Šiptars

''Shqiptar'' ( sq-definite, Shqip(ë)tari; ; plural: ''Shqiptarë/-t'', ''Shqyptarë/-t'') is an Albanian ethnonym (endonym), by which Albanians call themselves. They call their country (). It has gradually replaced the Old Albanian endonym ''Arbënesh/Arbëresh'' after the Middle Ages in the western Balkans.

Etymology

The first documentation of the adverb/adjective ''shqip'' can already be found in the '' Meshari'', the oldest Albanian language book published in 1555 by Gjon Buzuku. Johann Georg von Hahn (1854) was the first to derive the term ''Shqiptar'' from the Albanian verbs ''shqipoj'' ("to speak clearly") and ''shqiptoj'' ("to speak out, pronounce"), while Gustav Meyer (1891) was the first to derive ''shqipoj'' from the Latin verb , denoting people who speak the same language, similar to the ethno-linguistic dichotomies ''Sloven—Nemac'' and ''Deutsch—Wälsch''. This etymology is widely accepted by modern Albanologists. Demetrio Camarda (1864), on the other hand, was the first to derive ''Shqiptar'' from the Albanian noun ''shqipe'' or ''shqiponjë'' (eagle). This theory, now considered a folk etymology, is based mainly on the symbolic meaning of the eagle for the Albanian people, as it is their national bird, a totem associated with freedom and heroism in Albanian folklore. It has been used as a national symbol since their earliest records, and was a common heraldic symbol for many Albanian dynasties in the Late Middle Ages; an example is the flag of Skanderbeg, whose family symbol was the black double-headed eagle, which is displayed on the Albanian flag.

History

During the Middle Ages, the Albanians called their country ''Arbëria'' (Gheg: ''Arbënia'') and referred to themselves as ''Arbëresh'' (Gheg: ''Arbënesh'') while known through derivative terms by neighbouring peoples as '' Arbanasi'', ''Arbanenses / Albaneses'', ''Arvanites'' (''Arbanites''), ''Arnaut'', ''Arbineş'' and so on. The words ''Shqipëri'' and ''Shqiptar'' are attested from 14th century onward, but it was only at the end of 17th and beginning of the early 18th centuries that the placename and the ethnic demonym ''Shqiptarë'' gradually replaced ''Arbëria'' and ''Arbëreshë'' amongst Albanian speakers. This was due to socio-political, cultural, economic and religious complexities that Albanians experienced during the Ottoman era. The usage of the old endonym ''Arbënesh/Arbëresh'', however, persisted and was retained by Albanian communities which had migrated from Albania and adjacent areas centuries before the change of the self-designation, namely the Arbëreshë of Italy, the Arvanites of Greece as well as Arbanasi in Croatia. As such, the medieval migrants to Greece and later migrants to Italy during the 15th-century are not aware of the term ''Shqiptar''.

Non-Albanian usage

Use in Western Europe

''Skipetar/s'' is a historical rendering or exonym of the term ''Shqiptar'' by some Western European authors in use from the late 18th century to the early 20th century.

Use in South Slavic languages

The term ''Shiptar'' (Serbo-Croatian Latin and Slovene: ; Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic and Macedonian: ) used in Serbo-Croatian, Slovene and Macedonian is an ethnic slur, and it is also considered derogatory by Albanians when used by South Slavic peoples, due to its negative connotations.

After 1945, in pursuit of a policy of national equality, the Communist Party of Yugoslavia designated the Albanian community as Shiptars, however with increasing autonomy during the 1960s for Kosovo Albanians, their leadership requested, and attained in 1974, the term Albanians be officially used stressing a national over an only ethnic, self-identification.

These developments resulted in the word in Serbian usage acquiring pejorative connotations that implied Albanian racial and cultural inferiority. It continued to be used by some Yugoslav and Serb politicians to relegate the status of Albanians to simply one of the minority ethnic groups.

The official (and often neutral) terms for Albanians in South Slavic languages are (in Serbo-Croatian Latin), (in Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic), (in Slovene) and (in Macedonian).

Dušan Spasojević, a Serbian gangster, was nicknamed "Šiptar". In 2018, the Supreme Court in Belgrade defined the word as racist and discriminatory against Albanians. In 2019, the Serbian Defense Minister, Aleksandar Vulin, sparked controversy by using the pejorative for Albanians.

During a game between Austria and North Macedonia at the UEFA Euro 2020, immediately after scoring a goal, Austrian forward Marko Arnautović—who is of paternal Serb descent—shouted to Macedonian players Ezgjan Alioski and Egzon Bejtulai—both Macedonian Albanians—. He was punished with suspension for the next game against Netherlands.

See also

*Names of the Albanians and Albania
*Albania (placename)

Sources

Citations

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Ethnonyms
Culture of Albania
Albanian language