Arbëresh (; also known as ''Arbërisht'') are the
Albanian linguistic varieties spoken by the
Arbëreshë people
The Arbëreshë (; ; ), also known as Albanians of Italy or Italo-Albanians, are an Albanians, Albanian ethnolinguistic group minority historically settled in Southern Italy, Southern and Insular Italy (in the regions of Abruzzo, Apulia, Basili ...
of
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, brought there by several migratory waves of
Albanians
The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...
from
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
and
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
since the
Late Middle Ages
The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...
. Arbëresh varieties are derived from the old
Tosk Albanian varieties spoken in the south-western
Balkans
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with 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 throug ...
, and throughout the centuries they have developed in Italy in contact with the neighboring
Italo-Romance-speaking communities.
Other Tosk Albanian varieties from the Late Middle Ages referred to as
Arvanitika (endonym: ''arbërisht'') are spoken in
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
by the
Arvanites. ''E Mbësuame e Krështerë'' (1592) by
Luca Matranga from
Piana degli Albanesi is the earliest known
Old Tosk text, a translation of a
catechism
A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...
book from
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
.
The Arbëreshë people are bilingual, also speaking Italian.
Arbëresh is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO ''
Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
The UNESCO ''Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger'' was an online publication containing a comprehensive list of the world's endangered languages. It originally replaced the ''Red Book of Endangered Languages'' as a title in print after ...
''. While Italian law protects the language and culture of the Albanian people in Italy,
the language taught at school and university is Standard Albanian, constituting an issue for the Arbëresh communities' preservation of their native idiom, which has remained separated from the main Albanian-speaking compact area for around 500 years. Alongside the fact that Arbëresh is rarely written, another issue for the
language attrition is the differentiation between the Albanian varieties used in Italy: the Arbëresh local idioms in some areas are so different from each other that Arbëresh people of those areas use Italian or Standard Albanian as
lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...
to communicate with each other.
[Jenny Frost, ]
The Arbëreshë: Italy's Albanian Diaspora
'
The Cambridge Language Collective
"Arbëresh (or Arbërisht) is the language spoken by the Arbëreshë community in Italy, descending from a medieval Tosk variety and containing influences from Italian. However, the language is now considered endangered; there are estimated to be fewer than 80,000 remaining native speakers worldwide. This can be put down to multiple factors: while some schools and universities in Rome and Southern Italy do teach the Albanian language, the version taught is standard Albanian rather than Arbëresh. Additionally, young people are often reluctant to use Arbëresh, preferring to use Standard Italian or Italo-Romance dialects, and because forms of Arbëresh can differ between communities, standard Albanian can sometimes be used as a lingua franca."
History
Between the 11th and 14th centuries, Albanian-speaking mercenaries from the areas of medieval
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
,
Epirus
Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...
and
Morea now
Peloponesse, were often recruited by the
Franks
file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty
The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...
,
Aragonese,
Italians
Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...
and
Byzantines.
The invasion of the
Balkans
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with 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 throug ...
by the
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...
in the 15th century caused large waves of emigration from the Balkans to
southern Italy
Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions.
The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...
. In 1448, the King of Naples,
Alfonso V of Aragon, asked the Albanian noble
Skanderbeg
Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanians, Albanian Albanian nobility, feudal lord and military commander who led Skanderbeg's rebellion, a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, ...
to transfer to his service ethnic Albanian mercenaries. Led by
Demetrio Reres and his two sons, these men and their families were settled in twelve villages in the
Catanzaro area of
Calabria
Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...
. The following year, some of their relatives and other Albanians were settled in four villages in
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
.
In 1459
Ferdinand I of Naples also requested assistance from Skanderbeg. After victories in two battles, a second contingent of Albanians was rewarded with land east of
Taranto, in
Apulia
Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...
, where they founded 15 villages.
After the death of Skanderbeg (1468), resistance to the Ottomans in Albania came to an end. Subsequently, many Albanians fled to neighbouring countries and some settled in villages in Calabria.
There was a constant flow of ethnic Albanians into Italy into the 16th century, and other Albanian villages were formed on Italian soil.
The new immigrants often took up work as mercenaries with Italian armies. For instance, between 1500 and 1534, Albanians from central
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
were employed as mercenaries by
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, to evacuate its colonies in the
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...
, as the Turks invaded. Afterwards these troops reinforced defences in southern Italy against the threat of Turkish invasion. They established self-contained communities, which enabled their distinct language and culture to flourish. Arbëreshë, as they became known, were often soldiers for the Kingdom of Naples and the Republic of Venice, between the 16th and 19th centuries.
