Ασπροπροσωποσ And Faqebardhë: On White In Greek And Albanian Compound Adjectives And Phraseology
Ασπροπροσωποσ And Faqebardhë: On White In Greek And Albanian Compound Adjectives And Phraseology

Summary/Abstract: The article examines the uses of the colour term white in Greek and Albanian compounds and expressions. It begins with an overview of the symbolic significance of the colour white in Balkan cultures. It then discusses the use of the Greek and Albanian words for white in expressions and compounds, highlighting the differences between the two Greek adjectives denoting white, άσπρος and λευκός. The analysis shows that Albanian displays a wider range of compound adjectives with figurative meaning containing i/e bardhë, whereas in Greek ασπροπρόσωπος constitutes a notable exception. It is further observed that Albanian systematically forms antonymic pairs between compound adjectives in -bardhë and those in -zi. The next section examines the Greek compound adjective ασπροπρόσωπος and its Albanian counterparts faqebardhë and faqe e bardhë, which occur in structurally and semantically identical phraseological units, such as βγαίνω ασπροπρόσωπος and dal faqebardhë / dal me faqe të bardhë ‘to come out with honour’. It is argued that this is an instance of the cross-linguistically common conceptual metaphor honour is face. Evidence from the 19th-century dictionaries of Thimi Mitko and Kostandin Kristoforidhi is adduced to demonstrate a strong degree of semantic continuity in Albanian and Greek compounds and phraseology.

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