Tosk ( sq-definite, toskërishtja) is the southern group of dialects of the

Albanian language Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...

, spoken by the ethnographic group known as

Tosks Tosks () are one of two major dialectal subgroups of Albanians (the other being the Ghegs) differentiated by their linguistic characteristics. Territory ''Tosk'' or ''Toskëri'' may refer to the Tosk-speaking Albanians, Albanian population of ...

. The line of demarcation between Tosk and

Gheg Gheg or Geg (Gheg Albanian: ''gegnisht'', Standard ) is one of the two major varieties of Albanian, the other being Tosk. The geographic dividing line between the two varieties is the Shkumbin River, which winds its way through central Alba ...

(the northern variety) is the Shkumbin River. Tosk is the basis of the standard Albanian language. Major Tosk-speaking groups include the Myzeqars of

Myzeqe The Myzeqe (; sq-definite, Myzeqeja; ) is a plain in the Western Lowlands of Albania. The Myzeqe is the largest and widest plain, measured by area, in the Lowlands. Location The Myzeqe plain is a large alluvial plain traversed by three main riv ...

, Labs of Labëria,

Chams The Chams ( Cham: , چام, ''cam''), or Champa people ( Cham: , اوراڠ چمڤا, ''Urang Campa''; or ; , ), are an Austronesian ethnic group in Southeast Asia and are the original inhabitants of central Vietnam and coastal Cambodia be ...

of Çamëria,

Arvanites Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They are bilingual, traditionally speaking Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and the

Arbëreshë Arbën/Arbër, from which derived Arbënesh/Arbëresh originally meant all Albanians, until the 18th century. Today it is used for different groups of Albanian origin, including: * Arbër (given name), an Albanian masculine given name *Arbëres ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, as well as the original inhabitants of Mandritsa in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. In

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

, there were approximately 3000 speakers in the early 1980s.

Tosk features

* Rhotacism:

Proto-Albanian Proto-Albanian is the ancestral reconstructed language of Albanian, before the Gheg– Tosk dialectal diversification (before ). Albanoid and other Paleo-Balkan languages had their formative core in the Balkans after the Indo-European migrat ...

''*-n-'' becomes ''-r-'' (e.g. ''rëra'' "sand") * Tosk dialects preserve the consonant sequences ''mb'', ''ngj'' and ''nd'' which are assimilated to ''m'', ''nj'' and ''n'' in

. * Proto-Albanian ''*ō'' becomes ''va''. * Nasal vowels: There is a lack of nasal vowels in Tosk (e.g. ''sy'' "eye") and Late Proto-Albanian ''*â'' plus a nasal becomes ''ë'' (e.g. ''nëntë'' "nine"). * e-vowel: The ''e'' becomes ''ë'' in some varieties in some words ''qën'' for ''qen'' in Vjosë. * ë-vowel: The ''ë'' may have several pronunciations depending on dialect: the ''ë'' is more backed in Labërisht dialects like that of

Vuno Vuno is a village in the municipality of Himarë, Vlorë County, Albania. It is situated along the road that connects the center of Himarë with the village of Dhërmi on the Albanian Riviera. The population of Vuno is exclusively composed of O ...

, where ''mëz'' "foal" is ). Final -ë drops in many Tosk dialects and lengthens the preceding vowel. * y-vowel: The ''y'' vowel often derounds to ''i'' in Labërisht, Çam, Arvanitika and Arbëresh (e.g. ''dy'' "two" becomes ''di''). * Dh and Ll: These sounds may interchange in some words in some varieties. * H: This may drop in any position in some dialects. * Gl/Kl: Some varieties of Çam, Arberësh, and Arvanitika retain ''kl'' and ''gl'' in place of ''q'' and ''gj'' (e.g. ''gjuhë'' "tongue" is ''gluhë'' in Çam and Siculo-Arberësh, and ''gljuhë'' in Arvanitika; ''klumësh'' for ''qumësht'' "milk" in Arbëresh). * Rr: ''Rr'' becomes ''r'' in some varieties.

Tosk features

Northern Tosk

Vowels

See also

References

External links