Despite an Arbëreshë cultural and artistic revival in the 19th century, emigration from southern Italy significantly reduced the population. In particular, migration to the
Americas
The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
between 1900 and 1940 caused the total depopulation of approximately half of the Arbëreshë villages. The speech community forms part of the highly heterogenous linguistic landscape of Italy, with 12 recognised linguistic minorities Italian state law (law 482/1999).
The exact Arbëresh speech population is uncertain, as the Italian national census does not collect data on minority language speakers. This is also further complicated by the Italian state's protection of the Albanian culture and population as a whole and not Arbëresh Albanian specifically. This law theoretically implements specific measures in various fields such as education, communication, radio, press and TV public service, but in the case of the Arberesh community the legal construction of the language as "Albanian" and the community as the "Albanian population" effectively homogenises the language and has not led to adequate provision for the linguistic needs of the communities.
Classification
Arbëresh varieties derive from varieties of Old
Tosk Albanian, which were spoken in southern
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
and
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. They have experienced a similar evolutionary pattern to
Arvanitika, the Albanian linguistic varieties spoken in Greece. Arbëresh varieties are spoken in Southern Italy in the regions of
Abruzzi,
Basilicata,
Calabria
Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...
,
Campania
Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...
,
Molise
Molise ( , ; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Ital ...
,
Apulia
Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...
and
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
. The varieties of Arbëresh are closely related to each other but are not always entirely mutually intelligible.
Arbëresh retains many features of medieval Albanian from the time before the
Ottoman invasion of Albania in the 15th century. Arbëresh varieties also retain some
Greek elements, including vocabulary and pronunciation, most of which they share with
Arvanitika varieties. Many of the conservative features of Arbëresh were lost in mainstream Albanian Tosk. For example, it has preserved certain syllable-initial consonant clusters which have been simplified in Standard Albanian (cf. Arbëresh ('language/tongue'), vs. Standard Albanian ). Arbëresh most resembles the varieties of Albanian spoken in the southern region of Albania, notably
Lab Albanian, as well as
Cham Albanian.
Arbëresh was commonly called ('Albanian' in the Italian language) in Italy until the 1990s. Until the 1980s Arbëresh was mostly a spoken language, except for its written form used in the
Italo-Albanian Byzantine Church, and Arbëreshë people had no practical connection with the Standard Albanian language – which was unified as a mainly Gheg-based standard from 1908 to 1969, and as a mainly Tosk-based standard from 1969 – as they did not use the standard Albanian form of writing.
Since the 1980s, some efforts have been organized to preserve the cultural and linguistic heritage of the language.
Arbëresh has been replaced by local
Romance languages
The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...
and by Italian in several villages, and in others is experiencing contact-induced
language shift
Language shift, also known as language transfer, 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 perceived ...
. Many scholars have produced language learning materials for communities, including those by
Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, Gaetano Gerbino, Matteo Mandalà, Zef Chiaramonte.

The Arbëresh local idioms in some areas are so different from each other that Arbëresh people of those areas use Italian or Standard Albanian as
lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...
to communicate with each other.
Language or dialect
Arbëresh language beside medieval mainland Tosk Albanian is also descended from
Arvanitika which evolved separately from other forms of Albanian since the 13th century when its first speakers emigrated to Morea from Southern
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
and Epirus. A dialect is defined linguistically as closely related and, despite their differences, by mutual intelligibility. In the absence of rigorous linguistic intelligibility tests, the claim cannot be made whether one is a dialect or a separate variant of the same language group.
Varieties
The varieties of Arbëresh largely correspond with the regions where they are spoken, while some settlements have distinctive features that result in greater or lesser degrees of mutual intelligibility.
The
Siculo-Arbëresh variety is spoken exclusively in the
Province of Palermo and in three villages:
Piana degli Albanesi,
Santa Cristina Gela and
Contessa Entellina; while the varieties of Piana and Santa Cristina Gela are similar enough to be entirely mutually intelligible, the variety of Contessa Entellina is not entirely intelligible. Therefore a further dialect within Siculo-Arbëresh known as the
Palermitan-Arbëresh variety can be identified, as well as a
Cosenza
Cosenza (; Languages of Calabria#Northern Calabrian (Cosentian), Cosentian: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city located in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000, while the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. ...
variety, a
Basilicata variety, and a
Campania
Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...
variety represented by the speech of one single settlement of
Greci. There is also a
Molisan-Arbëresh and an
Apulio-Arbëresh.
