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'''Arvanites''' (Greek: Αρβανίτες, see ] for more about names) are a population group in Greece whose linguistic heritage is ], a form of ]. Arvanites are predominantly ] Christians and identify themselves ethnically and nationally as ]. They used to be the predominant population element in several regions in the south of Greece up to the 19th century. Today, their language is under danger of extinction due to language shift towards Greek and due to large-scale migrations into the cities.
'''Arvanites''' (Αρbε̰ρόρε̰ ''Arbërórë'' or Σ̈κ̇ιπτάρε̰ ''Shqiptarë'' in ], Αρβανίτες ''Arvanítes'' in ] and Arvanitë in ]) are ethnic ] minority group of ]. They were an ] people that settled various lands during the ], principally between the ] and ]. Although the Arvanites adopted a Greek national identity at a very early stage, their ] language survived well into the 20th century. Today however, due to large migration to the cities, it is under the danger of extinction (''see main article ]'').
Arvanites played a prominent role during the ].


Foreign sources sometimes refer to Arvanites as Albanians,<ref name="Schukalla">E.g. Schukalla (1993).</ref> as did some older Greek authors.<ref name="GreekAlbanian">E.g. Paschidis (1879), Poulos (1950).</ref> Today, however, Arvanites in Greece typically object to being associated with the ] or being called an "ethnic minority", since they have a strong feeling of being ethnically Greek (GHM 1995). For the same reason, many also object to the designation of their language as a dialect of ], preferring instead to regard it as a separate language. Many Albanians, on the other hand, prefer to view Arvanites as an Albanian minority group.
==Origins==
The theories and hypotheses on the origins of the Arvanites assume that they might have been:
*] clans that had adopted a ] ethnic conciousness, either as citizens of the ] or the ].
*] clans that had moved to the south in order to avoid religious assimilation by the ].
*] tribe, but not particularly related to the ] branch.
*] descendants of the ] settlers from the ] (today's southern ] and NW ]), who had lost their language and identity. This hypothesis is hardly supported due to the fact that the usage of ] in liturgy has made it more possible for foreigners to assimilate into Greeks rather than for Greeks to be absorbed into other cultures. However, Greek nationalists strongly back this idea for they can claim the presence of Greeks in Epirus since ancient times.


== History ==
==Demographics and language==

Arvanites in the south of Greece are believed to be the descendants of Albanian-speaking settlers, who moved south at different times between the 11th century and the 15th century from what is today southern ] and northwest ] (Biris 1960, Poulos 1950, Panagiotopulos 1985) . Some of this migration happened in the course of settlement programmes invited by the Byzantine and Frankish rulers of the time in order to re-populated deserted areas in the south. Later movements are believed to have been motivated to evade Islamization after the Ottoman conquest.

While most historians regard the ancestors of today's Arvanites as part of the same medieval population groups that are also the ancestors to present-day Albanians,<ref name="Botsi1">See survey of the literature in Botsi (2003: 20-22) and GHM (1995).</ref> some Greek authors have argued that the settlers were not ethnic Albanians in a true sense. Their hypotheses are that Arvanites were either descendants of originally Greek populations who had only intermediately become Albanized; or that they were descendants of some other ]-] tribes and as such related but not identical to Albanians proper; or that Arvanites are descendants of the original pre-Greek "]" population and as such actually autochthonous to southern Greece.<ref name="ASE">The latter view is currently propagated by the largest association of Greek Arvanites (Αρβανιτικός Σύνδεσμος Ελλάδος). It has quoted a self-published study (Stylos, no date, see and ) arguing that several archaic ancient Greek ]s, among them the famous ] (which all other scholarship agrees to be Greek), are in fact written in Arvanitic. These views have no echo in mainstream scholarship to date. See , and for the accepted Greek readings.</ref>

Being Orthodox Christians, Arvanites identified with the Greeks in their conflicts with Muslim during the time of the ]. Many Arvanites are credited with having played an important role fighting as Greeks in the ] of 1821-1830. With the formation of modern nations and nation states in the Balkans, Arvanites have come to be regarded as an integral part of the Greek nation.

== Demographics ==
] ]


The regions traditionally inhabited by Arvanites in the south of Greece are found across large parts of ], ], the ], the south of the island of ] and the north of the island of ]. Within Attica, the capital ] and its suburbs were partly Arvanitic until the late 19th century. There are also settlements in ], ] and several islands of the ] including ].
Arvanites are predominantly ] in ] adherence. Their ], ], shares a common origin with ] and has been heavily influenced by the ] with which it has come into contact. The language is in decline due to emigration from Arvanitic-speaking villages to the Greek-speaking cities. Along with ], Arvanitic has obtained the status of a "protected" languge.


Other groups of Arvanites live in the north of Greece in areas closer to Albania and the historical centers of contiguous Albanian populations (Banfi 1996). Some of them live in ] (] and ]); in ]/] (near the border of the ]); and in some locations further east in ]. These settlements are believed to be of a later date than the southern ones (GHM 1995).
Like the rest of the ] population, Arvanites have been emigrating from their villages to the cities and especially to the capital ], which, incidentally, was populated by many Arvanites in the early ].


There are no reliable figures about the number of Arvanites in Greece today. The last official census figures available come from 1951. The following is a summary of the widely diverging estimates (Botsi 2003: 97):
According to Biris (]), from ] A.D. to ] A.D., 81,200 Arvanites, mercenary soldiers and their families, settled Greek lands after invitations from ] emperors (] Dynasty), the ] and the ]. The current population of Greeks who have (or might have partially) Arvanitic ancestry, is estimated around 1,600,000 (]), but only 30,000-150,000 Arvanites have a basic knowledge of Arvanitika.


