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Information about Illyrian Language

Illyrian ()
Spoken in:Once Illyria
Region:Western Balkans
Total speakers:
Ranking:
Genetic classification:
Official status
Official language of:
Regulated by:
Language codes
ISO 639-1
ISO 639-2ine
SIL
See also: Language – List of languages


The Illyrian languages are a group of Indo-European languages that were spoken in the western part of the Balkans [1] in former times by ethnic groups identified as Illyrians: Delmatae, Pannoni, Illyrians, Autariatẽt, Taulanti (see List of Illyrian tribes).

Some sound-changes and other language features are deduced from what remains of the Illyrian languages, but because many writings in Illyrian are lost, it is difficult to clarify its place within the Indo-European language family. Because of the uncertainty, most sources provisionally place Illyrian on its own branch of Indo-European, though its relation to other languages, ancient and modern, continues to be studied.

Language affinity

Further than belonging to the Indo-European language family, the relation of Illyrian to other ancient and modern languages is still being examined by scholars. Today, the main source of authoritative information about the Illyrian language consists of a handful of Illyrian words cited in classical sources, and numerous examples of Illyrian anthroponyms, ethnonyms, toponyms and hydronyms. A grouping of Illyrian with the Messapian language has been proposed for about a century, but remains an unproven hypothesis. The theory is based on classical sources, archaeology, as well as onomastic considerations. Messapian material culture bears a number of similarities to Illyrian material culture. Some Messapian anthroponyms have close Illyrian equivalents.

A relation to the Venetic language and Liburnian language, once spoken in northeastern Italy and Liburnia respectively, was also proposed, but this theory has been dropped now.

Some scholars believe the modern Albanian language to be descended from Illyrian. [2]. One of the few satem examples in Illyrian appears to be Osseriates, probably from PIE *eghero-, "lake". Only a few Illyrian items have been linked to Albanian, and these remain tentative or inconclusive for the purpose of determining a close relation. There is, however, a very striking feature in this whole matter; Albanians are the only people who use Illyrian names.

Illyrian - Albanian

The relationship between Illyrian and Albanian is much debated. Some connection seems likely, but the nature of the relationship is disputed beyond a consensus that both languages were spoken in the same area.

In 1709 G. W. Leibnitz called Albanian "the language of the ancient Illyrians". Another supporter of this theory is G. Meyer; the Albanian language was for him the most recent stage of one of the Illyrian dialects.

Various arguments support this thesis: certain apparently Albanian loans in ancient Greek (especially Doric) and in ancient Latin prove the antiquity of the Albanian presence in regions known to have been inhabited by "Illyrians".

Some current Albanian anthroponomy also seems to have its Illyrian correspondent: eg the Albanian dash "ram" would correspond the Illyrian "Dassius, Dassus"; also the Albanian bardhë "white" would correspond to "Bardus, Bardullis, Bardyllis" which are different Latin written names to imitate the Illyrian sound. And some ethnonyms of Illyrian tribes also seem to have their Albanian equivalents, e.g., the name Dalmatians may correspond to Albanian delmë "sheep"[3]; also the name of Dardanians may correspond to Albanian dardhë "pear" [4]. It should be pointed out, however, that these words present a number of etymological problems, namely incongruent sound correspondences [5].

A number of folk etymologies have repeatedly been used to tie historical Greco-Roman mythico-legendary figures to Albanian words. These attempts are somewhat extreme. For instance, the Albanian word det "sea" (dialectal dēt, Italo-Albanian dejt, dejët), which is traced by etymologists to *deubeta "depth", is erroneously linked to the Greek titaness Tethys. Similar attempts have been made for Odysseus (Ulysses), Athena, Emathia, etc., most of which have other, more plausible etymologies.

Illyrian place-nameAlbanianObservation
Ulkinium (Ulcinj, Montenegro)ujk "wolf" (archaic ulk) + -inj "plural or collective ending"IE *(w)ulkos "wolf" + inium "collective suffix"

Outside influences

The Ancient Greek language would have become an important external influence on Illyrian-speakers who occupied lands adjacent to ancient Greeks.

Invading Celts who settled on lands occupied by Illyrians brought the Illyrians into contact with the Celtic languages. Intensive contact may have happened in what is now Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia. Because of this intensive contact, and because of conflicting classical sources, it is unclear whether some ancient tribes were Illyrian or Celtic (see for example Scordisci). Thracians and Paionians also occupied lands populated by Illyrians, bringing Illyrians into contact with the Thracian language and Paionian language.

