Post by greek1234 on Nov 20, 2007 18:05:37 GMT -5
Looking at the whole range of Albanian national myths, we can distinguish four major categories: the myth of origins and priority, the myth of ethnic homogeneity and cultural purity, the myth of permanent national struggle and the myth of indifference to religion.
The myth of ethnic homogeneity and cultural purity
"Although some of the other myths of Albanian identity may have contained an important element of historical truth, this one is hardly defensible at all…In the case of the Albanian, the added ingredients would include Romans (themselves of various ethnic origins), Slavs (during the middle ages when Bulgarian Slav settlers penetrated much of Albania), Greeks (in much smaller numbers) and Turks…. linguistic legacy of Slavic and Latin vocabulary and the strong cultural imprint of the Ottomans."
By Noel Malcolm
What Carleton Steve Coon has to say
"The Albanian language, a hybrid between Illyrian, Thracian, Latin, Slavic, Turkish, and other elements, reflects the ethnically composite origin of the Albanians."
By Carleton Stevens Coon from "The Races of Europe"
What Ardian Vehbiu an Albanian has to say
"There is an Illyrian myth, with which Albanian culture has been flirting for at least 150 years, and as a myth it can't be questioned (for it has all the answers). There is also a very tentative Illyrian science, based mainly on archaeology, and on some data transmitted by Ancient Greek and Latin Historians.
These inscriptions, being totally alien to Albanian, show that the Illyrian question is extremely complicated, and that it isn't likely to be resolved, unless fundamental epigraphic discoveries are made.
The great Illyrologist Hans Krahe himself was no supporter of the Illyrian theory about the origin of Albanians. In his late years he came to understand that most of his paleolinguistic theories were generally wrong. Krahe started by finding Illyrian traces everywhere in Europe, but then it was made clear that all he had found were Indo-European traces -- and nobody had any doubt that Indo-European tribes had been in Europe for a long many years.
Onomastics is of no great help in settling linguistic and ethnogenetic issues. Let's have a look at some important place names in Albanian territories, like Dajti, Shkodra, Durresi, Vlora, Burreli, Drini, Shkumbini, Tirana, etc. Are they Albanian? We can't say that, for there are no Albanian words that would explain them (as we explain, for example, Kruja with "krue" - fountain).
This might well be true, but seems pathetic in front of the fact that we can't explain through Albanian words the place names we currently use, let alone the Illyrian ones. So what?
Let's move up in time, and reach the Middle Ages. In the Middle Ages the Albanians were somewhere there, though their first mention is in the 11th century (or 12th, I'm not sure). Where were they living? Where are the places they have named after their common words (technically called appellatives)? The south is full -- literally full -- of Slavic place names, especially the areas of Vlora, Tepelena, Skrapar, Mallakaster, Illyrians (with their less fortunate fellows, the Pelasgians) are a pure creation of Albanian romanticism."
By Ardian Vehbiu
Clearly, there are different points of view on the issue of Albanian origins and who exactly contributed to the modern Albanian ethnos.
The myth of ethnic homogeneity and cultural purity
"Although some of the other myths of Albanian identity may have contained an important element of historical truth, this one is hardly defensible at all…In the case of the Albanian, the added ingredients would include Romans (themselves of various ethnic origins), Slavs (during the middle ages when Bulgarian Slav settlers penetrated much of Albania), Greeks (in much smaller numbers) and Turks…. linguistic legacy of Slavic and Latin vocabulary and the strong cultural imprint of the Ottomans."
By Noel Malcolm
What Carleton Steve Coon has to say
"The Albanian language, a hybrid between Illyrian, Thracian, Latin, Slavic, Turkish, and other elements, reflects the ethnically composite origin of the Albanians."
By Carleton Stevens Coon from "The Races of Europe"
What Ardian Vehbiu an Albanian has to say
"There is an Illyrian myth, with which Albanian culture has been flirting for at least 150 years, and as a myth it can't be questioned (for it has all the answers). There is also a very tentative Illyrian science, based mainly on archaeology, and on some data transmitted by Ancient Greek and Latin Historians.
These inscriptions, being totally alien to Albanian, show that the Illyrian question is extremely complicated, and that it isn't likely to be resolved, unless fundamental epigraphic discoveries are made.
The great Illyrologist Hans Krahe himself was no supporter of the Illyrian theory about the origin of Albanians. In his late years he came to understand that most of his paleolinguistic theories were generally wrong. Krahe started by finding Illyrian traces everywhere in Europe, but then it was made clear that all he had found were Indo-European traces -- and nobody had any doubt that Indo-European tribes had been in Europe for a long many years.
Onomastics is of no great help in settling linguistic and ethnogenetic issues. Let's have a look at some important place names in Albanian territories, like Dajti, Shkodra, Durresi, Vlora, Burreli, Drini, Shkumbini, Tirana, etc. Are they Albanian? We can't say that, for there are no Albanian words that would explain them (as we explain, for example, Kruja with "krue" - fountain).
This might well be true, but seems pathetic in front of the fact that we can't explain through Albanian words the place names we currently use, let alone the Illyrian ones. So what?
Let's move up in time, and reach the Middle Ages. In the Middle Ages the Albanians were somewhere there, though their first mention is in the 11th century (or 12th, I'm not sure). Where were they living? Where are the places they have named after their common words (technically called appellatives)? The south is full -- literally full -- of Slavic place names, especially the areas of Vlora, Tepelena, Skrapar, Mallakaster, Illyrians (with their less fortunate fellows, the Pelasgians) are a pure creation of Albanian romanticism."
By Ardian Vehbiu
Clearly, there are different points of view on the issue of Albanian origins and who exactly contributed to the modern Albanian ethnos.