Using Toponymic Correspondences to Understand the History of Albanian Settlement

Abstract

This study analyzes the place names in Albania and the surrounding countries in order to determine the area Albanians inhabited when the Slavs arrived in the Balkans. Investigating a hypothesis by Konstantin Jireček that Albanians at this time lived in the area between Shkodër, Prizren, Ohrid, and Vlorë, toponyms where Albanians currently live outside of modern Albania were compared with those inside of Albania and in the surrounding Slavic countries to determine whether Albanians were present prior to the Slavs. It is found that Jireček’s proposed settlement area correlates to the highest concentration of Albanian toponyms, suggesting that the Albanians living in Kosovo and North Macedonia were later arrivals to these lands.

Proceedings of the 6th Annual Linguistics Conference at UGA

Published January 19, 2022