Yet it was not Greek, Celtic, Thracian, or Paionian, but Latin that would come to displace Illyrian above the Jireček line. The Romans conquered all the lands in which Illyrian was spoken, and it is quite possible that Illyrian faded early in the Common era, perhaps even before the Slavic invasion of the Balkans. However, this is disputed by other scholars and linguists who maintain that the living Albanian language is a surviving Illyrian language.

Illyrian words

Since there are no Illyrians texts, sources for identifying Illyrian words have been identified by Hans Krahe[6] as of four kinds: inscriptions, glosses of Illyrian words in Classical texts, names— including proper names (mostly inscribed on tombstones), toponyms and river names— and Illyrian loanwords in other languages. The last category has proved particularly contentious. The names occur in sources that range over more than a millennium, including numismatic evidence, as well as posited original forms of placenames (Krahe 1955). The inscriptions, some three hundred, are largely in Messapic, an ancient (disputedly) Illyrian language spoken in parts of Apulia: Illyrian inscriptions are limited to a votive inscription on a ring found near Skutari (Krahe 1955) and perhaps a spearhead found at Kovel[7]

Only a few Illyrian words are cited in Classical sources by Roman or Greek writers, but these glosses, provided with translations, provide a core vocabulary. Only four identified with an ethnonym Illyrii or Illurioí; others must be identified by indirect means:
  • abeis, "snakes"; cf. Latin anguis, Old High Germ unc, etc.
balaur , "snakes" ; cf.Albanian Bullar,bolle
  • bagaron, "warm"; cf. Phrygian bekos "bread", Eng bake, Lat focus "hearth", Irish goba "blacksmith", Gk phōgein "to roast", Armenian bosor "red", bots "flame".
  • brisa, "husk of grapes" albanian Bersi
  • deuádai "satyrs"; cf. Skt dhūnoti "he shakes", Gk thıein "to rage, seethe", théeion "sulfur vapor", Eng dizzy, Old English dwæs "foolish", Paeonian Dıalos "Dionysos", Latin furere "to rage", belua "wild animal", Old Irish dásacht "rage, fury", Lith dvesiù "to perish, die (animals)", Hitt tuhhai "to gasp"
  • mantía, "bramblebush"; cf. archaic Alb mand, mandë, mod. Alb mën, man "mulberry bush"
  • rhinos, "fog, mist"; cf. Old Alb ren, mod. Alb re, rê "cloud"
  • sabaia, sabaium, sabaius, "a type of beer"; akin to Eng sap, Lat. sapere "to taste", Skt sabar "sap, juice, nektar", Avest. višāpa "having poisonous juices", Arm ham, Greek apalós "tender, delicate", Old Church Slavonic sveptǔ "bee's honey"
  • sibina (Lat.), sibyna (Lat.), sybina (Lat.); σιβυνη (Gk.), σιβυνης (Gk.), συβινη (Gk.), ζιβυνη (Gk.): "a hunting spear", generally, "a spear", "pike";albanian Sy+bin,means hit on the eyes, an Illyrian word according to Festius, citing Ennius; is compared to συβηνη (Gk.), "flute case", a word found in Aristophanes' Thesmophoriazusai; the word appears in the context of a barbarian speaking. Akin to Persian zôpîn, Arm səvīn "spit"
  • sika, "knife, dagger or sword"; cf. Alb thikë "knife", Lat cōs, cōtis "whetstone", Eng hone, Old Irish cath "wise, sharp-minded", Skt śitá "sharp", Arm sur "sharp", srem "to sharpen", Avestan saēni "pot", sal "slab, anvil"
Some additional words have been extracted by linguists from toponyms, hydronyms, anthroponyms, etc.:
  • Bindus "river god"; cf.Albanian Bind means to 'obey' to 'convince' Old Irish banne "drop", Skt bindú, vindú "drops, gob, spot", possibly Lat fōns Bandusiae
  • Bosona "Bosna river", literally "running water".From Albanian bes
  • mons Bulsinus: IE *bhl.kos; cf. Eng balk, Middle Irish blog "piece, fragment", Latin fulcrum "bedpost", Gk phálanx "trunk, log", Lith balžiena "crossbar", Serb blazína "roof beam", Skt bhuríjāu "cart arms"