*1928 census: 18,773 citizens self-identifying as "Albanophone", i.e. Arvanitic-speaking.
==Arvanitic culture and history==
*1951 census: 22,736 "Albanophones".
The Arvanites, like the Vlachs in Greece, have gradually developed a Greek national consciousness and identify themselves as Greeks. Some have argued that Arvanites are descended from early inhabitants of Greece (]). They are linguistically related to Albanians.
*Furikis (1934): estimated 70,000 Arvanites only in Attica.
*Trudgill/Tzavaras (1976/77): estimated 140,000 only in Attica and Boeotia.
*Sasse (1991): estimated 50,000 Arvanitic speakers in total.
*Ethnologue, 2000: 150,000 Arvanites, living in 300 villages.
*Federal Union of European Nationalities, 1991: 95,000 "Albanians of Greece" (MRG 1991: 189)
*According to some estimates: up to 250,000 (quoted in Schukalla 1993: 523) or even 1,600,000 (GHM 1995) people of ultimately Arvanitic descent.


The number of active speakers of the Arvanitic language is believed to be much lower than the number of people who identify culturally as Arvanites owing to family tradition and local loyalties (see ] below).
===Origin and history of the name===
We first learn of the ancestors of the modern Albanians, as the ''Arbanites'' of Arbanon, in ]'s account (Alexiad, IV). The account discusses about the troubles in the region of Arbanon caused by the ] during the reign of her father, Emperor ] (]-]). In the ''History'', written in ]/] A.D., Byzantine historian ] was the first to refer to the ''Albanoi'' as having taken part in a revolt against ] in ] A.D. and to the ''Arbanitai'' as subjects of the Duke of ].


Like the rest of the ] population, Arvanites have been emigrating from their villages to the cities and especially to the capital ]. This has contributed to the loss of the language in the younger generation.
<!-- I'll expand it: supported by whom etc and then it'll be cleaned up. please be patient -->
The terms ''Arvanitika'' and ''Arvanitic'' derive from the word ''Arvanitai'' (Αρβανίται); the ] according to ]' dictionary (ISBN 960-239-135-9) of the Greek adjective ''Arvanitika'' is from the root '''Arvanit-''' of the term Arvanitis.


== Names ==
According to one theory, the word "Arvanitis" is ] with the word "Albanian"; the Greek consonant ''β'' has changed in pronunciation from to . For the "l/r" conversion (]). See also ].


The name '''Arvanites''' and its equivalents are today used both in Greek ('''Αρβανίτες''') and in Arvanitic itself ('''Arbërorë''', spelled '''Αρbε̰ρόρε̰''' in the Greek-based ]). In Standard Albanian, the name is '''Arvanitë'''. Arvanites are thus distinguished from ethnic Albanians, who are called '''Shqiptarë''' in Arvanitic and in Standard Albanian, and '''Alvaní''' (Αλβανοί) in Greek.
According to Kollias, some Arvanites of the northwestern Greek region of ] traditionally also use the word '']'' (Σ̈κ̇ιπτάρ) to identify themselves, without claiming an Albanian national consciousness. The word Shqiptár is used as well in a few villages of ], where Arvanites migrated from the mountains of ] during the ]. On the other hand, this word is totally unknown among the main body of the Arvanites in southern Greece.


The name '''Arvanites''' and its Albanian/Arvanitic equivalents go back to an old ethnonym that was formerly used by all Albanians to refer to themselves. Albanians adopted the new name of '''Shkiptarë''' and the country name '''Shqipëria''' since the 15th century, after the Arvanitic populations had split off. The Arvanites kept the old, common name, as did the Albanophone settlers in Italy ('''Arbëreshë'''). The word stems of both '''Arvanites''' and '''Albanians''', originally ''arb- (αρβ-)'' and ''alb- (αλβ-)'' have been attested as designations for people in the area of today's Albania since antiquity. (]: Άρβων, Αρβωνίται; ]: Αλβανόπολις, Αλβανοί; for more details see: '']''). It is a matter of debate whether the two roots are ultimately cognate, or whether two accidentally similar roots were conflated with each other at a later date (Babiniotis 1998). In ] Greek and in medieval Latin authors, reflexes of both roots are used synonymously for the people of today's Albania.(Botsi 2003: 18-20). This usage continued in Greek until the 19th and early 20th century, with Αλβανοί ("Albanians") being used in formal registers and Αρβανίτες ("Arvanites") used in the more popular speech, but both used indiscriminately for both Muslim and Christian Albanophones.<ref>See GHM (1995) for references.</ref> In the course of the formation of the modern nation-state societies, it became customary to use only "Αλβανοί" for the people of Albania, and only "Αρβανίτες" for the Christian Arvanites integrated into Greek society.
===Trivia===

]
Arvanites are distinguished in Greece from ] (Greek: "Τσάμηδες"), another group of Albanophones in the northwest of Greece. Unlike the Christian Arvanites, the Chams were predominantly Muslims and identified nationally as Albanians. Most Muslim Chams were expelled from Greece shortly before the end of the ], after violent clashes and atrocities commited during and after Axis occupation.
*Arvanitissa is the feminine of Arvanitis in Greek.

**A church in ] is dedicated to "''] Arvanitissa''".
There is some disagreement to what extent the term "Arvanites" legitimately also includes the small remaining ''Christian'' Albanophone population groups in Northwest Greece (Epirus). Unlike the southern Arvanites, these speakers are reported to use the name '''Shqiptarë''' both for themselves and for Albanian nationals (Banfi 1996, Moraitis 2002). Botsi (2003: 21) reports that the term "Arvanites" in its narrow sense includes only the populations of the compact Arvanitic settlement areas in southern Greece, according to the self-identification of those groups. The ] () identifies the present-day Albanian/Arvanitic dialects of Northwestern Greece (in Epirus and Lechovo) with those of the Chams. They are therefore classified linguistically together with standard Tosk Albanian, as opposed to "Arvanitika Albanian proper" (i.e. southern Greek Arvanitic). Nevertheless it reports that in Greek the Epirus varieties are also often subsumed under "Arvanitika" in a wider sense. It puts the estimated number of Epirus Albanophones at 10,000. "Arvanitic proper" () is said to include the outlying dialects spoken in Thrace. Other sources (e.g. GHM 1995) subsume the Epirote Albanophones under the term Arvanites, althogh they note the different linguistic self-designation.
*Arvanites refer to their place of origin as ''Arvanitia'' (today southern Albania and NW Greece). Sometimes they apply this term to the whole of Albania and/or Epirus.