Within the Cosenza Calabrian varieties of Arbëresh, the dialect of
Vaccarizzo Albanese is particularly distinct. Spoken in the villages of
Vaccarizzo Albanese and
San Giorgio Albanese in
Calabria
Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...
by approximately 3,000 people, Vaccarizzo Albanian has retained many archaic features of both
Gheg and
Tosk dialects.
Phonology
Some features of Arbëresh distinguish it considerably from standard Albanian while also maintaining features still used in other Tosk Albanian dialects. In some cases these are retentions of older pronunciations.
Vowels
;Ë
The letter is pronounced as either a
mid central vowel or as a
close back unrounded vowel . So the word is pronounced either or depending on the dialect.
;Y to I
Arbëresh lacks the
close front rounded vowel of Albanian, which is replaced by the
close front unrounded vowel . For example ('you') becomes , and ('enter') becomes .
Consonants
GJ, Q
The letters and are pronounced as a
palatalized voiced velar plosive
The voiced velar plosive or stop is a type of consonantal sound used in many Speech communication, spoken languages.
Some languages have the voiced pre-velar plosive, which is articulated slightly more front compared with the place of articulat ...
and a
palatalized voiceless velar plosive
The voiceless velar plosive or stop is a type of consonantal sound used in almost all spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is k.
The sound is a ver ...
, rather than a
voiced palatal plosive and a
voiceless palatal plosive as in standard Albanian. E.g. the word ('all') is pronounced rather than , ('heaven') is pronounced rather than , and ('Albanian') is pronounced .
GL, KL
In some words, Arbëresh has preserved the consonant clusters and . In Standard Albanian these have mostly become the palatal stops ''gj'' and ''q,'' e.g. not ('s/he looks like ... '), not ('milk'), and instead of ('church').
H, HJ
The letter is pronounced as a
voiceless velar fricative
The voiceless velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. It was part of the consonant inventory of Old English and can still be found in some dialects of English, most notably in Scottish English, e.g. in ''lo ...
. As such, the Albanian word ('eat') is pronounced , not . Arbëresh additionally has the
palatalized counterpart, . Therefore, the word ('throw') is pronounced . The letter combination is present in a few standard Albanian words (without a voiceless velar fricative), but is not treated as a separate letter of the alphabet as it is in Arbëresh.
LL, G, GH
The letters and are realised as a
voiced velar fricative
The voiced velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound that is used in various spoken languages. It is not found in most varieties of Modern English but existed in Old English. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents ...
. The vast majority of these words originate in Sicilian, but the sound also occurs in words of Albanian origin. Often when pronounced is replaced by in the Arbëresh orthography, with in theory reserved for (although in practice it is inconsistent). This feature is very strong that it is carried over into the Italian speech of inhabitants of
Piana degli Albanesi and
Santa Cristina Gela in words such as , , , , etc. which are realised respectively as , , , , etc.
In Piana degli Albanesi the tendency is to treat Italian
loanwords differently from
Sicilian, which results in the difference between , pronounced as (from , 'lamp post'), and , pronounced as (from Italian ). In the first example, the becomes because it comes from Sicilian, whereas in the process of transference from the Italian to Arbëresh , the does not change but the becomes .
Final devoicing of consonants
Arbëresh has retained an archaic system of
final devoicing of consonants in contrast with Standard Albanian. The consonants that change when in final position or before another consonant are the voiced stops ''b, d, g, gj''; the voiced affricates ''x, xh''; and the voiced fricatives ''dh, ll, v, z, zh''.
Examples:
* ''b'' > ''p'': ('clove') -
* ''d'' > ''t'': ('place') -
* ''dh'' > ''th'': ('read') -
* ''g'' > ''k'': ('bad') -
* ''gj'' > ''q'': ('chicks') -
* ''j'' > ''hj'': ('oil') -
* ''ll'' > ''h'': ('vinegar') -
* ''x'' > ''c'': ('near') -
* ''z'' > ''s'': ('dance') -
* ''zh'' > ''sh'': ('pin') -
Stress
Stress in Arbëresh is usually on the
penultimate syllable, as in
Italian.
Morphology
In Arbëresh, just like in Tosk, the first person present
indicative
A realis mood ( abbreviated ) is a grammatical mood which is used principally to indicate that something is a statement of fact; in other words, to express what the speaker considers to be a known state of affairs, as in declarative sentence
Dec ...
(e.g. "I work") is marked by the word ending in ''NJ'', whereas in standard Albanian this is normally marked by ''J''.
So, 'I live' is ''rrónj'' in Arbëresh and ''rroj'' in standard Albanian.
