Greek and Albanian New Evidence For Lexi PDF
Greek and Albanian New Evidence For Lexi PDF
Greek and Albanian New Evidence For Lexi PDF
ZEITSCFIRIFT
FUR BALKANOLOGIE
Herausgegeben von
Gabriella Schubert
Norbert Reiter . Gyórgy Hazai
Reinhard Lauer ' Rupprecht Rohr
33/2 (1ee7)
Both Greek and Albanian belong to the Indo-European family of languages, both
were spoken on the Balkan Peninsula in deep antiquity, both belonged to the
Palaeo-Balkan language league, both influenced each other since archaic times to
present, though Greek as a typical international means of communication in the
incient worldwas known better to the Bessans, ancestors of the Albaniansl, than
the Bessan or Albanian language to the Greeks. Thus the influence of the Hellenic
tongue upon Albanian was considerable2.
In my presentation I would like to discuss a few Greek-Albanian equivalents
that have not so far been taken into consideration. The connection between Greek
and Albanian may be of multiple nature. It is sometimes difficult to assume
whether Albanian items represent cognate words or borrowings from Greek. In
particular cases (see No. IV) the relationship between Albanian and Greek terms
seems to be more complicated and unprecise than it was suspected so far.
1 The Bessan origin of the Albanians is proposed and discussed in my recent articles
(\Vrrczer 1994;1995).
2 As regards Greek loans in Albanian, A. Trrułrn's article Altgriechiscbe Elemente des
Albanischen (1,909: 1, -20) remains the classic treatment for the ancient period. For recent
literature, see E. Qesrl (964: 83-87; 1981: 51-61); G. LJnrrscn (1964; 1969: 169-175);
H. Orrnnc (1972:33-64) and XH. LrosHr (1991:23-36).
3 I cannot agree with Huro (1983:308) that y'tlb.aerr andzlerrć "are from 'i'wr;ne-, exactly
matching OIr. fern and Welsh gupern'alder"'.
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GREEK AND ALBANIAN: NE\T EVIDENCE FOR LEXICAL CONNECTIONS 217
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them from IE. dial. '!'srnindb- (or'|'smintó-) 'mous e or amouse-like animal', cf .Latv.
smIcęns' die s cb u; arz e Sp itzmaus ; Was s erspitz rnau.s' (Breźor 1992: 92).
Iv. Alb. sbpń"Iime, tartar' and Gk. tirauog (f.) 'gypsum, chalk, lime'.
The connection between the Albanian and Greek terms for'lime' is not direct.
Albanian sbpń', sbpini'lime, tartar' belongs to a number of nouns in which proto-
type't'-n- disappears in the nominative and accusative singularis, and reappears in
genitive and dative singularis as Gheg -ni,Tosk -ri, with nasal palatalism through-
out the plural (MaNN 7977:92_94).It resembles the Thracian word ońvog denot-
ing'a kind of stone, which blazes when water touches it'(GEL 1628). According
to George Sorrnorr (1'963: 110), the description of oniuoś given by Aristotle (Mir.
$2b 29) and Theophrastus (L"p. 13) demonstrates clearly that it refers probably
to'lime'.
As far as the etymological aspects are concerned, we can hardly agree with
NBnozNłr (1978: 54_55) that the Thracian word in question remains still unclear
("nejasnoe slovo'')ó. DłNre points out that Thracian sp- continues not only IE.
"_sp-, but also IE. '|'kuł-^. Consequently, he derives Thracian OxriyoE from the Indo-
European archetype '|'kr'tlnHos, connecting it with My.. kw-zpa-no-, Greek xóauog
'dark-blue enamel; lapis lazuli; blue copper carbonate' (GEL 1004), Hittrte k.u-
wannaś'copper; a precious stone'' Iranian '!-s(p)ana- 'iron; steel' (e. g. Shughni
se/ón, Sarikoli s2in, Sogdian'9n, Mun)ani2isąin'iron', ossetic afsan'an iron part
of the plow; plowshare'and so on), Lith. śainas'Iead',Latv. svins, Russ. srlinćc,
Slovenian sainac'lead' (DłNrł-\7rTczAK1'992: 84; DłNrn 1995.).