**''Arvanitia'' is also an alternate name for ], ]'s ].

*Arvanites of Epirus named the ] ''Arvanitis''.
==Language use and language perception==
*] Plomari, Isidoros Arvanitis, ] (Ούζο Πλωμαρίου, Ισιδώρου Αρβανίτου, 1894) (note: Plomari is a town of ]).

{{mainarticle|]}}

The decline of the Arvanitic language has been brought about by several factors. One is the demographic trend of movement towards the cities, breaking up some of the social ties of village communities. It is also reported that many Arvanites in past decades have maintained a stance of social self-deprecation of the traditional community language, encouraging younger generations to switch to the dominant language, Greek, which was associated with social mobility and modernity.(Tsitsipis 1981, Botsi 2003) Especially earlier in the 20th century, Greek state institutions are reported to have sometimes followed a policy of actively discouraging and repressing the use of the Arvanitic language, most strongly under the nationalist ] regime of 1936-1940 (GHM 1995).

While the Arvanitic language was commonly called Albanian in Greece until the 20th century, the wish of Arvanites to express their ethnic identification as Greeks has led to a stance of rejecting the identification of the language with Albanian as well. Breu (1985: 424) reported that many Arvanites had only very imprecise notions about how related or unrelated their language was to Albanian. Today, many Arvanites prefer to regard Arvanitic as a separate language. As Arvanitic is almost exclusively a spoken language, Arvanites also have no practical affiliation with the Standard Albanian language used in Albania, as they do not use this form in writing or in media. The question of linguistic closeness or distance between Arvanitic and Albanian has come to the forefront especially since the early 1990s, when a large number of immigrants from Albania began to enter Greece and came into contact with local Arvanitic communities (Botsi 2003).

Since the 1980s, there have been some organized efforts to preserve the cultural heritage of Arvanites. Recently, along with ], Arvanitic has obtained the status of a "protected" languge. {{fact}}

== Minority status ==

For most Arvanites today, their Arvanitic ancestry is not used as an ethnic self-identification but rather as a secondary folkish identity. Many Arvanites take offense at being called ], and many are also reported to be strongly opposed against the idea of obtaining any kind of officially recognized "minority" status. The issue of Arvanites' being described as an ethnic minority has at some times become a political issue between Greece and Albania, for instance during the 1990s, when remarks by Albanian president ] provoked a furious reaction among the Arvanitic community in the Greek mass media.


==Folk culture==
===Phara=== ===Phara===
Phara (φάρα) is a ], similar to ]s. Arvanites were organised in phares (φάρες) mostly during the reign of the ]. The ] was a warlord and the phara was named after him (i.e. Botsaris' phara). In an Arvanitic village each phara was responsible to keep genealogical records (see also ]), that are preserved until today as historical documents in local libraries. Usually there were more than one phares in an Arvanitic village and sometimes they were organised in ] that had conflict of interests. Those phratries didn't last long, because each leader of a phara desired to be the leader of the phratry and would not be lead by another. Phara (φάρα) is a ], similar to ]s. Arvanites were organised in phares (φάρες) mostly during the reign of the ]. The ] was a warlord and the phara was named after him (i.e. Botsaris' phara). In an Arvanitic village each phara was responsible to keep genealogical records (see also ]), that are preserved until today as historical documents in local libraries. Usually there were more than one phares in an Arvanitic village and sometimes they were organised in ] that had conflict of interests. Those phratries didn't last long, because each leader of a phara desired to be the leader of the phratry and would not be lead by another.
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Although they are almost fully assimilated into Greek society, some distinct Arvanitic cultural characteristics are still identifiable. Although they are almost fully assimilated into Greek society, some distinct Arvanitic cultural characteristics are still identifiable.


There are 4 ] ]s featuring Arvanitic songs although the lyrics are often in Greek. There are no mass media in Arvanitic, although some local radio stations have occasionally broadcast Arvanitic songs. During the last decades there have been made some attempts to document Arvanitic songs, the most recent by Thanasis Moraitis (Thanas Moraiti). There are 4 ] ]s featuring Arvanitic songs although the lyrics are often in Greek. There are no mass media in Arvanitic, although some local radio stations have occasionally broadcast Arvanitic songs. During the last decades there have been made some attempts to document Arvanitic songs, the most recent by Thanasis Moraitis.


Arvanitic songs share similarities with ], ] and ]. Arvanitic songs share similarities with ], ] and ].


===Ancient Greek inscriptions===
Two archaeological discoveries, and in particular a Corinthian chrism from the ] and a clay wine-pitcher dating back to ], have been interpreted by the author Nikos Stylos{{ref|ArvaniticLeagueLexicon}} as Arvanitic inscriptions.


===Trivia===
==Studies and books for Arvanites==
]
*Arvanitissa is the feminine of Arvanitis in Greek.
**A church in ] is dedicated to "''] Arvanitissa''".
*Arvanites refer to their place of origin as ''Arvanitia'' (today southern Albania and NW Greece). Sometimes they apply this term to the whole of Albania and/or Epirus.
**''Arvanitia'' is also an alternate name for ], ]'s ].
*Arvanites of Epirus named the ] ''Arvanitis''.
*] Plomari, Isidoros Arvanitis, ] (Ούζο Πλωμαρίου, Ισιδώρου Αρβανίτου, 1894) (note: Plomari is a town of ]).

==Studies and books about the Arvanites==
===Kostas Biris=== ===Kostas Biris===
'''Biris''' was a folklorist and an architect. His book "''Arvanites, the Dorians of modern Hellenism, history of Arvanites Greeks''" (]) is a thorough study on Arvanites and it is the most referenced work by other scholars who studied Arvanites. '''Biris''' was a folklorist and an architect. His book "''Arvanites, the Dorians of modern Hellenism, history of Arvanites Greeks''" (]) is a thorough study on Arvanites and it is the most referenced work by other scholars who studied Arvanites.
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] ]


'''Maria Michael-Dede''' is an author of literature and an ethnologist. She has written two books about Arvanitic songs (]) and the book ''The Greeks Arvanites'' (]). '''Maria Michael-Dede''' is an author of literature and an ethnologist. She has written two books about Arvanitic songs (]) and the book ''The Greek Arvanites'' (]).


