Thought I might include some of Matzinger's work here since we are all huge fans:
Matzinger (2018), Lexicon of Albanian in Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics (vol. 3), De Gruyter:
Although it is widely believed that Albanian goes back to Illyrian or even Thracian, this view cannot be seriously upheld from the linguistic point of view (see Matzinger 2009). None of the ancient personal or local names ascribed to Illyrian are continued in Albanian without interruption (e.g. the place-name Shkodra is merely a loan from Latin Scodra). Consequently, Albanian cannot be regarded as an offspring of Illyrian or even Thracian but must be considered to be a modern continuation of some other undocumented Indo-European Balkan idiom. However, Albanian is closely related to Illyrian and also Messapic (a language spoken in Southern Italy in antiquity but originally of Balkan origin), which is why Albanian in some instances may shed some light on the explanation of Messapic as well as Illyrian words (see Matzinger 2005): (Messapic-) Oenotrian ῥινός ‘clouds’ ~ Old Geg rẽ, Old Tosk rē ‘cloud’, the Messapic gloss βρένδο- ‘stag’ and the place-name Brundisium (Italian Bríndisi) ~ Old Geg brĩ, or the name of the Illyrian tribe of the Taulantioi ~ Albanian dallëndyshe ‘swallow’ (see Eichner 2004: 10 f.).
What complicates the connection between Albanian and Bessian is the fact that (a) 'Thracian' has only survived marginally and especially Bessian completely Joachim Matzinger (Vienna), Munich November 30, 2016
16 is unknown(27) and above all (b) the individual Albanian and Thracian sound history
shows separate reflexes that cannot be combined as results of one language!
Albanian shares a considerable number of words in common with Rumanian (see Solta 1980: 3 f., 125 f. and Vătăşescu 1997). Some of them are remnants of an old inherited vocabulary (e.g. Albanian thark ‘pen for young livestock’ ~ Rumanian ţarc ‘id.’), while others comprise a younger category of Latin words attested in some cases only in Albanian and Rumanian (e.g. Albanian mëngon ‘get up very early’ ~ Rumanian mâneca ‘id.’ ← Latin *mānicāre ‘id.’). Both classes emerged from old and intensive contacts between the Proto-Albanians and the ancestors of the Rumanians. A widespread opinion regards the older category of the Albano-Rumanian common lexicon as the reflex of an ancient substratum of Thracian, Dacian, or unknown origin (a collection of these words is Brâncuş 1983). Aside from a few single words of perhaps non-Indo-European origin (Albanian modhullë ‘yellow vetchling [Lathyrus aphaca]’ ~ Rumanian mazăre ‘pea’), the largest part of this alleged substratum common to both Albanian and Rumanian consists simply of loan-words in Rumanian from Proto-Albanian, e.g. Rumanian ţarc ‘pen for young livestock’ from Proto-Albanian */tsárka-/ (Modern Albanian thark). The derivational base of this noun is continued in the Old Albanian verb thurën ‘interweave’ (< IE */k̑erH-/ ‘weave’, cf. Latin crātis ‘pen’; see details in Schumacher 2009: 43−45).
It is a characteristic feature of the Albanian language to be open to loan-words from various sources. The oldest stratum is found in Ancient Greek loans, which result from contacts between Greeks and speakers of Proto-Albanian from about 600 BCE onward. Subsequent to the Roman occupation of the Balkans, Proto-Albanian was heavily influenced by Latin. Single words as well as a good many derivational suffixes were taken over.
The Greek loan-words are of various chonological origins. The oldest are of Ancient Greek (Doric) provenance, mostly designations of vegetables, spices, fruits, animals, and tools (cf. Old Geg drapënë, modern Albanian drapër ‘sickle’ ← δρέπανον ‘id.’, Old Geg lakënë, modern Albanian lakër ‘cabbage’ ← λάχανον ‘potherbs’, presh ‘leek’ ← πράσον ‘id.’). These loans resulted from the earliest contacts between Greeks − either colonists of the Adriatic coastal regions or more probably Greek merchants in the Balkan hinterland − and Proto-Albanians from the 8th century BCE on.