It cannot be excluded, howev er, that the Thracian word for 'lime' is related to
Gręęk t'utcrvog \l.) 'u -wYrrte ęartH , probab\y 'B)PSum' c\ra\k, \me' , a\so 'marb\ę-
scrappings' (GEL 1,799). Hesychius notes also two dialectal forms tfuavog and
(Doric) xfutauo; fi xovruxĄ ńtauog, meaning undoubtedly 'lime'. The Greek
words are usuaTly derived from the archetype 'thzaitnHos in an etymoTogical rela-
tion to the Germanic and Indo-Iranian adjectives denoting 'white, whitish' (cf.
oFris. b,,.pitt'white'; olnd. śrlitnabadj. 'whitish'; Pashto sptn, fem. spina adj.
'white, clear'). It is obvious th_at the Thracian and Greek terms, if related, go back
to the primitive archetype "L.ztsitnHo.r denoting 'a white or whitish su6stance'
(Dvno 1'974: 74; HorIrłłNN ElwG 367; MnxRHoFER KEwAi III 405; PoronNy
rEw 628 f.).
It is not impossible to assume that the development of "-tn- to -n- was realized
not only in Pashto, but also in Thracian. If so, then there are no obstacles to
derive Thrącian onivoE'a stone that burns when ^water is poured upon it; lime'
from IE.'?LutittpHos. Because the original cluster *Lzp- is refiected by Albani an s-7
(and IE. "sp- yields Alb. f-), i, is ciźar that Alba nian sbpk, shpkni 'lime, tartar'
s According to Servius, the term srninthos was also used by the Phrygians ("sminthos
mures vocari a Phrygibus").
6 Similarly DunIołNov (1985: 10):
,,ohne Deut}'ng bisher."
7
Jorr (1937: 133-134, 146) argues that IE. 't'ku- and "&(b)u- before any vowel yield
Albanian s- and z-, respectively. This is due to the labialization of the intermediat e affri-
cate and coalescence of this with the alveopalatal affricates that arose from fronted labio-
velars (see Huro 1984: 134).
zfB,33 (1ee7) 2
GREEK AND ALBANIAN: NE\T EVIDENCE FOR LEXICAL CONNECTIONS 219
represents not a native word, but probably a borrowing from a Thracian source.
Greek rfuauoE is, however, a straightforward reflex of the Indo-European appella-
tive kzuittgHos. In other words, both Albanian and Greek words are related to
each other as descendants of the same Indo-European protoform. However, the
relationship between them is of secondary origin.
The range of the descendants of IE. 'tkzuitt2Hos may then be schematized as
follows:
Indic
ł
OInd.
śrlitna12
r+
Iranian
Pashto
sptn
Germanic
OFris.
bzaitt
Daco-Thracian
+
Thracian Attic
ottivog vtvavoq
Greek
Doric
rcfuravoq
/\_
/
/\- \r
---\
,{
Albanian Greek
sbp,ź onivoq,
"lime,'tartar" "a stone that burns
when water touches it"
References
Braźnx, Y. (1992): Historickó analjlza indoevropskć zoologickć terminologle (savci) [Histori-
cal Analysis of Indo-European Zoologtcal Terminology (Mammals)], Doctoral Dis-
sertation, Brno.
Qanny, E. (196a): Einige Grundprobleme der iiberen albaniscben Spracbgeschicbte, Studta
Albanica 7,7964, pp. 69-89.
Qłnr1, E. (1981): Griechisch-albanische Sprachbeziebungen. Studia Albanica 1981, fasc. 1,
pp.51-61.
DłNrł,I' R. (1995): Tbracian on[vog and its Indo-European Co7nates. Thraco-Dacica 16:
I-2, 7995, pp.267 -271.
DeNrł, I. R. and K. T. \VIrczl;< (1992): Bałtosłozrsiańskie 'i'śvinas'ołózls' a zagadnienie
od,tzaorzenia budozuy i znaczenia prototypu indoeuropejskiego |Ba|to-Slavic '|-śrltnas
'lead' and the question of reconstructing the structure and meaning of the Indo*
European prototypel, Acta Baltico-Slavica 21,1992, pp. 83-9L (In Polish).
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in tbe Palaeo-Balkanic and Indo-European aieu, in: \7. Smoczyński (ed.), Analecta In-
doeuropaea Cracoviensia Ioannis Safarewicz memoriae dtcata, Kraków, pp.123_135.
DunrołNov, I. (1985): Die Sprache der Tbrake4 Neuried'
Dvro, Y. (1974): Afganskoe wdarenie i ego znaćenie dlja indoevropejskoj i balto-slaajan-
^.akcentologii flhe Pashto Accentuation and its Value for Indo-European and
sboj
Balto-Slavic Accentology], in: Balto-slavjanskoe issledovanija [Balto-Slavic Studies],
Moscow 1974, pp. 67 -105.
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