===Aristeides Kollias (Aristidh Kola)=== ===Aristeides Kollias===
'''Kollias''', a lawyer by profession, performed ethnologist studies on Arvanites. In his book "''Arvanites and the origin of the Greeks''" (]), Kollias promotes the ''Pelasgian theory'' that identifies the ] with the Arvanites. Kollias states that Greek people and Albanian people were closer in the past than they are during the last two centuries and that they both descend from the Pelasgians. His rejection of the Indo-European theory and his theory that Arvanitika is very close (if not identical) to the ] have been criticized, however his work on Arvanitic culture is generally accepted. '''Kollias''', a lawyer by profession, performed ethnologist studies on Arvanites. In his book "''Arvanites and the origin of the Greeks''" (]), Kollias promotes the ''Pelasgian theory'' that identifies the ] with the Arvanites. Kollias states that Greek people and Albanian people were closer in the past than they are during the last two centuries and that they both descend from the Pelasgians. His rejection of the Indo-European theory and his theory that Arvanitika is very close (if not identical) to the ] have been criticized, however his work on Arvanitic culture is generally accepted.


===Thanasis Moraitis (Thanas Moraiti)=== ===Thanasis Moraitis===
'''Moraitis''' had worked with Kollias for some time, and he did an extensive search on Arvanitic music. In his book "''Arvanitika Songs''", he documents about 150 songs, analyzes their musical structure, and also has texts by linguists and historians about Arvanitic history, culture and the Arvanitic language. '''Moraitis''' had worked with Kollias for some time, and he did an extensive search on Arvanitic music. In his book "''Arvanitika Songs''", he documents about 150 songs, analyzes their musical structure, and also has texts by linguists and historians about Arvanitic history, culture and the Arvanitic language.


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**], the only female member of ] **], the only female member of ]
**], leader of the Greek Revolution in ] **], leader of the Greek Revolution in ]
**], Arhontas ton Spetson]] **], leader of Spetses


*] *]
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**] **]
**] **]
**], general and later politician **], general and later politician
**] **]
**] **]
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*Artists *Artists
**], painter and poet **], painter and poet

'''Sample of Arvanitika'''
arvanitika http://www.arvasynel.gr/arvanitikoi_dialogoi.html
Eni te tzem Arberiste.
Flet fare arbëriste ?
Flas shum pak.
Ku i dsure ?
I dsura në stëpí.
Flisnë tata
Edhe mëma.
Pse núku të dsun më shum ?
Pse u dúkei pse ajo gljuha nuk veljen gjifáre.
Tsë thua more, gljuha jon vlen shum.
Ishtë shumë e vjetërë, ishtë gljuha e Pelasgevet, çë rroin këtu milje vitra më përpara. Gljuha jon íst gljuha éme ne shum gljuh Evropiane franqishtes, aglishtes, italishtes…
Po njeh arbëriste tze më njora ato gljuhët

Takimi.
Çë bën je mir?
Si jam?
Shum mir.
Ti si je?
Edhé u jam shum mir.
Si ishte it at?
Edhé ai isht shum mir.
Thuai të faltura.
Gruaja jote si ishtë?
Nani edhe ajo, ishtë mir, i shkoi sëmunda çë kéi.
Ti thuash të tatë po do të vemi nestrë të presmë dru, të më mar në telefon.

Û, ti, ái, ajó, Ne, neve, ju, juve, atá, ató. Ími, íti, atía, asája, íni, júai, atíre(ve). Të kem, kesh, ket, kemi, kíni, kenë. Të jem, jesh, jet, jeshëm, jeshët, jeshënë. Të keshë, keshe, kish, keshëm, keshëtë, kishnë. Të jeshë, jeshe, ish, jeshëm, jeshët, íshnë. Kam, ke, ka, jam, je, ishtë, është. Kemi, kini, kanë, jemi, jini, janë. Keshë, keshe, kish, jeshë, jeshe, ish Keshëm, keshëtë, kishnë, jeshëm, jeshëtë, ishnë.


==See also== ==See also==
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==References== ==References==
===External links=== ===Footnotes===
<references/>
* (in Greek only)
**{{note|ArvaniticLeagueLexicon}} {{Web reference | title=Greek Arvanitic Lexicon | work=arvasynel.gr | url=http://arvasynel.gr/ellinoarv_lexiko.html | date=December 14 | year=2005}}

* by the '''HHRW'''


===Bibliography=== ===Bibliography===
* ''"Arvanites, the Dorians of modern Hellenism, history of Arvanites Greeks"'' ("Αρβανίτες, οι Δωριείς του νεότερου Ελληνισμού, η ιστορία των Ελλήνων Αρβανιτών"), ], 1st edition, 1960
** (3rd edition, 1998: ISBN 9602040319 )
* ''"Arvanites and arvanitic song in Greece"'', Yannis Gkikas
* ''"Arvanites and the origins of the Greeks"'', Aristeides Kollias, 1983
* ''"The Greeks Arvanites"'', Maria Michael-Dede, 1997
* ''"Anthology of Arvanitika songs of Greece"'', Thanasis Moraitis, 2002, ISBN 9608597676


