Summary

The article examines Albanian toponyms and proposed etymologies in the Mosor, Kozjak, and wider Dinaric regions. Names such as Banjača, Půlcševa, Peulje, and Thebron are interpreted as preserving Albanian or pre-Slavic linguistic elements. Their meanings relate to habitation, pastoral settlements, forests, and ancient geographical names. The evidence is presented as possible support for the survival of an indigenous Illyrian population and for prolonged bilingualism between older inhabitants and Slavic settlers.

Introduction

Toponyms constitute an important source for the study of historical populations, linguistic contact, and the cultural history of the Balkans. In regions where Illyrian, Albanian, Romance, and Slavic languages have interacted over long periods, place names may preserve linguistic elements that have disappeared from everyday speech. The toponyms discussed in the present material, particularly those associated with the Mosor and Kozjak areas of Dalmatia, have been interpreted as evidence for an older Albanian or Illyrian linguistic layer that survived alongside, and eventually interacted with, the Slavic languages introduced into the region.

One of the most notable examples is the toponym Banjača, a name associated with an area characterized by sparse forest and Mediterranean macchia. According to the interpretation presented in the source, Banjača is of Cincarian origin and is connected with the word banë, which has meanings including residence, dwelling, headquarters, station, and a shepherd’s hut or temporary settlement on mountain pastures. The same interpretation associates the word with an Albanian lexical element of Illyrian origin, following criteria attributed to the linguist A. Mayer.[1]

The semantic range of banë is particularly relevant to the interpretation of the toponym. The word belongs to a semantic field associated with habitation, settlement, territorial organization, and pastoral life. Such meanings are entirely compatible with the historical landscape of the Dinaric and Balkan mountains, where temporary pastoral settlements and seasonal movement between lowlands and mountain pastures played an important role. The survival of a term connected with residence or a pastoral station in a place name could therefore reflect an older linguistic layer even after the dominant language of the region had changed.

The historical distribution of the word is also significant. The source refers to Charles du Cange’s Glossarium ad scriptores mediae et infimae latinitatis, where the form ban is recorded and is said to be used in connection with an agricultural area or territory: “Ban… pro agro et territorio frequenter accipitur.”[2]

Půlcševa (Peulje)

Another important example is the toponym Půlcševa, which designates a forested area on the northern slope of Mosor, east of Ljutikamen. The proposed etymology derives the name from Albanian pyll/pull, meaning “forest.” The source further connects this form with an older sequence of forms, pëull < padule/pădure < palüde, suggesting a possible historical relationship between Albanian and Romance vocabulary associated with wooded or uncultivated land.[3]

A comparable form is found in Peulje, described as the name of a forested area on the northern slope of the Dinara near Knin. The similarity between Půlcševa and Peulje is important because both are associated with woodland and both have been interpreted through Albanian lexical material relating to forests.

The wider historical argument proposed by the source is that an indigenous population of Illyrian origin, subsequently influenced by Greek and Roman culture, remained relatively compact in the Mosor and Kozjak regions long after the arrival of the Slavs. According to this, Albanian elements survived not only among populations identified explicitly as Albanian but also among groups conventionally described as Vlachs. The appearance of Albanian-derived names among Vlach populations is therefore interpreted as evidence of prolonged multilingual contact rather than as a simple indication of ethnic identity.[4]

Mandir staje, Dóman staje

The linguistic contact between the older inhabitants and the incoming Slavic population is also illustrated by what the source describes as hybrid tautological compounds. Examples such as Mandir staje, Dóman staje, and Ljût kämen are interpreted as formations in which elements from different linguistic traditions express essentially the same semantic concept. Such constructions are particularly revealing because they demonstrate bilingualism or prolonged language contact: speakers familiar with both linguistic systems could reproduce, translate, or reinforce an older place-name element with a corresponding element from another language.[5]

Ljût kämen

The example of Ljût kämen is especially interesting in this respect. The structure can be understood as a hybrid formation in which a Slavic element is combined with an older element belonging to another linguistic layer. Such tautological formations are not unique to the Balkans, but in a multilingual environment they can preserve traces of the interaction between successive populations and languages. They may represent attempts by speakers of a new dominant language to reinterpret older names in terms that were semantically transparent to them.

