Re: Albanian origins and much more

> Old Greek loans in Albanian
> Just to show absurdity of chauvinistic view about Albanian

language

> and Albanians, I will try to find all loans from Old Greek, that
> testify for about 3000 years of coexistence of Albanians and

Greeks

> in today's territory.
> It is believed that Old Greek loans in Albanian have mostly

cultural

> character. Thus, from Doric Greek in Albanian (later Gr Dor) we

have

> loans:
> 1. Geg <drapen> `sickle, hook, reaping-hook', Tosk <drapër> `id.'
> from Gr Dor <drapenon> (notice n > r / V_V); Gr <drepanon>;
> 2. Geg <moken> `millstone', Tosk <mokër> `id.' from <ma:khana>

(/o:/

> > /a/, n > r / V_V). See also Latin loan <machina>;
> 3. Geg/Tosk <presh> `leek' from Gr <prason>, probably singularized
> plural, due tu i-Umlaut (s > sh);
> 4. Geg/Tosk <qershi> `cherry, cherry-tree' from Gr <kherasia>
> through *kjer(ë)sia (kj > q) > qershi:;
> 5. Geg <pjepen>, Tosk <pjepër> `melon' from Gr <peponon> (e > je,
> like in <kherasia> and n > r / V_V)
> 6. Geg <laken>, Tosk <lakër> `cabbage' from Gr <lakhanon> (n > r /
> V_V);
> 7. Geg/Tosk <lëpjetë> `dock' from Gr <lapetha>;
> 8. Geg/Tosk <shpellë> `cave' from Gr <spelaion> (l > ll/V_V);
> 9. Geg <liqen> `lake', Tosk <liqer> `id.'from Gr <lekane>;
> 10. Tosk <balladër> `abyss' from Gr <barathron> (disimilation r –

r

> > ll – r);
> 11. Tosk <kora> from Gr <ikona> `icon (apheresis of unstressed
> syllable /i/ and n > r / V_V);
> 12. Gjerek•ar/Gjerak•ar (noticed by Skok), place name, from Gr
> <ierax, -cos> `falcon, hawk'; extended form in suffix –ina
> <gjeraq•inë> `falcon';
> 13. <kallëzoj> `tell, punish' from Gr <kolazo> `punish' (l >

ll/V_V);

> 14. <gashtë> 'kneecap' from Gr <gaster, gastra> (cf. <gastare>

from

> New Greek);
>

How many of the Greek words have a good IE pedigree? How do we know
they are not from a common substrate? (Obviuously this would have no
bearing on the geography question; they'd still have to be
neighbors.)

Torsten