*Babiniotis, Georgios (1998), ''Λεξικό της Νέας Ελληνικής Γλώσσας.'' Athens: Kentro Lexikologias.
]
*Banfi, Emanuele (1996), "Minoranze linguistiche in Grecia problemi storico- e sociolinguistici". In: C. Vallini (ed.), ''Minoranze e lingue minoritarie : convegno internazionale''. Naples: Universtario Orientale. 89-115.
]
*Biris, Kostas (1960): ''Αρβανίτες, οι Δωριείς του νεότερου Ελληνισμού: H ιστορία των Ελλήνων Αρβανιτών''. . Athens. (3rd ed. 1998: ISBN 9602040319 )
*Botsi, Eleni (2003): ''Die sprachliche Selbst- und Fremdkonstruktion am Beispiel eines arvanitischen Dorfes Griechenlands: Eine soziolinguistische Studie.'' ("Linguistic construction of the self and the other in an Arvanitic village in Greece: A sociolinguistic study"). PhD dissertation, University of Konstanz, Germany.
*Breu, Walter (1990): "Sprachliche Minderheiten in Italien und Griechenland." In: B. Spillner (ed.), ''Interkulturelle Kommunikation.'' Frankfurt: Lang. 169-170.
*Dede, Maria (1987): ''Οι Έλληνες Αρβανίτες.'' . Ioannina: Idryma Voreioipirotikon Erevnon.
*Ducellier, Alain (1994): ''Οι Αλβανοί στην Ελλάδα (13-15 αι.): Η μετανάστευση μίας κοινώτητας.'' Athen: Idhrima Gulandri Horn.
*Furikis, Petros (1931): "Πόθεν το εθνικόν Αρβανίτης;" ''Αθήνα'' 43: 3-37.
*Furikis, Petros (1934): "Η εν Αττική ελληνοαλβανική διάλεκτος". ''Αθήνα'' 45: 49-181.
*Grapsitis, Vasilis (1989): ''Οι Αρβανίτες.'' Athen.
*GHM (=Greek Helsinki Monitor) (1995): "Report: The Arvanites".
*Haebler, Claus (1965): ''Grammatik der albanischen Mundarten von Salamis.'' Wiesbaden: Harassowitz.
*Jochalas, Titos P. (1971): ''Über die Einwanderung der Albaner in Griechenland: Eine zusammenfassene Betrachtung.'' München: Trofenik.
*Kollias, Aristidis (1985): ''Αρβανίτες και η καταγωγή των Ελλήνων.'' . Athen.
*Moraitis, Thanassis (2002): ''Anthology of Arvanitika songs of Greece''. Athens. (ISBN 9608597676)
*MRG (=Minority Rights Group) (1991): ''Greece and its minorities.'' London: Minority Rights Publications.
*Panagiotopulos, Vasilis (1985): ''Πλυθισμός και οικισμοί της Πελοποννήσου, 13ος-18ος αιώνας.'' . Athens: Istoriko Archeio, Emporiki Trapeza tis Elladas.
*Paschidis, Athanasios (1879): ''Οι Αλβανοί και το μέλον αυτών εν τω Ελληνισμώ'' . Athen.
*Poulos, Ioannis (1950): "Η εποίκησις των Αλβανών εις Κορινθίαν." ''Επετηρίς μεσαιονικού αρχείου'', Athen. 31-96.
*Sasse, Hans-Jürgen (1985): "Sprachkontakt und Sprachwandel: Die Gräzisierung der albanischen Mundarten Griechenlands". ''Papiere zur Linguistik'' 32(1). 37-95.
*Sasse, Hans-Jürgen (1991): ''Arvanitika: Die albanischen Sprachreste in Griechenland.'' . Wiesbaden.
*Schukalla, Karl-Josef (1993): "Nationale Minderheiten in Albanien und Albaner im Ausland." . In: K.-D. Grothusen (ed.), ''Südosteuropa-Handbuch: Albanien.'' Göttingen: Vandenhoeck &amp; Ruprecht. 505-528.
*Sella-Mazi, Eleni (1997): "Διγλωσσία και ολιγώτερο ομιλούμενες γλώσσες στην Ελλάδα" . In: K. Tsitselikis, D. Christopoulos (eds.), ''Το μειονοτικό φαινόμενο στην Ελλάδα'' . Athens: Ekdoseis Kritiki. 349-413.
*Stylos, N. (no date): ''Στοιχεία προΐστορίας σε πανάρξηαια αρβανίτικα κείμενα.'' . No publishing information available.
*Trudgill, Peter (1976/77): "Creolization in reverse: Reduction and simplification in the Albanian dialects of Greece." ''Transactions of the Philological Society'' (Vol?), 32-50.
*Trudgill, Peter (1986): ''Dialects in contact''. Oxford: Blackwell.
*Trudgill, Peter (2004): "Glocalisation and the Ausbau sociolinguistics of modern Europe". In: A. Duszak, U. Okulska (eds.), ''Speaking from the margin: Global English from a European perspective''. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
*Trudgill, Peter, George A. Tzavaras (1977): "Why Albanian-Greeks are not Albanians: Language shift in Attika and Biotia." In: H. Giles (ed.), ''Language, ethnicity and intergroup relations.'' London: Academic Press. 171-184.
*Tsigos, Athanasios (1991): ''Κείμενα για τους Αρβανίτες.'' . Athens.
*Tsitsipis, Lukas (1981): ''Language change and language death in Albanian speech communities in Greece: A sociolinguistic study.'' PhD dissertation, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
*Tsitsipis, Lukas (1983): "Language shift among the Albanian speakers of Greece." ''Anthropological Linguisitcs'' 25(3): 288-308.
*Tsitsipis, Lukas (1995): "The coding of linguistic ideology in Arvanitika (Albanian): Language shift, congruent and contradictory discourse." ''Anthropological Linguistics'' 37: 541-577.
*Tsitsipis, Lukas (1998): ''Αρβανίτικα και Ελληνικά: Ζητήματα πολυγλωσσικών και πολυπολιτισμικών κοινοτήτων.'' . Vol. 1. Livadeia.



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Revision as of 09:26, 18 February 2006

Ethnic group
Arvanites
File:FArvanites.jpg
Regions with significant populations
Greece
Languages
Arvanitic, Greek
Religion
Greek Orthodox
Related ethnic groups
Albanians

Arvanites (Greek: Αρβανίτες, see below for more about names) are a population group in Greece whose linguistic heritage is Arvanitic, a form of Albanian. Arvanites are predominantly Greek Orthodox Christians and identify themselves ethnically and nationally as Greeks. They used to be the predominant population element in several regions in the south of Greece up to the 19th century. Today, their language is under danger of extinction due to language shift towards Greek and due to large-scale migrations into the cities.

Foreign sources sometimes refer to Arvanites as Albanians, as did some older Greek authors. Today, however, Arvanites in Greece typically object to being associated with the Albanian nation or being called an "ethnic minority", since they have a strong feeling of being ethnically Greek (GHM 1995). For the same reason, many also object to the designation of their language as a dialect of Albanian, preferring instead to regard it as a separate language. Many Albanians, on the other hand, prefer to view Arvanites as an Albanian minority group.

