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PLACE OF ORIGIN The place where the Albanian language was formed is also under dispute, but analyses have indicated that it was in a mountainous region, rather than in a plain or seacoast: while the words for plants and animals characteristic of mountainous regions are entirely original, the names for fish and for agricultural activities (such as Plough ing) are borrowed from other languages. It can also be presumed that the Albanians didn't live in Dalmatia , because the Latin influence over Albanian is of Balkan Romance (that evolved into Romanian ) origin, rather than of Dalmatian origin. This Balkan Romance influence includes Latin words exhibiting idiomatic expressions and changes in meaning found only in Romanian and not in other Romance Languages . Adding to this the words common only to Albanian and Romanian, it may be assumed that Romanians and Albanians lived in close proximity at one time. Generally, the areas where this might have happened are considered to be regions varying from Transylvania , Eastern Serbia (the region around '' Naissus ''), Kosovo and Northern Albania/ Macedonia . However, most agricultural terms in Romanian are of Latin origin, but not the terms related to city activities — indicating that Romanians were an agricultural people in the low plains, as opposed to Albanians, who were originally shepherds in the highlands. Some scholars even explain the gap between the Bulgarian and Serbian languages by postulating an Albanian-Romanian buffer-zone east of the Morava river. Although an intermediary Serbian dialect exists, it was formed only later, after the Serbian expansion to the east. Another argument that sustains a northern origin of Albanians is the relatively small number of words of Greek origin, although Southern Illyria was under the influence of Greek/Byzantine civilization and language, especially after the breakdown of the Roman Empire. THE WRITTEN SOURCES ''See also: Albania (toponym) .'' The following written sources are presented as relevant to the origin of Albanians: References to early peoples of uncertain ethnic identity
Undisputed references to Albanians
ETHNIC ORIGIN The three chief candidates considered by historians are Illyrian , Dacian , or Thracian , though there were other groups in the ancient Balkans (besides Greeks) who were neither Illyrian, Dacian, nor Thracian, including Paionia ns (who lived north of Macedon ) and Agrianians . The Illyrian language and the Thracian language are generally considered to have been on different Indo-European branches. Not much is left of the old Illyrian, Dacian or Thracian tongues, making it difficult to match Albanian with them. There is debate whether the Illyrian language was a '' Centum '' or '' Satem '' language, and there is no conclusive evidence yet either way, though what evidence there is indicates that Illyrian was centum. It is also uncertain whether the Illyrians spoke a homogeneous language or rather a collection of different but related languages that were wrongly considered the same language by ancient writers. The same is sometimes said of the Thracian language. For example, based on the toponyms and other lexical items, Thracian and Dacian were probably different but related languages. In the early half of the 20th century, many scholars thought that Thracian and Illyrian were one language branch, but due to the lack of evidence, most linguists are skeptical and now reject this idea, and usually place them on different branches. The Messapian Language is often included as an Illyrian language, but this is disputed. Illyrian Origin There are two variants of the theory: one is that the Albanian language represents a survival of an indigenous Illyrian language spoken in what is now Albania. The other is that the Albanian language is the descendant of an Illyrian language that was spoken north of the Jireček Line and probably north or northeast of Albania. There is a gap of several centuries between the last historical mention of the Illyrians (and the Illyrian tribe ''Albanoi'') and the later mention of Albanians and of the names ''Albanon'' and ''Arbanon'' to indicate the region. Supporters of either theory say that the term ''Albanian'' gradually came to be applied to the surviving Illyrians. There are some direct correspondences of vocabulary between Albanian and Illyrian , but none of these correspondences is conclusive for the purpose of determining whether or not Albanian is an Illyrian language. A few Illyrian lexical items ( Toponym s, Hydronym s, Oronym s, Anthroponym s, etc.) have been linked to Albanian. Continuity in Albania south of the Jireček Line divides the areas of the Balkans which were under Latin and Greek influence.]] Many problems for the theory of Albanian continuity in Albania are recognized, and the problems are addressed in various ways as the case may be. One problem is the lack of clear archaeological evidence for a continuous settlement of an Albanian-speaking population since Illyrian times. For example, while several scholars maintain that the Komani-Kruja burial sites support the Illyrian-Albanian continuity theory, other scholars reject this and consider that the remains indicate a population of Romanized Illyrians who spoke a Romanic language . The lack or scarcity of definite loans from Ancient Greek into Albanian is another problem (v. Hemp). As the Jireček Line shows, if Albanians were continuously settled throughout Albania since Illyrian times, they would have been, in the south, in more or less constant contact with the Greeks, and the absence or scarcity of definite loans from ancient Greek is hard to explain within the context of Albanian continuity. Even Greek loans into Illyrian are known (cf. Wilkes, et al.; including Illyrian names borrowed from Greek), so their absence in Albanian as an alleged descendant of Illlyrian as it was spoken in Albania is doubly difficult to explain. Another problem is the ancient Illyrian and Roman Toponyms (including Hydronyms , etc.) in what is now Albania compared to their equivalents in the Albanian language. While a number may (most cases are contested among linguists) pose no major or definite problem in terms of linguistic evolution (v. Hemp), many others appear to have entered through one or more intermediary languages, which strongly indicates that the ancestors of Albanians were not in Albania (v. Hemp et al.). For example, Albanian '' Shkoder '' from Latin ''Scodra'' and Albanian '' Tomor '' from Latin ''Tomarus'' do not match the Albanian phonological evolution (v. Hemp). The written historical records pose another problem. The modern Albanians were not mentioned in Byzantine chronicles until 1043, although Illyria was part of the Byzantine Empire . The Illyrians are referred to for the last time as an ethnic group in ''Miracula Sancti Demetri'' (7th century AD). Thracian/Dacian origin Aside from an Illyrian origin, a Dacian or Thracian origin is also hypothesized. There are a number of factors taken as evidence for a Dacian or Thracian origin of Albanians. Albanian shares several hundred common words with ) and not Loans ; Albanian and Eastern Romance also share grammatical features (see Balkan Language Union ) and phonological features, such as the common phonemes or the Rhotacism of "n". Linguists such as Vladimir Georgiev have concluded that the Phonology of the Dacian language is close to those of Albanian. However, the degree of this closeness has been criticized and challenged by other linguists, and it is based on incomplete evidence. Names of the cities that follow Albanian phonetic laws (which include Shtip , Shkupi and Niš ) are in the areas once inhabited by Thracians , Dardani , and Paionians; however, Illyrians also inhabited or may have inhabited these regions, including Naissus. Hemp for example states that Naissus may as well be considered Illyrian territory. There are some close correspondances between Thracian and Albanian words . However, as with Illyrian, most Dacian and Thracian words and names have not been closely linked with Albanian (v. Hemp). Also, many Dacian and Thracian placenames were made out of joined names (such as Dacian ''Sucidava'' or Thracian ''Bessapara''; see List Of Dacian Cities and List Of Ancient Thracian Cities ), while the modern Albanian language does not allow this. There are no records that indicate a migration of Dacians into present day Albania. However, Thracian tribes such as the Briges were present in Albania near Durres since before the Roman conquest (v. Hemp) . An argument against a Thracian origin (which does not apply to Dacian) is that most Thracian territory was on the Greek half of the Jirecek Line, aside from varied Thracian populations stretching from Thrace into Albania, passing through Paionia and Dardania and up into Moesia ; it is considered that most Thracians were Hellenized in Thrace (v. Hoddinott) and Macedonia . SEE ALSO
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