Albanian Online
Lesson 5: Geg
Brian Joseph, Angelo Costanzo, and Jonathan Slocum
While there are a few brief attestations (one sentence or less) of Albanian from the 15th century, the earliest major text that has been discovered is Meshari i Gjon Buzukut (The Missal of Gjon Buzuku), written in 1555. The missal contains various sections of the Bible translated into Albanian.
Elsie (2005) writes that not much is known about Gjon Buzuku, except for the information he provided in the postscript of the Missal. From the postscript we have his name, the dates of its composition, his reasons for composing the Missal (essentially because there was no translation of scriptures in Albanian), and a sincere apology for any mistakes he might have made in the translation. It is generally assumed that he probably lived outside of Albania where, particularly after the Ottoman conquest of the Western Balkans, he would be able to become a priest. It was originally believed that the Missal was first published in Venice, though Elsie believes that this is not necessarily the case, and it is just as likely that it was published in one of the major centers along the Dalmatian coast, e.g. Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik, Croatia). Given the dialectal features present in the Missal, it is believed that Buzuku was likely originally from the northwestern Geg-speaking area, north of Shkodër, probably in modern-day southern Montenegro.
As discussed in the series introduction, the alphabet used to write Albanian was heavily dependent on the religious affiliation of the scribe. As the north of Albania was predominantly Catholic and considerably more difficult for the Ottomans to conquer, like all of the other early attestations of Albanian, Buzuku's Missal was written in a modified version of the Latin alphabet. However, the alphabet used by Buzuku differs greatly from that used for Modern Albanian, and is quite different from the alphabets used for other early Albanian texts. Many of the letters used by Buzuku have several values (basically due to Albanian having a wider range of consonant sounds than Latin). For example, r is used for r and rr, c is used for c, ç and k, and s is used for s, sh and sometimes z and zh. As discussed earlier, the modern Albanian alphabet has avoided this issue via the extensive use of digraphs. In addition to several characters having multiple values, some non-Latin letters were used in the Missal as well, e.g., the Greek letter xi represents Albanian dh and th and the Cyrillic letter tshe represents Albanian q, gj and occasionally g. Long vowels are usually indicated by the doubling of a vowel character (e.g. aa = ā), and nasal vowels are represented with a vowel + nasal sequence (e.g. anshtë = âsht).
The edition of Meshari used here is Namik Ressuli's 1958 Il "messale" di Giovanni Buzuku: riproduzione e trascrizione, the first modern edition of the entire text. Ressuli (1958) presents each page of the original text from 1455, along with a transcription into the (more or less) modern Albanian alphabet. For the sake of clarity we have chosen to use Ressuli's transliteration of the text, with one exception. Ressuli chose to leave the Cyrillic character uku (a vertical ligature of o and y with phonetic value [u]) as such; we have converted all of these instances to u. To see the original manuscript, please consult Ressuli (1958). To see a transliterated, but unmodified (with all original characters intact) version of the text, please visit the TITUS (Thesaurus Indogermanischer Text- und Sprachmaterialien) project website, a link to which is available here.
Reading and Textual Analysis
As this text is substantially older than the texts presented in Lessons 1 through 4, there are features present in Buzuku's missal that have been lost or modified in modern Albanian. One of the more striking differences is the presence of neuter nouns in this text. As discussed in Lesson 1, the neuter gender has been nearly completely lost in the modern language; however, the neuter was alive and well in the 16th century. A number of nouns that appear in this lesson are neuter (e.g., firmuom, e 'vault', erët, e 'darkness, etc). Most nouns formed from adjectives were, in Old Albanian, neuter (and note that their adjectival origin explains why they require the nyje particle). The main difference in the inflection of neuter nouns is the singular definite ending -t/-të. In addition, Old Albanian shows the locative case, which has been mostly lost in modern Albanian (though it survives in some varieties of Arberisht). The locative endings seen in the Missal are -sh for singular nouns and and -shit for plural nouns. In addition, there is quite a bit of inconsistency throughout Buzuku's Missal. For example, for the plural of zog 'bird', Buzuku has alternate forms zogjtë and zojtë within a single paragraph. There are even instances of alternate forms within a single line, e.g. ishnë and ishnjinë as the 3rd person imperfect of 'be' (cf. Std. Alb. ishin), as seen in the excerpt below. We have not made any changes to the text; dealing with inconsistencies is an essential part of being able to interpret these texts.