History

Arvanites in the south of Greece are believed to be the descendants of Albanian-speaking settlers, who moved south at different times between the 11th century and the 15th century from what is today southern Albania and northwest Greece (Biris 1960, Poulos 1950, Panagiotopulos 1985) . Some of this migration happened in the course of settlement programmes invited by the Byzantine and Frankish rulers of the time in order to re-populated deserted areas in the south. Later movements are believed to have been motivated to evade Islamization after the Ottoman conquest.

While most historians regard the ancestors of today's Arvanites as part of the same medieval population groups that are also the ancestors to present-day Albanians, some Greek authors have argued that the settlers were not ethnic Albanians in a true sense. Their hypotheses are that Arvanites were either descendants of originally Greek populations who had only intermediately become Albanized; or that they were descendants of some other Thraco-Illyrian tribes and as such related but not identical to Albanians proper; or that Arvanites are descendants of the original pre-Greek "Pelasgian" population and as such actually autochthonous to southern Greece.

Being Orthodox Christians, Arvanites identified with the Greeks in their conflicts with Muslim during the time of the Ottoman Empire. Many Arvanites are credited with having played an important role fighting as Greeks in the Greek War of Independence of 1821-1830. With the formation of modern nations and nation states in the Balkans, Arvanites have come to be regarded as an integral part of the Greek nation.

Demographics

File:Gkikas cover.jpg
Photograph of an Arvanite.

The regions traditionally inhabited by Arvanites in the south of Greece are found across large parts of Attica, Boeotia, the Peloponnese, the south of the island of Euboea and the north of the island of Andros. Within Attica, the capital Athens and its suburbs were partly Arvanitic until the late 19th century. There are also settlements in Fthiotida, Lokrida and several islands of the Saronic Gulf including Salamis.

Other groups of Arvanites live in the north of Greece in areas closer to Albania and the historical centers of contiguous Albanian populations (Banfi 1996). Some of them live in Epirus (Thesprotia and Preveza); in Florina/Konitsa (near the border of the Republic of Macedonia); and in some locations further east in Thrace. These settlements are believed to be of a later date than the southern ones (GHM 1995).

There are no reliable figures about the number of Arvanites in Greece today. The last official census figures available come from 1951. The following is a summary of the widely diverging estimates (Botsi 2003: 97):

  • 1928 census: 18,773 citizens self-identifying as "Albanophone", i.e. Arvanitic-speaking.
  • 1951 census: 22,736 "Albanophones".
  • Furikis (1934): estimated 70,000 Arvanites only in Attica.
  • Trudgill/Tzavaras (1976/77): estimated 140,000 only in Attica and Boeotia.
  • Sasse (1991): estimated 50,000 Arvanitic speakers in total.
  • Ethnologue, 2000: 150,000 Arvanites, living in 300 villages.
  • Federal Union of European Nationalities, 1991: 95,000 "Albanians of Greece" (MRG 1991: 189)
  • According to some estimates: up to 250,000 (quoted in Schukalla 1993: 523) or even 1,600,000 (GHM 1995) people of ultimately Arvanitic descent.

The number of active speakers of the Arvanitic language is believed to be much lower than the number of people who identify culturally as Arvanites owing to family tradition and local loyalties (see "Phara" below).

Like the rest of the Greek population, Arvanites have been emigrating from their villages to the cities and especially to the capital Athens. This has contributed to the loss of the language in the younger generation.

Names

The name Arvanites and its equivalents are today used both in Greek (Αρβανίτες) and in Arvanitic itself (Arbërorë, spelled Αρbε̰ρόρε̰ in the Greek-based Arvanitic alphabet). In Standard Albanian, the name is Arvanitë. Arvanites are thus distinguished from ethnic Albanians, who are called Shqiptarë in Arvanitic and in Standard Albanian, and Alvaní (Αλβανοί) in Greek.

The name Arvanites and its Albanian/Arvanitic equivalents go back to an old ethnonym that was formerly used by all Albanians to refer to themselves. Albanians adopted the new name of Shkiptarë and the country name Shqipëria since the 15th century, after the Arvanitic populations had split off. The Arvanites kept the old, common name, as did the Albanophone settlers in Italy (Arbëreshë). The word stems of both Arvanites and Albanians, originally arb- (αρβ-) and alb- (αλβ-) have been attested as designations for people in the area of today's Albania since antiquity. (Polybius: Άρβων, Αρβωνίται; Ptolemy: Αλβανόπολις, Αλβανοί; for more details see: Origins of the name Albania). It is a matter of debate whether the two roots are ultimately cognate, or whether two accidentally similar roots were conflated with each other at a later date (Babiniotis 1998). In Byzantine Greek and in medieval Latin authors, reflexes of both roots are used synonymously for the people of today's Albania.(Botsi 2003: 18-20). This usage continued in Greek until the 19th and early 20th century, with Αλβανοί ("Albanians") being used in formal registers and Αρβανίτες ("Arvanites") used in the more popular speech, but both used indiscriminately for both Muslim and Christian Albanophones. In the course of the formation of the modern nation-state societies, it became customary to use only "Αλβανοί" for the people of Albania, and only "Αρβανίτες" for the Christian Arvanites integrated into Greek society.

Arvanites are distinguished in Greece from Cham Albanians (Greek: "Τσάμηδες"), another group of Albanophones in the northwest of Greece. Unlike the Christian Arvanites, the Chams were predominantly Muslims and identified nationally as Albanians. Most Muslim Chams were expelled from Greece shortly before the end of the Second World War, after violent clashes and atrocities commited during and after Axis occupation.

