Prejardhja e gjuhës shqipe sipas gjuhëtarit Joachim Matzinger
The Origin of the Albanian Language According to Linguist Joachim Matzinger

Summary/Abstract: The Austrian linguist Joachim Matzinger has been promoting for the past fifteen years the idea that the Albanian language does not originate in the area of today's Albania. Moreover, Matzinger affirms that the Albanian language is not related to either the Illyrian or Thracian languages, but instead comes from an anonymous language, unattested in historical sources. Regarding the Illyrian language, Matzinger claims instead that it belongs to the centum-type western language group, unlike the satem-type Albanian. Analyzing in detail the arguments of the Austrian linguist and providing relevant and conclusive counter-arguments, we reach the conclusion that Matzinger's theses cannot be sustained. The solution to the controversial issue of the origin of the Albanian language must be studied following the proposals of linguists Norbert Jokl, Eqrem Çabej, Grigore Brâncuș, and Eric Hamp, who correctly anticipated that Albanian continues probably an Illyrian dialect, while also presenting an important Thracian component. The special relationship that the Albanian language has with the Romanian language must be explained in the sense proposed by Eric Hamp: the Romanian language is the descendant of a Romanized Proto-Albanoid dialect, considered to be the pre-Latin substrate of the Romanian language.

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