  • Derbanoí, Anderva: IE *derv; cf. Eng tree, Albanian dru "wood", Old Church Slavonic drĕvo "tree", Welsh derw "oak", Gk dóry "wood, spear", drıs "oak, tree", Lith derva "pine wood", Hittite taru "tree, wood', Thracian taru "spear", Skt dru "tree, wood", daru "wood, log"
  • Dizēros, Andízētes: IE *digh; cf. Eng dough, Gk teîchos "wall", Latin fingere "to shape, mold", Old Irish com-od-ding "he builds, erects", Old Russian dĕža "kneading trough", Armenian dez "heap", Skt dehah "body, form"
  • Domator, personal name; cf. Old Irish damnaid "he binds, breaks a horse", dam "ox", Eng tame, dialectal Germ Zamer "ox not under the yoke", Alb dem "young bull", Lat domāre "to tame", domitor "tamer", Gk dámnēmi "to break in", dámalos "calf", Skt ''dāmyáti "he is tame; he tames"
  • loúgeon, "a pool"; cf. Alb lag "to wet, soak, bathe, wash" (< PA *lauga), lëgatë "pool" (< PA *leugatâ), lakshte "dew" (< PA *laugista); further akin to Lith liűgas "marsh", OSl luža "pool", Thracian Lıginos "river name" [8]
  • Naro: IE *nor; cf. Lith nãras "diving duck", Russ norá "hole", SCr po-nor "abyss"
  • Nedinum: IE *ned; cf. Skt nadas "roarer"
  • Oseriates, "lakes"; akin to Old Church Slavonic ozero (Serb-Croat jezero), Latvian ezers, OPruss assaran, Gk Akéroun "river in the underworld"
  • lacus Pelso, "deep": IE *pels; cf. Czech pleso "deep place in a river, lake"
  • Skenóbardos: IE *skeno-bhardhos; cf. Eng shine and beard
  • Tergitio, "merchant"; Albanian treg(treg from derg(oj- bring smth) (trieste-tergeste) Old Church Slavonic trĭgĭ (Serb-Croat trg), Old Russian tǔrgǔ, Latvian tirgus
  • Teuta, Teutana: IE *teuta-, "people"; cf. Albanian Dheut- earth Lith tauta "people", German Deutsch "German", Old English theod "people", Old Irish tuath "clan", Umbrian tota "people", Oscan touto "city", Hittite tuzzi "army"
  • Tómaros, mountain in Eastern Pindus; cf. albanian Te marr - keep ,Old Irish temel "darkness", Middle Irish teimen "dark grey", OHG demar "darkness", dinstar "dark", Lat tenebrae "darkness", temere "by chance, rashly", Skt tamas "darkness", tamsrah "dark", Old Church Slavonic tima "darkness"
  • Volcos, river name in Pannonia; cf. Old Irish folc "heavy rain, wet weather", Welsh golchi "to wash", Eng welkin "cloud", Old High Germ welk "moist", Old Church Slavonic vlaga "moisture, plant juice", vǔlgǔkǔ "wet"

Illyrian names

  • Afrodita (Variant of Aphrodite)
  • Agirrus
  • Agron
  • Alban
  • Andis, Andes, Andio, Andia
  • Andre
  • Annes, Annis,Annisa
  • Anxhela (Variant of Angela)
  • Arberi
  • Arbo
  • Arjan
  • Armis
  • Artan
  • Ballaios
  • Bato
  • Birkenna (Daughter of the Illyrian king Bardhyllis and one of the wives of Pyrrhus)
  • Blodus, Bledis
  • Boria,Bora
  • Besnik
  • Dafina (Variant of Daphne)
  • Daor
  • Dasius
  • Dazas
  • Ditus (*Dorian
  • Drita (Illyrian word for "light")
  • Endri
  • Felis
  • Genthena
  • Gezim (Illyrian word for "joy"/"happy")
  • Gentis,
  • Glavus
  • Grabos
  • Haris
  • Idris
  • Ilir
  • Klodis
  • Laiscus
  • Linda
  • Luan
  • Madena
  • Mal
  • Messor (
  • Monounios (Monunius)
  • Mytilis
  • Plare(n)s
  • Plator, Platoris (gen.)
  • Pleuratus
  • Posantio
  • Pravaius
  • Roza (Variant of Rose)
  • Sara (Variant of Sarah)
  • Scerdis
  • Sidrit/Sidrita (Illyrian word "like the light")
  • Skender
  • Skerdilaidas
  • Sokol
  • Tatta
  • Temus
  • Teuda
  • Teuta
  • Thana
  • Titus
  • Vendes
  • Venera (Variant of Venus)
  • Verzo
  • Zanatis
  • Ziraeus
Illyrian names:
  • Glaukias, akin to Gk. glaukos, "gleaming, gray, gray-green, etc."
  • Kleitos, akin to Gk. kleinos, "renowned"
The following Illyrian names, all of which occur in inscriptions from the upper Neretva river valley near Konjic in Bosnia, are considered to derived from Celtic:
  • Boio
  • Bricussa
  • Iacus
  • Mallaius
  • Mascelio

