Shkije
Albanian ethnonym to denote non-Albanians
Shkije, shkje, shqa, or shkla(n) is an Albanian ethnonym (exonym) used to denote non-Albanians. Derived from the Latin ethnonym "Sclaveni", it is among the oldest ethnonyms used in the Albanian language. In modern Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia and Macedonia, shkije, shkje, shkavell and similar terms acquired a pejorative connotation.
From around mid-20th century onwards, to denote Slavs Albanian lexicographers have preferred the Modern Albanian ethnonym sllav, pl. sllavë(t), which is an internationalism that has penetrated and taken hold in use over time.
01Name
Attestation
The ethnonym was firstly documented by the Old Albanian author Pjetër Bogdani in 1685, while the name Shkienia "Schiavonia" was documented by the Old Albanian author Frang Bardhi in 1635. However, the ethnonym has been used since the earliest contacts of Albanians and South Slavs from around the 6th century CE onwards.
Etymology
It is derived from the Latin term "Sclaveni", which contained the traditional meaning of “the neighbouring foreigner”. Ethnonyms with the same origin are also found in Romance languages of the Balkans, such as Dalmatian and Eastern Romance languages (c.f. Șchei, used by Romanians to name Slavs, in particular Bulgarians).
02Usage
It is used in the Gheg dialect of Albanian to refer to Southern Slavs such as Serbs, Macedonians, Montenegrins, to a lesser extent Croats and Bosniaks, and also simply non-Albanians such as Greeks and Italians. The Arvanites in Greece use the version shkla to refer to the Greek population, while the Arbëreshë in Italy, a substantial part of which originates from the Arvanites, use the words shklan and shklerisht which mean "that does not speak Arbëreshë", or "that speaks an incomprehensible language", referring to the Latin languages.
It was widely used in the Albanian literature as well, i.e. Sami Frasheri in his works and Gjergj Fishta (1871-1940), notably in Lahuta e Malcís (1937).
During the Yugoslav Wars, Albanian newspapers often called Serbs "Shkja".
03Word forms
| Indefinite Singular | Indefinite Plural | Definite Singular | Definite Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | një shka (a serb male)/një shkinë(female) | shkije (serbs)/shkina | shkau (the serb)/shkina | shkijet/shkinat (the serbs) |
| Accusative | një shka/një shkinë | shkije/shkina | shkaun/shkinën | shkijet/shkinat |
| Genitive | i/e/të/së një shkau/shkine | i/e/të/së shkijeve/shkinave | i/e/të/së shkaut/shkinës | i/e/të/së shkijeve/shkinave |
| Dative | një shkau/një shkine | shkijeve/shkinave | shkaut/shkinës | shkijeve/shkinave |
| Ablative | (prej) një shkau/një shkine | (prej) shkijesh/shkinash | (prej) shkaut/shkinës | (prej) shkijeve/shkinave |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Shkije”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
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