There is some disagreement to what extent the term "Arvanites" legitimately also includes the small remaining Christian Albanophone population groups in Northwest Greece (Epirus). Unlike the southern Arvanites, these speakers are reported to use the name Shqiptarë both for themselves and for Albanian nationals (Banfi 1996, Moraitis 2002). Botsi (2003: 21) reports that the term "Arvanites" in its narrow sense includes only the populations of the compact Arvanitic settlement areas in southern Greece, according to the self-identification of those groups. The Ethnologue () identifies the present-day Albanian/Arvanitic dialects of Northwestern Greece (in Epirus and Lechovo) with those of the Chams. They are therefore classified linguistically together with standard Tosk Albanian, as opposed to "Arvanitika Albanian proper" (i.e. southern Greek Arvanitic). Nevertheless it reports that in Greek the Epirus varieties are also often subsumed under "Arvanitika" in a wider sense. It puts the estimated number of Epirus Albanophones at 10,000. "Arvanitic proper" () is said to include the outlying dialects spoken in Thrace. Other sources (e.g. GHM 1995) subsume the Epirote Albanophones under the term Arvanites, althogh they note the different linguistic self-designation.


Language use and language perception

Main article: ]

The decline of the Arvanitic language has been brought about by several factors. One is the demographic trend of movement towards the cities, breaking up some of the social ties of village communities. It is also reported that many Arvanites in past decades have maintained a stance of social self-deprecation of the traditional community language, encouraging younger generations to switch to the dominant language, Greek, which was associated with social mobility and modernity.(Tsitsipis 1981, Botsi 2003) Especially earlier in the 20th century, Greek state institutions are reported to have sometimes followed a policy of actively discouraging and repressing the use of the Arvanitic language, most strongly under the nationalist Metaxas regime of 1936-1940 (GHM 1995).

While the Arvanitic language was commonly called Albanian in Greece until the 20th century, the wish of Arvanites to express their ethnic identification as Greeks has led to a stance of rejecting the identification of the language with Albanian as well. Breu (1985: 424) reported that many Arvanites had only very imprecise notions about how related or unrelated their language was to Albanian. Today, many Arvanites prefer to regard Arvanitic as a separate language. As Arvanitic is almost exclusively a spoken language, Arvanites also have no practical affiliation with the Standard Albanian language used in Albania, as they do not use this form in writing or in media. The question of linguistic closeness or distance between Arvanitic and Albanian has come to the forefront especially since the early 1990s, when a large number of immigrants from Albania began to enter Greece and came into contact with local Arvanitic communities (Botsi 2003).

Since the 1980s, there have been some organized efforts to preserve the cultural heritage of Arvanites. Recently, along with Tsakonian, Arvanitic has obtained the status of a "protected" languge.

Minority status

For most Arvanites today, their Arvanitic ancestry is not used as an ethnic self-identification but rather as a secondary folkish identity. Many Arvanites take offense at being called Albanians, and many are also reported to be strongly opposed against the idea of obtaining any kind of officially recognized "minority" status. The issue of Arvanites' being described as an ethnic minority has at some times become a political issue between Greece and Albania, for instance during the 1990s, when remarks by Albanian president Sali Berisha provoked a furious reaction among the Arvanitic community in the Greek mass media.

Folk culture

Phara

Phara (φάρα) is a descent model, similar to Scottish clans. Arvanites were organised in phares (φάρες) mostly during the reign of the Ottoman Empire. The apex was a warlord and the phara was named after him (i.e. Botsaris' phara). In an Arvanitic village each phara was responsible to keep genealogical records (see also registry offices), that are preserved until today as historical documents in local libraries. Usually there were more than one phares in an Arvanitic village and sometimes they were organised in phratries that had conflict of interests. Those phratries didn't last long, because each leader of a phara desired to be the leader of the phratry and would not be lead by another.

Arvanitic songs

Although they are almost fully assimilated into Greek society, some distinct Arvanitic cultural characteristics are still identifiable.

There are 4 music CDs featuring Arvanitic songs although the lyrics are often in Greek. There are no mass media in Arvanitic, although some local radio stations have occasionally broadcast Arvanitic songs. During the last decades there have been made some attempts to document Arvanitic songs, the most recent by Thanasis Moraitis.

Arvanitic songs share similarities with Arbëresh, Albanian and Greek Epirote music.


Trivia

Ouzo bottle from the town of Plomari in Lesvos.
  • Arvanitissa is the feminine of Arvanitis in Greek.
  • Arvanites refer to their place of origin as Arvanitia (today southern Albania and NW Greece). Sometimes they apply this term to the whole of Albania and/or Epirus.
  • Arvanites of Epirus named the north wind Arvanitis.
  • Ouzo Plomari, Isidoros Arvanitis, 1894 (Ούζο Πλωμαρίου, Ισιδώρου Αρβανίτου, 1894) (note: Plomari is a town of Lesvos).

Studies and books about the Arvanites

Kostas Biris

Biris was a folklorist and an architect. His book "Arvanites, the Dorians of modern Hellenism, history of Arvanites Greeks" (1960) is a thorough study on Arvanites and it is the most referenced work by other scholars who studied Arvanites.

Maria Michael-Dede

File:Dede cover.jpg
Arvanitissa with a traditional dress.

Maria Michael-Dede is an author of literature and an ethnologist. She has written two books about Arvanitic songs (1978) and the book The Greek Arvanites (1997).

Aristeides Kollias

Kollias, a lawyer by profession, performed ethnologist studies on Arvanites. In his book "Arvanites and the origin of the Greeks" (1983), Kollias promotes the Pelasgian theory that identifies the Pelasgians with the Arvanites. Kollias states that Greek people and Albanian people were closer in the past than they are during the last two centuries and that they both descend from the Pelasgians. His rejection of the Indo-European theory and his theory that Arvanitika is very close (if not identical) to the Homeric Greek have been criticized, however his work on Arvanitic culture is generally accepted.

Thanasis Moraitis

Moraitis had worked with Kollias for some time, and he did an extensive search on Arvanitic music. In his book "Arvanitika Songs", he documents about 150 songs, analyzes their musical structure, and also has texts by linguists and historians about Arvanitic history, culture and the Arvanitic language.

Famous Arvanites

File:Kollias cover.jpg
Kollias' book, "Arvanites and the Origin of the Greeks" (1983).

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. E.g. Schukalla (1993).
  2. E.g. Paschidis (1879), Poulos (1950).
  3. See survey of the literature in Botsi (2003: 20-22) and GHM (1995).
  4. The latter view is currently propagated by the largest association of Greek Arvanites (Αρβανιτικός Σύνδεσμος Ελλάδος). It has quoted a self-published study (Stylos, no date, see and ) arguing that several archaic ancient Greek inscriptions, among them the famous Dipylon inscription (which all other scholarship agrees to be Greek), are in fact written in Arvanitic. These views have no echo in mainstream scholarship to date. See , and for the accepted Greek readings.
  5. See GHM (1995) for references.