Thebron

An even more significant case is the ancient name Thebron, which, according to the source, continued to be heard by the Slavic settlers from the earlier inhabitants of the Mosor region. The preservation of the initial voiceless aspirated th is presented as evidence of an Albanian linguistic connection. The source compares this feature with Albanian forms such as garth/gardhi and their Romanian counterpart gard, noting differences in the treatment of the dental consonant.[6]

The proposed transition from Thebero to Debero is interpreted as a phonological adaptation occurring after the Slavic population came into contact with the older form. The source argues that the change from the voiceless aspirated dental to a voiced dental could have taken place without an intermediate dh, especially since the voiced aspirated dental was considered relatively uncommon. The discussion draws on the work of Gustav Meyer and other scholars of Albanian historical phonology, including Norbert Jokl.[7]

The significance of Thebron lies not merely in the proposed phonetic development but in the historical circumstances implied by its preservation. If the name was indeed transmitted orally from the earlier inhabitants to Slavic newcomers, it would provide an example of linguistic continuity across a major demographic and linguistic transition. The new population would have inherited an existing geographical vocabulary and adapted unfamiliar sounds to the phonological system of its own language.

Conclusion

Taken together, the examples of Banjača, Půlcševa, Peulje, and Thebron illustrate the potential importance of Albanian and pre-Slavic linguistic elements in the toponymy of the eastern Adriatic and Dinaric regions. They also demonstrate that the linguistic history of the Balkans cannot easily be divided into separate Greek, Roman, Albanian, Vlach, and Slavic layers. Instead, the evidence points toward prolonged interaction, bilingualism, borrowing, phonological adaptation, and the preservation of older geographical names.

The evidence discussed here supports the broader proposition that Albanian anad Illyrian linguistic material deserves careful consideration in the historical toponymy of Dalmatia and the Dinaric hinterland. The persistence of names associated with habitation, pastoral settlement, woodland, and ancient geographical designations may preserve fragments of linguistic history that survived successive changes in political authority and dominant language. Rather than treating these names simply as isolated curiosities, they can be examined as part of a broader linguistic palimpsest in which successive pre-Slavic populations left traces of their languages on the same landscape.

The study of such toponyms therefore contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the transition from the ancient Illyrian world to the medieval Balkan linguistic landscape. Whether every proposed Albanian etymology can ultimately be sustained is a question requiring further comparative research. Nevertheless, the concentration of potentially Albanian forms, together with evidence for bilingual and hybrid formations, makes the Mosor-Kozjak region an important area for investigating the survival and transformation of pre-Slavic linguistic elements in the western Balkans.

Notes

1. A. Mayer, as cited in the source material, in connection with the etymology of Banjača and Albanian banë.
2. Charles du Cange, Glossarium ad scriptores mediae et infimae latinitatis, s.v. “Ban,” cited in the source material.
3. The etymological sequence pyll/pull < pëull < padule/pădure < palüde follows the interpretation presented in the supplied source.
4. The argument concerning the survival of an indigenous Greekized and Romanized Illyrian population in the Mosor and Kozjak regions, and the occurrence of Albanian names among Vlach populations, follows the source text supplied by the author.
5. On hybrid tautological compounds and bilingualism, the source attributes the interpretation to Muljačić.
6. The comparison of Albanian garth/gardhi with Romanian gard and the discussion of the preservation of the voiceless aspirated dental are based on the supplied source.
7. Gustav Meyer and Norbert Jokl are cited in the source in connection with Albanian historical phonology and the interpretation of the relevant consonantal developments.