References

  • Crossland, R. A., Linguistic problems of the Balkan area in the late prehistoric and early classical periods. Boardman, Edwards, Hammond and Sollberger 1982, 834--849.
  • Polomé, E. C., Balkan languages (Illyrian, Thracian and Daco-Moesian). Boardman, Edwards, Hammond and Sollberger 1982, 866--888.
  • Wilkes, John, The Illyrians. Blackwell Books, 1992.

Notes

1. ^ If the Messapian language was close enough to the Illyrian languages to be considered an Illyrian language, then Illyrian would also have been spoken in southern Italy.
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ The attachment of delmë 'sheep' with this city is largely based on the fact that Strabo calls Delminium a pedíon me-lóboton "pasturage for sheep", but Strabo actually says that the plain of Delminium was made a pasturage by Nasica. Furthermore, this is a common Greek term for devastation. Ref. Katičic', Radislav. Ancient Languages of the Balkans, Part One. Paris: Mouton, 1976: 173.
4. ^ Serge Métais (2006): Histoires des Albanais, Edition Fayard.
5. ^ -dh- of bardhë 'white' is from a palatalized *g and a d would be unexpected whereas for example Illyrian Skenóbardos "shining beard" has an expected -d-; the -a- of dash is from *-au-, later becoming a long a as part of the Albanian long vowel push chain, which would not explain a double -ss- where a short -a- is expected; dardhë is unlikely symantically, though the related verb derdh "to pour" as the area is noted even today for its lushness and fertility
6. ^ Krahe, Die Sprache der Illyrier I. Die Quellen (1955).
7. ^ Gustav Must, reviewing Krahe 1955 in Language 32.4 (October 1956) p. 721.
8. ^ Strabo 7.43, "élos loúgeon khaloúmenon"

See also

External links

Illyria (Albanian Iliria Ancient Greek Ἰλλυρία; Latin Illyria [1] (see also Illyricum)
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Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe a region of southeastern Europe. The region has a combined area of 550,000 km² and an approximate population of 55 million people.
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Illyrians has come to refer to a broad, ill-defined "Indo-European"[1] group of peoples who inhabited the western Balkans (Illyria, roughly from the Albanian and Montenegro border to southern Pannonia) and even perhaps parts of Southern Italy in classical times into the
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The Dalmatae (or Delmatoi) were an ancient bellicose people who inhabited the core of what would then become known as Dalmatia after the Roman conquest - now the eastern Adriatic coast in Croatia, between the rivers Krka and Neretva.
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The Pannonians (Latin: Pannonii) was a common name for group of culturaly similar tribes cognate to Illyrians, who inhabited southern part of what was later known as Roman province of Pannonia, south of river Drava (Dravus), and northern part of future Roman province of Dalmatia.
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The Taulanti (Albanian Taulantët) were one of the largest Illyrian tribes. According to Greek mythology Tαύλας (Taulas), one of the six sons of Illyrius, was the eponymous ancestor of the
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This is a provisional list of known Illyrian tribes.
  • Abri
  • Albanoi
  • Amantini
  • Andizetes
  • Arbanita
  • Ardiaei )
  • Ardian
  • Arrian
  • Atitani
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Messapian (also known as Messapic) is an extinct Indo-European language of South-eastern Italy, once spoken in the regions of Apulia and Calabria. It was spoken by the three Iapygian tribes of the region: the Messapians, the Daunii and the Peucetii.
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