Illyrian - Albanian
The relationship between Illyrian and Albanian is much debated. Some connection seems likely, but the nature of the relationship is disputed beyond a consensus t
hat both languages were spoken in the same area.
In 1709 G. W. Leibnitz called Albanian "the language of the ancient Illyrians". Another supporter of this theory is
G. Meyer; the Albanian language was for him the most recent stage of one of the Illyrian dialects.
Some current
Albanian anthroponomy also seems to have its Illyrian correspondent: eg the Albanian
dash "ram" would correspond the Illyrian "Dassius, Dassus"; also the Albanian
bardhë "white" would correspond to "Bardus, Bardullis, Bardyllis" which are different Latin written names to imitate the Illyrian sound. And some
ethnonyms of Illyrian tribes also seem to have their Albanian equivalents, e.g., the name
Dalmatians may correspond to Albanian delmë "sheep"[3]; also the name of
Dardanians may correspond to Albanian
dardhë "pear"
[4]. It should be pointed out, however, that these words present a number of etymological problems, namely incongruent sound correspondences
[5].
Illyrian place-name Albanian Observation Ulkinium (
Ulcinj,
Montenegro) ujk "wolf" (archaic
ulk) + -inj "plural or collective ending" IE *(w)ulkos "wolf" + inium "collective suffix"