Serbo-Croat. Nîš, Alban. Nish: The ancient name has been handed down in several variations,
so a.o. Greek (old) NaϊssÒj, (Byzantine) N£ϊsoj, °on, Na‹soj ~ Latin. Naissus, Naisum,
Naessum, Nessus(19) . It should be recognized that the serbocroat. Form Nîš neither from a
greek. another latin. Basic shape can come as at the time of arrival
of the Slavs around 550 probably with a monophthongized basic form */Né̜sus/
would be calculated, which would have resulted in Slav. **Něsъ or **Nesъ. The (already older) opinion
after which serbocroat. Nîš from the alban. form is adopted by G. SCHRAMM,
Eroberer, p. 308 in my opinion wrongly rejected.(20) Is taken as the starting point for the
development */Na.ís(s)os/(21), the following processes would have resulted: */Nə.íʃə(h)/
> */Nə.íʃə/ > */Nṑʃ(ə)/(22) > */Nṑʃ/ led to be the source of Slavic borrowing
could. It follows from the fact that the development of the ancient name form to that
Source form from which the Slavic form of the name is borrowed, definitely and precisely only with alban.
Sound developments is comparable. However, given the evidence, it cannot be ruled out
be that this development to */Nīʃ/ (→ slav./serbokroat. Nîš) ultimately one
attributable to a regional idiom that is not identical to Albanian
Matzinger (2018), Lexicon of Albanian in Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics (vol. 3), De Gruyter:
Although it is widely believed that Albanian goes back to Illyrian or even Thracian, this view cannot be seriously upheld from the linguistic point of view (see Matzinger 2009). None of the ancient personal or local names ascribed to Illyrian are continued in Albanian without interruption (e.g. the place-name Shkodra is merely a loan from Latin Scodra). Consequently, Albanian cannot be regarded as an offspring of Illyrian or even Thracian but must be considered to be a modern continuation of some other undocumented Indo-European Balkan idiom. However, Albanian is closely related to Illyrian and also Messapic (a language spoken in Southern Italy in antiquity but originally of Balkan origin), which is why Albanian in some instances may shed some light on the explanation of Messapic as well as Illyrian words (see Matzinger 2005): (Messapic-) Oenotrian ῥινός ‘clouds’ ~ Old Geg rẽ, Old Tosk rē ‘cloud’, the Messapic gloss βρένδο- ‘stag’ and the place-name Brundisium (Italian Bríndisi) ~ Old Geg brĩ, or the name of the Illyrian tribe of the Taulantioi ~ Albanian dallëndyshe ‘swallow’ (see Eichner 2004: 10 f.).
What complicates the connection between Albanian and Bessian is the fact that (a) 'Thracian' has only survived marginally and especially Bessian completely Joachim Matzinger (Vienna), Munich November 30, 2016
16 is unknown(27) and above all (b) the individual Albanian and Thracian sound history
shows separate reflexes that cannot be combined as results of one language!
Albanian shares a considerable number of words in common with Rumanian (see Solta 1980: 3 f., 125 f. and Vătăşescu 1997). Some of them are remnants of an old inherited vocabulary (e.g. Albanian thark ‘pen for young livestock’ ~ Rumanian ţarc ‘id.’), while others comprise a younger category of Latin words attested in some cases only in Albanian and Rumanian (e.g. Albanian mëngon ‘get up very early’ ~ Rumanian mâneca ‘id.’ ← Latin *mānicāre ‘id.’). Both classes emerged from old and intensive contacts between the Proto-Albanians and the ancestors of the Rumanians. A widespread opinion regards the older category of the Albano-Rumanian common lexicon as the reflex of an ancient substratum of Thracian, Dacian, or unknown origin (a collection of these words is Brâncuş 1983). Aside from a few single words of perhaps non-Indo-European origin (Albanian modhullë ‘yellow vetchling [Lathyrus aphaca]’ ~ Rumanian mazăre ‘pea’), the largest part of this alleged substratum common to both Albanian and Rumanian consists simply of loan-words in Rumanian from Proto-Albanian, e.g. Rumanian ţarc ‘pen for young livestock’ from Proto-Albanian */tsárka-/ (Modern Albanian thark). The derivational base of this noun is continued in the Old Albanian verb thurën ‘interweave’ (< IE */k̑erH-/ ‘weave’, cf. Latin crātis ‘pen’; see details in Schumacher 2009: 43−45).
