Chronological Overview of Islamic Vocabulary in the Dictionaries of Albanian Language

Abstract

The Islamic terminology in the Albanian language has its origins very early, since about 500 years ago, a time that coincides with the start of the process of Islamization of the Balkans. Islam, Islamic culture and traditions brought by the Ottomans, brought a new style of living and were accepted by most of the Albanians, in all their lands (today: Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro). This process was accompanied by borrowing the Islamic terminology, which since five centuries returned to a natural ingredient of the Albanian language. This terminology, which found itself within the Albanian vocabulary, presents some interesting features, for the way it was adopted to the lexical and grammatical features of the Albanian language. Since in the beginnings, the Albanians were familiarized with its use, but due to the historical circumstances, the use of this terminology had its ups and downs. In this paper, we will try to give a complete picture of the use and misuse of this terminology in a chronological sequence. For this, we have observed how this terminology is presented in the greatest lexicographic works of the Albanian language. This study is divided into four (3) parts: 1.Islamic terminology in the documents before the written Albanian language (X- XIXcentury) 2.Islamic terminology in the dictionaries in the communist period (1944- 1991) 3.Islamic terminology in the Albanian dictionaries after democracy (1992-2013)

DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n2p77