Syllabification is one of the most complex issues in Albanian phonetics. An extensive treatment of the topic was made by Dodi (2004), who, thanks to a thorough acquaintance with the existing literature on the area, also clearly states the drawbacks of the main theories of the syllable, based on material from the Albanian language. However, despite the huge research carried out and the important results achieved, the positions of linguists on syllabification remain different. One reason for this is that linguistic literature lacks an established definition of the syllable as a linguistic unit. In the present research on syllabification, we support some of the existing rules by bringing new arguments and making some additions in order to make them more convincing, with a view to improving and simplifying their practical application. We focus on syllable boundary when there are two consonants between vowels, based on the Sonority Sequencing Principle, on the Syllable Contact Law, the Dispersion Principle, and the Maximum Onset Principle.
An important pattern that is based on the sonority relationship is the Sonority Dispersion Principle (SDP) formulated by Clements (1990). This principle can serve as the basis for classifying syllable types in terms of relative complexity. The notion “dispersion in sonority” clearly defined within a demisyllable. According to this principle, the sonority slop from the onset to the syllable nucleus is maximized and from the nucleus to the coda is minimized. The purpose of this paper is to provide some data on the Albanian language by dividing the sounds within the demisyllable, by analyzing the combinations of sounds in the onset and in the coda. According to SDP, in Albanian the optimal syllable structure with 2 elements is C[stop]V, while among the optimal structures with 3 elements, the types C[stop]VC[glide], C[stop]C[liquid]V, C[stop]C[nasal]V and C[fricative]C[liquid]V predominate. The analyzed data are important and serve to deeply recognize the characteristics of phonological system of Albanian and can also serve for its approach to typological level.
As toponyms reflect the life of an area, they deserve special attention while studying the history of that area. The region of Vlora, particularly the area called Labëria, because of its highly varied terrain, is extremely rich in place names, which possess multifaceted values with respect to naming, word formation and lexicology at large. The present study on the Vlora region toponyms focuses on the place names that contain Slavic and Greek elements in their structure. The study material is, basically, from the research of various authors, mostly Albanian. The bulk of the toponyms used here have been collected in field studies, while working with elderly local people and shepherds of the respective zones, who provided us with material of great interest in this domain. The study has cognitive and scientific values and bears witness to the early contacts between peoples. It attempts to further complete and enrich the toponymy of the Vlora region. The collection and systematization of the toponymy of different areas of the region would also be of interest in compiling a toponomastic dictionary in this field of study.
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