It is a characteristic feature of the Albanian language to be open to loan-words from various sources. The oldest stratum is found in Ancient Greek loans, which result from contacts between Greeks and speakers of Proto-Albanian from about 600 BCE onward. Subsequent to the Roman occupation of the Balkans, Proto-Albanian was heavily influenced by Latin. Single words as well as a good many derivational suffixes were taken over.
The Greek loan-words are of various chonological origins. The oldest are of Ancient Greek (Doric) provenance, mostly designations of vegetables, spices, fruits, animals, and tools (cf. Old Geg drapënë, modern Albanian drapër ‘sickle’ ← δρέπανον ‘id.’, Old Geg lakënë, modern Albanian lakër ‘cabbage’ ← λάχανον ‘potherbs’, presh ‘leek’ ← πράσον ‘id.’). These loans resulted from the earliest contacts between Greeks − either colonists of the Adriatic coastal regions or more probably Greek merchants in the Balkan hinterland − and Proto-Albanians from the 8th century BCE on.
Serbo-Croat. Nîš, Alban. Nish: The ancient name has been handed down in several variations,
so a.o. Greek (old) NaϊssÒj, (Byzantine) N£ϊsoj, °on, Na‹soj ~ Latin. Naissus, Naisum,
Naessum, Nessus(19) . It should be recognized that the serbocroat. Form Nîš neither from a
greek. another latin. Basic shape can come as at the time of arrival
of the Slavs around 550 probably with a monophthongized basic form */Né̜sus/
would be calculated, which would have resulted in Slav. **Něsъ or **Nesъ. The (already older) opinion
after which serbocroat. Nîš from the alban. form is adopted by G. SCHRAMM,
Eroberer, p. 308 in my opinion wrongly rejected.(20) Is taken as the starting point for the
development */Na.ís(s)os/(21), the following processes would have resulted: */Nə.íʃə(h)/
> */Nə.íʃə/ > */Nṑʃ(ə)/(22) > */Nṑʃ/ led to be the source of Slavic borrowing
could. It follows from the fact that the development of the ancient name form to that
Source form from which the Slavic form of the name is borrowed, definitely and precisely only with alban.
Sound developments is comparable. However, given the evidence, it cannot be ruled out
be that this development to */Nīʃ/ (→ slav./serbokroat. Nîš) ultimately one
attributable to a regional idiom that is not identical to Albanian
– Serbo-Croat. Šara or Šar (planina), alban. Sharr: The antique as Sk£rdon or Scordus
(mons) well-known mountain range shows an initial sound compared to the ancient name
/ʃ/, which cannot be derived phonetically from /sk/ in either Slavic or Albanian
is! This is either tacitly ignored in the Albanian literature,
or - as G. SCHRAMM, Beginnings, p. 25 shows - even more so as positive evidence for
Albanian mediation in the field. From a linguistic point of view
say that – as explained in §1) (esp. to ON Scodra) – only the change from
*/sṢ/ > early Uralban. */hk/, */x/ > late Uralban. */h/ is to be recognized and that after
/sk/ foreign to this change only through alban. /ʃk/ was substituted. There is no internal Albanian deviation from this in the development of this oronym
Reference point! As a consequence, it follows that according to the current state of knowledge
the sound form */ʃar/ from the ancient Scard° – as G. SCHRAMM, Begins, p. 40 means
– may be a development of the local idiom, which can therefore not be identical to Albanian. However, an alternative would still need to be examined
