Arbëresh

Classification

Arbëresh derives from Tosk spoken in southern Albania and follows a similar divergence pattern to Arvanitika; a similar ethnolect spoken in Greece. Arbëresh is spoken in Southern Italy in the regions of Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Apulia and Sicily. All dialects are closely related to each other but are not entirely mutually intelligible.

Arbëresh retains many archaisms of medieval Albanian from the time before the Ottoman invasion of Albania in the 15th century. It also retains some Greek elements, including vocabulary and pronunciation, most of which it shares with its relative Arvanitika. It has also preserved some conservative features that were lost in mainstream Albanian Tosk. For example, it has preserved certain syllable-initial consonant clusters which have been simplified in Standard Albanian (cf. Arbëresh gluhë /ˈɡluxə/ ('language/tongue'), vs. Standard Albanian gjuhë /ˈɟuhə/). Arbëresh most resembles the dialect of Albanian spoken in the south-central region of Albania.

Arbëresh was commonly called 'Albanese' ("Albanian" in the Italian language) in Italy until the 1990s. Arbëresh speakers used to have only very vague notions about how related or unrelated their language was to Albanian. Until the 1980s Arbëresh was exclusively 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 used in Albania, as they did not use this form in writing or in media. When a large number of immigrants from Albania began to enter Italy in the 1990s and came into contact with local Arbëreshë communities, the differences and similarities were for the first time made apparent. The Arbëreshë have mixed feelings towards the "new Albanians".

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

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

False friends

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

Vaccarizzo Albanian

Vaccarizzo Albanian is a variety of the Arbëresh language. Spoken in the villages of Vaccarizzo Albanese and San Giorgio Albanese in Calabria by approximately 3,000 people. Vaccarizzo Albanian has retained many archaic features of both Gheg and Tosk dialects.

Distinctive features

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

Vowels

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

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

Consonants

GJ, Q

The letters ‹GJ› and ‹Q› are pronounced as a palatalized voiced velar plosive [ɡʲ] and a palatalized voiceless velar plosive [kʲ], rather than a voiced palatal plosive [ɟ] and a voiceless palatal plosive [c] as in standard Albanian. E.g. the word gjith ('all') is pronounced [ɡʲiθ] rather than [ɟiθ], qiell ('heaven') is pronounced [kʲiɛx] rather than [ciɛɫ], and shqip ('albanian') is pronounced [ʃkʲɪp].

GL, KL

In some words, Arbëresh has preserved the consonant clusters /gl/ and /kl/. In Standard Albanian these have mostly become the palatal stops gj and q. E.g. glet not gjet ('s/he looks like...'), klumësht not qumësht ('milk'), and klisha instead of kisha ('church').

H, HJ

The letter ‹H› is pronounced as a voiceless velar fricative [x] (a sound also found in Greek: "χαρά" [xaˈra], 'joy'). As such, the Albanian word ha ('eat') is pronounced [xɑ], not [hɑ]. Arbëresh additionally has the palatalized counterpart, [xʲ]. Therefore, the word hjedh ('throw') is pronounced [xʲɛθ]. The letter combination HJ 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

The letters ‹LL› and ‹G› are realised as a voiced velar fricative [ɣ] (also found in Greek: "γάλα" [ˈɣala], 'milk'). The vast majority of these words originate in Sicilian, but the sound also occurs in words of Albanian origin. Often ‹G› is replaced by ‹GH› in the Arbëresh orthography.

Words of Albanian Origin

Words of Sicilian Origin

Final devoicing of consonants

In contrast with standard Albanian Arbëresh has retained an archaic system of final devoicing of consonants. 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:

Stress

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

Morphology

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

Non-Albanian vocabulary

Many Arbëresh words appear to be cognate with their corresponding Greek words that have either been lost in standard Albanian or are a result of Greek influence on the Arbëresh language via the Byzantine church or their proximity to Greek-speaking populations in their original villages in Albania.

Examples:

Alongside the Greek component in Arbëresh, there is a considerable vocabulary derived from Sicilian and other southern italian dialacts. Many of these words have retained their original meanings where Sicilian has given way to Italian in everyday speech amongst the non-Arbëresh Sicilian people.

Examples:

Non-Albanian verbs

Alongside the Sicilian vocabulary element in Arbëresh, the language also includes grammatical rules for the inclusion of Sicilian-derived verbs in Arbëresh.

Examples:

In the past tense this conjugates as follows:

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 (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." It is not known why the term "gjegje" is used, however, this does mean "listen" in Arbërisht.

Arbëresh names

Every Arbëresh person is given a legal Italian name and also a name in 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 Arberesh 'ofiqe' are 'Butijuni', 'Pafundi' (literally 'without anus', probably with the meaning of 'without end, infinite'), 'Skarpari' (shoemaker from Italian word 'scarpa'), 'Mut', 'Picanarët', 'Balolërat', 'Kashetërat', 'Lopa', 'Bikubiu' etc.

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.

Verbs

Arbëresh verbs often differ, somewhat drastically, from their Standard Albanian counterparts.

Sample text

Shërbesa e Kurorës - The Italo-Albanian Marriage Ceremony

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

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

Dhëndërri: O, e dua!

Groom: Yes, I do want that!

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

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

Populli: Amín.

People: Amen.

Zoti: Në paqe parkalesjëm t'ën Zonë.

Priest: In peace we pray to the Lord.

Populli: Lipisí, o i Madh'yn'Zot.

People: Our Great God, we beseech you.

Bekimi të unazavet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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