Slavic-Albanian Language Contact, Convergence, and Coexistence Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Matthew Cowan Curtis, M.A. Graduate Program in Slavic Linguistics The Ohio State University 2012 Dissertation Committee: Brian D. Joseph, Advisor Charles E. Gribble Daniel E. Collins Copyright by Matthew Cowan Curtis 2012 Abstract As historical relationships of Slavs and Albanians in the western Balkans have been subject to a wide range of scholarly interpretations, this dissertation seeks to present the facts of linguistic evidence of Slavic-Albanian contact, and apply them to an informed understanding of Slavs’ and Albanians’ interactions historically. Although individual linguistic features are important for establishing the historical fact of language contact, only a systematic, comprehensive analysis of the several interrelated parts of language— vocabulary, phonology, and morphosyntax—can indicate how the languages, and the communities speaking them, have been affected by the long-standing contact. This study also considers the languages from the perspective of several language-contact theories, creating a multifaceted approach that reveals strengths and weaknesses of each theory, and also paints a multidimensional picture of the effects of language contact and socio- cultural reasons for the languages’ changes. This layered analysis demonstrates that contact between Slavs and Albanians has brought about many linguistic changes, particularly in dialects that have remained in contact with one another. While the most obvious effects are the plenteous lexical borrowings, language contact is also present in phonology and morphosyntax, thus affecting every aspect of the dialects in contact. As the linguistic data shows, Albanian and Slavic communities have enriched one another linguistically and likely in other aspects of their cultural inheritances as well. ii Acknowledgements Writing this dissertation, and conducting the research analyzed in this dissertation has been possibly only because of the cooperation and collaboration of many, many individuals. And while I am solely responsible for this work, I surely could not have done this without the help of so many great colleagues, friends, and families. Although I know that I will unwittingly and unintentionally omit some of those who have helped me, I would like to list the principle helpers in my research. Even a list of those who have helped me may give some indication of the collaborative nature of my research and how my work has been enriched by the help of so many willing colleagues. Particular thanks should be given to my advisor and mentor, Dr. Brian D. Joseph as well as my other professors in the department of Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures at the Ohio State University: Charles E. Gribble, Daniel E. Collins, Andrea Sims, Predrag Matejic, and Ludmila Isurin. I am also grateful to professors in the Linguistic Department I have worked with, especially Don Winford and Hope Dawson. Others who have helped refine my ideas include Cynthia Hallen, Henry Cooper, Victor Friedman, Robert Greenberg, Ronelle Alexander, Marc Greenberg, Olga Mladenova, Elisabeth Elliott, Andrej Sobolev, Motoki Nomachi, and Andrew Dombrowski. These have been tremendous guides in my graduate education at the Ohio State University, yet of equal importance has been my fruitful and enriching collegiality with my fellow graduate students in this department: Maggie Harrison, Susan Vdovechenko, iii Spencer Robinson, Josh Pennington, Anastasia Smirnova, Lauren Ressue, Miriam Whiting, Marcela Michalkova, Martin Michalek, Larysa Stepanova, Maria Alley, Ljiljana Djuraskovic, Vedrana Mihalicek and many other good friends. In addition, research for this dissertation was completed with the generous support of a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad scholarship. Thanks are due to the administrators of this scholarship, particularly Joanna Kukielka-Blaser at the Ohio State University, as well as public affairs assistants to the United States Embassies, Svetlana Breca in Prishtina, Gazmend Ilazi in Skopje and Bernard Çobaj in Podgorica. Thanks also to the number of scholars that helped me obtain data for this study: Rexhep Ismajli of the Kosovo Academy of Arts and Sciences, Julie and Xhevair Kolgjini of the American University in Kosovo, Lindita Rugova at the University of Prishtina, Arburim Iseni of the State University of Tetovo, Arta Toçi of South East European University, Eleni Bužarovska of Kiril and Methodius University in Skopje, Macedonia and Gordana Đurković of the University of Montenegro as well as their students. Also deserving of thanks are Marjan Markoviḱ, Zuzana Topolińska, and Liljana Mitkovska at the Research Center for Areal Linguistics at the Macedonian Academy of Arts and Sciences. Thanks also to the many librarians who have helped in this research, both in the Balkans and throughout North America that have allowed me to access materials via interlibrary loan. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their courage, determination and patience in joining me in these adventures as well as the more prosaic aspects of completing this work and the degree attached to it. Their loyalty to me has been fierce and constant; without their support this work would have been impossible. To them I also dedicate this dissertation. iv Vita 1998......................................Brighton High School (Salt Lake City, UT) 2003......................................B.A. Linguistics, (Computers and Languages Minor) Brigham Young University 2005......................................M.A. Russian and East European Studies, Indiana University 2005–2006............................University Fellow, The Ohio State University 2006–2009, 2010–2011........Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures, The Ohio State University 2009–2010.............................Fulbright–Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Scholarship Recipient (Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro) 2011...................................... Associate Faculty, Arizona State University, Critical Languages Institute, Intermediate Albanian 2011–2012.............................Presidential Fellow, The Ohio State University Publications Petar II Petrović Njegoš and Gjergj Fishta: Composers of National Epics, The Carl Beck Papers in Russian and East European Studies, 1808. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2007. v “Xhorxh, xhuxhmaxhuxh and the xhaxhallarë: The Xenophonemic Status of Albanian /xh/.” Balkanistica 23: 67–96. (2010). “Explaining compelling similarities in Macedonian and Montenegrin dialects: Perfects and adjectival participles.” Zeitschrift für Balkanologie (46/2) 155–183. (2010). “Serbo-Croatian and Albanian Attempts at Language Standardization: A Brief History and Comparison from an American Perspective” State University of Tetovo Scientific Observer. (1/2–3) 10–17. (2011). Fields of Study Major Field: Slavic Linguistics Other Fields: Historical–Comparative Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, Balkan Linguistics, Albanian Linguistics, Eastern European Studies vi Table of Contents Abstract................................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgments..............................................................................................................iii Vita.......................................................................................................................................v List of Tables....................................................................................................................viii List of Figures......................................................................................................................x List of Abbreviations.........................................................................................................xii List of Place Names Used in Study..................................................................................xiv Introduction..........................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: Sociolinguistic Setting.......................................................................................7 Chapter 2: Lexicon.............................................................................................................51 Chapter 3: Lexicon: Chronology of Borrowings...............................................................92 Chapter 4: Phonology......................................................................................................127 Chapter 5: Morphosyntax................................................................................................269 Chapter 6: Conclusion......................................................................................................373 Bibliography....................................................................................................................387 vii List of Tables Table 2.1. Borrowings from Slavic into Albanian (According to Svane 1992)................67 Table 2.2. Borrowings from Albanian into Slavic (According to Hoxha 2001)................68 Table 4.1. Summary of Processes Proposed for Analyzing Language Contact...............137 Table 4.2. Changes Affecting -ur/-ull According to First Proposal.................................179