Diellina, një bimë Trako-Dake me emër Proto-Albanoid
Diellina, a Thracian-Dacian Plant with a Proto-Albanoid Name

Summary/Abstract: The Thracian-Dacian term diellina, which refers to “henbane” and is mentioned by the Greek pharmacologist Pedanius Dioscorides in his list of medicinal plants, not only displays a clear etymological connection with the Albanian word diell meaning “sun”, but also serves as evidence for the phonetic evolution from a palatal velar to a dental, a characteristic phonetic change in Albanian. In the central-western Balkan Peninsula, where, according to Eric Hamp's thesis, the so-called Proto-Albanoid dialects were spoken, certain anthroponyms, toponyms, and glosses have been recorded with alternating spellings using dentals and sibilants. This phenomenon reflects the uncertainty of the Greeks and Romans in transcribing the unfamiliar Proto-Albanian affricates. The examples of names with alternating spellings using dentals and sibilants can not only be linked to an earlier stage of the Albanian language but provide strong support for Hamp's thesis about the Proto-Albanoid dialects.

• Details
• Contents