THE SEMANTIC IMPACT OF GREEK BORROWINGS IN ALBANIAN LANGUAGE: A LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS

Аннотация

INTRODUCTION phonetics, and grammar. Language contact and borrowing are central to the study of linguistics, particularly when one language This linguistic influence is particularly evident in exerts a significant influence over another. The the rich variety of Greek borrowings in the Albanian language, with its rich history and diverse Albanian language, especially in fields such as influences, provides an interesting case for religion, governance, trade, and daily life. However, examining how external languages shape its the process of borrowing is not simply a matter of lexicon and semantics. One of the most prominent adopting foreign words; it is also a dynamic influences on Albanian is Greek, a relationship that interaction in which the borrowed terms undergo dates back to antiquity due to geographical semantic shifts to fit the cultural and linguistic proximity, trade, and cultural exchange between context of the receiving language. Words that once Greek-speaking populations and Albanians. From held specific meanings in Greek may evolve or the ancient Greek colonies along the Albanian coast expand in their meanings as they are integrated to the Ottoman era, Greek has permeated Albanian into Albanian speech. The study of these semantic in various forms, influencing vocabulary, changes offers a deeper understanding of how https://www.theamericanjournals.com/index.php/tajssei 1 THE USA JOURNALS THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND EDUCATION INNOVATIONS (ISSN- 2689-100X) VOLUME 06 ISSUE12 Albanian speakers have navigated the cultural and semantically transformed within Albanian. linguistic terrain shaped by their Greek neighbors. Corpus Analysis: The primary source of data for This paper aims to investigate the semantic impact this study is a corpus of Albanian texts, which spans of Greek borrowings in Albanian, focusing on how historical and contemporary sources. The these borrowed words have been reinterpreted historical texts include classical Albanian literature and adapted in the Albanian linguistic system. By and historical documents, while the contemporary examining a broad spectrum of Greek-derived texts are drawn from modern Albanian vocabulary, this study aims to uncover patterns in newspapers, books, and other media. This diverse how meanings are transferred, transformed, or range of texts allows for the identification of Greek expanded in the process of borrowing. Through borrowings over time and their changing semantic linguistic analysis, the paper will explore not only properties. The corpus analysis is aimed at the individual semantic shifts of specific Greek detecting the presence of Greek-derived words, borrowings but also the broader implications of categorizing them by their semantic fields (e.g., these changes for the development of Albanian religion, governance, trade), and examining how vocabulary and the dynamics of language contact. their meanings have shifted in the context of Albanian usage. Special attention is paid to words The study is structured around a detailed analysis that have undergone significant semantic shifts or of both historical and contemporary Greek expansions, as well as those that have retained borrowings in Albanian, employing data drawn meanings closely aligned with their Greek origin. from various sources, including linguistic corpora, dictionaries, and native speaker interviews. By Etymological Research: To understand the depth of focusing on the semantic relations of these semantic change in Greek borrowings, an borrowings, this paper seeks to contribute to the etymological approach is employed. Etymological broader understanding of lexical adaptation and dictionaries and linguistic records are consulted to the role of external influences in shaping a trace the origins of Greek words that have entered language's semantic landscape. the Albanian language. This research is crucial in identifying the original meanings of these words in