Bibliography

  • Babiniotis, Georgios (1998), Λεξικό της Νέας Ελληνικής Γλώσσας. Athens: Kentro Lexikologias.
  • Banfi, Emanuele (1996), "Minoranze linguistiche in Grecia problemi storico- e sociolinguistici". In: C. Vallini (ed.), Minoranze e lingue minoritarie : convegno internazionale. Naples: Universtario Orientale. 89-115.
  • Biris, Kostas (1960): Αρβανίτες, οι Δωριείς του νεότερου Ελληνισμού: H ιστορία των Ελλήνων Αρβανιτών. . Athens. (3rd ed. 1998: ISBN 9602040319 )
  • Botsi, Eleni (2003): Die sprachliche Selbst- und Fremdkonstruktion am Beispiel eines arvanitischen Dorfes Griechenlands: Eine soziolinguistische Studie. ("Linguistic construction of the self and the other in an Arvanitic village in Greece: A sociolinguistic study"). PhD dissertation, University of Konstanz, Germany. Online text
  • Breu, Walter (1990): "Sprachliche Minderheiten in Italien und Griechenland." In: B. Spillner (ed.), Interkulturelle Kommunikation. Frankfurt: Lang. 169-170.
  • Dede, Maria (1987): Οι Έλληνες Αρβανίτες. . Ioannina: Idryma Voreioipirotikon Erevnon.
  • Ducellier, Alain (1994): Οι Αλβανοί στην Ελλάδα (13-15 αι.): Η μετανάστευση μίας κοινώτητας. Athen: Idhrima Gulandri Horn.
  • Furikis, Petros (1931): "Πόθεν το εθνικόν Αρβανίτης;" Αθήνα 43: 3-37.
  • Furikis, Petros (1934): "Η εν Αττική ελληνοαλβανική διάλεκτος". Αθήνα 45: 49-181.
  • Grapsitis, Vasilis (1989): Οι Αρβανίτες. Athen.
  • GHM (=Greek Helsinki Monitor) (1995): "Report: The Arvanites". Online report
  • Haebler, Claus (1965): Grammatik der albanischen Mundarten von Salamis. Wiesbaden: Harassowitz.
  • Jochalas, Titos P. (1971): Über die Einwanderung der Albaner in Griechenland: Eine zusammenfassene Betrachtung. München: Trofenik.
  • Kollias, Aristidis (1985): Αρβανίτες και η καταγωγή των Ελλήνων. . Athen.
  • Moraitis, Thanassis (2002): Anthology of Arvanitika songs of Greece. Athens. (ISBN 9608597676)
  • MRG (=Minority Rights Group) (1991): Greece and its minorities. London: Minority Rights Publications.
  • Panagiotopulos, Vasilis (1985): Πλυθισμός και οικισμοί της Πελοποννήσου, 13ος-18ος αιώνας. . Athens: Istoriko Archeio, Emporiki Trapeza tis Elladas.
  • Paschidis, Athanasios (1879): Οι Αλβανοί και το μέλον αυτών εν τω Ελληνισμώ . Athen.
  • Poulos, Ioannis (1950): "Η εποίκησις των Αλβανών εις Κορινθίαν." Επετηρίς μεσαιονικού αρχείου, Athen. 31-96.
  • Sasse, Hans-Jürgen (1985): "Sprachkontakt und Sprachwandel: Die Gräzisierung der albanischen Mundarten Griechenlands". Papiere zur Linguistik 32(1). 37-95.
  • Sasse, Hans-Jürgen (1991): Arvanitika: Die albanischen Sprachreste in Griechenland. . Wiesbaden.
  • Schukalla, Karl-Josef (1993): "Nationale Minderheiten in Albanien und Albaner im Ausland." . In: K.-D. Grothusen (ed.), Südosteuropa-Handbuch: Albanien. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. 505-528.
  • Sella-Mazi, Eleni (1997): "Διγλωσσία και ολιγώτερο ομιλούμενες γλώσσες στην Ελλάδα" . In: K. Tsitselikis, D. Christopoulos (eds.), Το μειονοτικό φαινόμενο στην Ελλάδα . Athens: Ekdoseis Kritiki. 349-413.
  • Stylos, N. (no date): Στοιχεία προΐστορίας σε πανάρξηαια αρβανίτικα κείμενα. . No publishing information available.
  • Trudgill, Peter (1976/77): "Creolization in reverse: Reduction and simplification in the Albanian dialects of Greece." Transactions of the Philological Society (Vol?), 32-50.
  • Trudgill, Peter (1986): Dialects in contact. Oxford: Blackwell.
  • Trudgill, Peter (2004): "Glocalisation and the Ausbau sociolinguistics of modern Europe". In: A. Duszak, U. Okulska (eds.), Speaking from the margin: Global English from a European perspective. Frankfurt: Peter Lang. Online article
  • Trudgill, Peter, George A. Tzavaras (1977): "Why Albanian-Greeks are not Albanians: Language shift in Attika and Biotia." In: H. Giles (ed.), Language, ethnicity and intergroup relations. London: Academic Press. 171-184.
  • Tsigos, Athanasios (1991): Κείμενα για τους Αρβανίτες. . Athens.
  • Tsitsipis, Lukas (1981): Language change and language death in Albanian speech communities in Greece: A sociolinguistic study. PhD dissertation, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
  • Tsitsipis, Lukas (1983): "Language shift among the Albanian speakers of Greece." Anthropological Linguisitcs 25(3): 288-308.
  • Tsitsipis, Lukas (1995): "The coding of linguistic ideology in Arvanitika (Albanian): Language shift, congruent and contradictory discourse." Anthropological Linguistics 37: 541-577.
  • Tsitsipis, Lukas (1998): Αρβανίτικα και Ελληνικά: Ζητήματα πολυγλωσσικών και πολυπολιτισμικών κοινοτήτων. . Vol. 1. Livadeia.