands of Albania. The Myzeqe is the largest and widest plain, measured by area, in the Lowlands.
Location
The Myzeqe plain is a large alluvial plain traversed by ...
, Labs of
Labëria,
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 territ ...
of
Çamëria
Chameria ( sq, Çamëria; el, Τσαμουριά, ''Tsamouriá''; tr, Çamlık) is a term used today mostly by Albanians to refer to parts of the coastal region of Epirus in southern Albania and Greece, traditionally associated with the Albani ...
,
Arvanites
Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a bilingual population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They traditionally speak Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded as settl ...
of
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 wi ...
and 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
* Arbëreshë ...
of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, as well as the original inhabitants of
Mandritsa in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
. In
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
, there were approximately 3000 speakers in the early 1980s.
Tosk features
* Rhotacism:
Proto-Albanian ''*-n-'' becomes ''-r-'' (e.g. ''rëra'' "sand")
* Tosk dialects preserve groups ''mb'', ''ngj'' and ''nd'' assimilated to ''m'', ''nj'' and ''n'' in
Geg.
* Proto-Albanian ''*ō'' becomes ''va''.
* Nasal vowels: There is a lack of nasal vowels in Tosk (e.g. ''sy'' "eye") and Late Proto-Albanian ''*â'' plus a nasal becomes ''ë'' (e.g. ''nëntë'' "nine").
* e-vowel: The ''e'' becomes ''ë'' in some varieties in some words ''qën'' for ''qen'' in Vjosë.
* ë-vowel: The ''ë'' may have several pronunciations depending on dialect: the ''ë'' is more backed in Labërisht dialects like that of
Vuno, where ''mëz'' "foal" is ). Final -ë drops in many Tosk dialects and lengthens the preceding vowel.
* y-vowel: The ''y'' vowel often derounds to ''i'' in Labërisht, Çam, Arvanitika and Arbëresh (e.g. ''dy'' "two" becomes ''di'').
* Dh and Ll: These sounds may interchange in some words in some varieties.
* H: This may drop in any position in some dialects.
* Gl/Kl: Some varieties of Çam, Arberësh, and Arvanitika retain ''kl'' and ''gl'' in place of ''q'' and ''gj'' (e.g. ''gjuhë'' "tongue" is ''gluhë'' in Çam, ''gluhë'' in Siculo-Arberësh, and ''gljuhë'' in Arvanitika; "klumësh" for "qumësht" "milk" in Arbëresh).
* Rr: ''Rr'' becomes ''r'' in some varieties.
Northern Tosk
Vowels
* Mid sounds ''e'', ''o'' can also be heard as , in free variation.
[ ]
See also
*
Albanian dialects
*
Lab Albanian dialect
The Lab Albanian dialect ( sq, Labërishtja or Dialekti lab) is a Tosk Albanian dialect associated with the wider definition of the ethnographic region of Labëria, spoken by Lab Albanians. Under this wider definition of Labëria, Lab Albanian s ...
*
Cham Albanian dialect
*
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 u ...
*
Arbëresh language
Arbëresh (, also known as ''Arbërisht'', ''Arbreshi'', ''Arbërishtja'' or ''Tarbrisht'') is the variety of Albanian spoken by the Arbëreshë people of Italy. It is derived from the Albanian Tosk spoken in Albania, in Epirus and is also ...
References
External links
ISO documentation
{{Albanian language
Albanian dialects