Subgroup or Substratum? An Examination of Proposed Pre-histories of the Albanian and Romanian Languages
Subgroup or Substratum? An Examination of Proposed Pre-histories of the Albanian and Romanian Languages
Author(s): HANNAH FRANCES YOUNGSubject(s): Foreign languages learning, Comparative Linguistics, Descriptive linguistics
Published by: Editura Universitatii LUCIAN BLAGA din Sibiu
Keywords: Albanian; Romanian; Balkan Sprachbund; language contact; historical linguistics;
Summary/Abstract: There have been various claims made regarding the evolution of Albanian and Romanian from the Proto-Indo-European language. Some linguists claim that they are two separate languages with distinct developments, while some propose that they are far more closely related, perhaps even forming a subgroup within the IndoEuropean family. Another claim is made that a substrate language influenced these two languages, which can explain some intriguing similarities between these languages. This essay investigates the claims made for and against the subgrouping of Romanian and Albanian and establishes whether or not there is sufficient linguistic evidence to claim that there is a language from which both descend, or if these two languages rather share a long history of contact and influence of a substratum language.
Journal: East-West Cultural Passage
- Issue Year: 18/2018
- Issue No: 1-2
- Page Range: 149-167
- Page Count: 19
- Language: English
- Content File-PDF