The
present continuous
The present continuous, also called the present progressive or present imperfect, is a verb form used in modern English that combines the present tense with the continuous aspect. It is formed by the present tense form of be and the present p ...
or
gerund
In linguistics, a gerund ( abbreviated ger) is any of various nonfinite verb forms in various languages; most often, but not exclusively, it is one that functions as a noun. The name is derived from Late Latin ''gerundium,'' meaning "which is ...
differs from Standard Albanian; Arbëresh uses the form "jam'e bënj" instead of "po bej" (I am doing).
Non-Albanian derived elements
Vocabulary
The adoption of words of ancient Greek origin or of the Koine comes above all from their use in
Byzantine religious practices, when the corresponding use in Albanian declined, the "courtly" one of the church was used. The Arberesh use ancient Greek in their liturgies. Thus synonyms are created, such as ''parkales'' or ''lutje'' for the word "prayer".
Some Arbëresh words appear to be of
Koine Greek
Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...
influence. Examples:
*''amáhj'' ('war') < ('battle').
*''haristís'' ('thank') < ('thank you'). Arvanitika uses ''fharistisem''.
*''hora'' ('village') < ('land, village')
*''parkalés'' ('I plead', 'please') from ('please').
*''hiravol'' (sheaf, a bundle of harvested crop), < χειρόβολο (χειρ = hand).
Some Arbëresh words appear to be of Albanian Arvanitika which has influenced the current Greek areas since the Middle Ages. Examples:
*''dhomat'' (bundle, pack), < Gr. δεμάτιον.
*''argomē'' (fallow, plowing), < όργωμα. Today surviving in the toponym Argomazit of Piana dei Albanesi.
*''kalogreshza'' (little woman monk), < καλόγρια = woman monk.
*''gjitonia'' (neighbourhood), < γειτονία.
*''dhaskal'' (teacher), < δάσκαλος.
On the Koine Greek elements in the Italo-Albanian dialects see T. Jochalas (1975).
Jochalas Titos, "Sulla problematica dei prestiti Bizantini e Neo-Greci nei dialetti Italo-Albanesi", ''Balkan Studies'' 16, 1, 1975, p. 49
Archaic Latin-Sicilianisms
In the Arbëresh varieties of Sicily and Calabria there are loanwords from the Sicilian language that have crystallized into the Arberesh language matrix at some time in the past but have now mostly disappeared, or evolved in the Romance vocabulary of the local population. This also occurs in other Arberesh varieties outside of Sicily with the local Romance varieties of their communities.
Examples:
*''ghranet'' ('money') < Sic. ''granna'', meaning 'grains'. It is still used in some contexts by modern Sicilian speakers, but in all situations in Arbëresh. Another Arbëresh word for 'money' is ''haromë'', but is no longer used.
*''qaca'' ('square') < Sic. ''chiazza''; used in all Arbëresh dialects as well as Sicilian. The Albanian word ''sheshi'' which means 'square' in standard Albanian means 'plateau' in Arbëresh.
*''rritrenjet'' ('toilets') < Norman French
Norman or Norman French (, , Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a '' langue d'oïl'' spoken in the historical and cultural region of Normandy.
The name "Norman French" is sometimes also used to describe the administrative languages of '' Angl ...
via Sic. retained in Arbëresh, but no longer in use in modern Sicilian.
*''rritrat'' ('photograph') < Sic. 'picture' (''ritrattu''), more common in Arbëresh than in modern Sicilian.
*''zdar'' (to go to the countryside) < Sic. ''sdari''; no longer commonly used in Sicilian.
*''zgarrar'' (to make a mistake; to err) < Sic. ''sgarrari'' (now carries a different meaning in Sicilian).
Incorporation
Alongside the Sicilian vocabulary element in Siculo-Arbëresh, the language also includes grammatical rules for the incorporation of Sicilian-derived verbs in Arbëresh, which differs from the rules concerning Albanian lexical material.
Examples:
* pincar ('think'), originally ''mendonj'' – ''mbanj mend'' but also ''mëndinj''; derived from the Sicilian 'pinzari'. Which conjugates in the present tense as follows:
* U pincar = I think
* Ti pincar = You think
* Ai/Ajo pincar = He/She thinks
* Na pincarjëm = We think
* Ju pincarni = You (pl) think
* Ata/Ato pincarjën = They think
In the past tense this conjugates as follows:
* U pincarta = I thought
* Ti pincarte = You thought
* Ai/Ajo pincarti = He/She thought
* Na pincartëm = We thought
* Ju pincartët = You (pl.) thought
* Ata/Ato pincartën = They thought
Contractions
Diminutives and augmentatives
The Arbëresh diminutive
A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...
and augmentative system is calque
In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language ...
d from Sicilian and takes the form of = Sic. -azz(u/a); for example "kalac" (cavallone/big horse), and the diminutive takes the form of from Sic. /-c-edd(u/a); for example "vajziçele" (raggazzina/little girl). The Arbëresh word for "swear word" is "fjalac" and comes from a fusion of the Arbëresh word of Albanian etymology: "fjalë" plus the Sicilian augmentative /-azz minus the feminine gendered ending /-a/; this calques the Sicilian word 'palurazza' which is cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language.
Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...
with Italian 'parolaccia'.
Comparison with other forms of Albanian
There are many instances in which Arberisht differs greatly from Standard Albanian, for instance:
Grammar comparison
There are many elements of Arberesh grammar that differ considerably from Albanian, for example:
Name
The name Arbërishte is derived from the ethnonym " Albanoi", which in turn comes from the toponym "Arbëria" (Greek: Άρβανα), which in the Middle Ages referred to a region in what is today Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
(Babiniotis 1998). Its native equivalents (''Arbërorë, Arbëreshë'' and others) used to be the self-designation of Albanians in general. Both "Arbëria" and "Albania/Albanian" go further back to name forms attested since antiquity.
Within the Arbëresh community the language is often referred to as "Tarbrisht" or "Gjegje". The origin of the term "gjegje" is uncertain, however this does mean "listen" in Arbërisht. Gheg is also the name of one of the two major dialects of Albanian as spoken in the Balkans. According to the writer Arshi Pipa, the term ''Gegë'' was initially used for confessional denotation, being used in pre-Ottoman Albania by its Orthodox population when referring to their Catholic neighbors.
Arbëresh names
Every Italo-Albanian person is given a legal Italian name and also a name in Albanian Arbërisht. Quite often the Arbëresh name is merely a translation of the Italian name. Arbëresh surnames are also used amongst villagers but do not carry any legal weight; the Arbëresh surname is called an "ofiqe" in Arbërisht. Some Arbëresh 'ofiqe' are 'Butijuni', 'Pafundi', 'Skarpari' (shoemaker from Italian word 'scarpa').
Examples of Italian names and their Arbëresh equivalents:
Writing system
The language is not usually written outside of the church and a few highly educated families, but officials are now using the standard Albanian alphabet, which is used on street signs in villages as well as being taught in schools.
Language samples
Pronouns
Verbs
Some common phrases
Prepositions
Demonstrative pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns replace nouns once they are able to be understood from their context.
Sample text
Footnotes
References
*Babiniotis, Georgios (1985): ''Συνοπτική Ιστορία της ελληνικής γλώσσας με εισαγωγή στην ιστορικοσυγκριτική γλωσσολογία.'' A concise history of the Greek language, with an introduction to historical-comparative linguistics"Athens: Ellinika Grammata.
*Babiniotis, Georgios (1998), ''Λεξικό της Νέας Ελληνικής Γλώσσας'' Dictionary of Modern Greek" Athens: Kentro Lexikologias.
*Breu, Walter (1990): "Sprachliche Minderheiten in Italien und Griechenland." Linguistic minorities in Italy and Greece" In: B. Spillner (ed.), ''Interkulturelle Kommunikation.'' Frankfurt: Lang. 169-170.
*GHM (=Greek Helsinki Monitor) (1995): "Report: The Arvanites"
Online report
*Hammarström, Harald (2005): Review of ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 15th Edition''. ''LINGUIST List'' 16.2637 (5 Sept 2005)
Vol. II. Livadia: Exandas, 199
PDF
*''Η Καινή Διαθήκη στα Αρβανίτικα: Διάτα ε Ρε'' The New Testament in Arvanitika' Athens: Ekdoseis Gerou. No date.
*Kloss, Heinz (1967): "Abstand-languages and Ausbau-languages". ''Anthropological linguistics'' 9.
*
*
*
*Salminen, Tapani (1993–1999): ''Unesco Red Book on Endangered Languages: Europe.'
*Strauss, Dietrich (1978): "Scots is not alone: Further comparative considerations". ''Actes du 2e Colloque de langue et de littérature écossaises'' Strasbourg 1978. 80-97.
*Thomason, Sarah G. (2001): ''Language contact: An introduction.'' Washington: Georgetown University Press
Online chapter
*Trudgill, Peter (2004): "Glocalisation icand 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
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arberesh Language
Arbëreshë culture
Endangered Indo-European languages
Endangered diaspora languages
False friends
Languages of Campania
Languages of Calabria
Languages of Sicily
Languages of Molise
Albanian dialects
Languages of Abruzzo
Languages of Basilicata