The following text contains Buzuku's Albanian translation of Genesis 1:1-10. To see a picture of the corresponding text in the original manuscript, please click here. As discussed above, the Missal is written in Geg, and it specifically shows some features of dialects spoken north of Shkodër.
- ëndë -- preposition, accusative; <ëndë> in -- in # Std. Alb. në
- e -- particle; neuter accusative singular definite of <e> NYJE -- ...
- zanët -- noun, neuter; accusative singular definite of <zanë, e> beginning, start -- the beginning
- të -- particle; feminine accusative plural definite of <e> NYJE -- ...
- shekullit -- noun, masculine; genitive singular definite of <shekull> century, time -- of time
- bani -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite indicative active of <bâj> do, make -- made # Std. Alb. bëj
- Zot'ynë -- noun, masculine; contraction of nominative singular definite of <zot> master, lord, God + pronoun; masculine nominative of <ynë> our -- our Lord
- qiellë -- noun, masculine; accusative plural indefinite of <qiell> sky, heaven -- heavens
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- dhenë -- noun, masculine; accusative singular definite of <dhe> land, earth -- the earth
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- dheu -- noun, masculine; nominative singular definite of <dhe> land, earth -- the earth
- ish -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect indicative active of <jam> be -- was # ish is a short variant of Standard ishte still seen in contemporary Albanian.
- i -- particle; masculine nominative singular definite of <e> NYJE -- ...
- pāfrujt -- adjective; masculine singular of <pāfrujt> fruitless, barren -- barren
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- i -- particle; masculine nominative singular definite of <e> NYJE -- ...
- shprazëtë -- adjective; masculine singular of <shprazëtë, e> empty -- empty # Std. Alb. zbrazët, e
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- t'erëtitë -- particle; contraction of neuter nominative singular definite of <e> NYJE + noun, neuter; nominative singular definite of <erët, e> darkness -- the darkness # Std. Alb. errët, e
- ish -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect indicative active of <jam> be -- was # ish is a short variant of Standard ishte still seen in contemporary Albanian.
- për-ënbī -- preposition, ablative; <për-ënbī> on top of, over, about -- over # Std. Alb. përmbi
- faqet -- noun, feminine; ablative singular definite of <faqe> page, face, surface -- the surface
- të -- particle; feminine ablative singular definite of <e> NYJE -- ...
- fondit -- noun, masculine; genitive singular definite of <fond> pool, deep -- of the deep
- ujit -- noun, ambigeneric; ablative singular definite of <ujë> water -- of the water
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- shpirti -- noun, masculine; nominative singular definite of <shpirt> spirit -- the spirit
- i -- particle; masculine nominative singular definite of <e> NYJE -- ...
- t'inë -- pronoun; genitive singular of <ynë> our -- of our # As discussed in Lesson 3, the possessive pronouns were originally a combination of a nyje particle and a pronoun. The standard Albanian form of this would be tone, but this form probably shows an earlier stage in the combination of nyje të and pronoun ynë.
- Zot -- noun, masculine; genitive singular indefinite of <zot> master, lord, God -- Lord # Recall that in the rare cases where possessive pronouns precede the noun they modify, the noun can be unmarked (this information can be carried on the pronoun).
- vëlizee -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect indicative active of <vëliz> move -- was moving # Std. Alb. lëviz
- për-ënbī -- preposition, accusative; <për-ënbī> on top of, over, about -- over
- ujënat -- noun, ambigeneric; accusative plural definite of <ujë> water -- the waters
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- tha -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite indicative active of <them> say, speak -- said
- Zot'ynë -- noun, masculine; contraction of nominative singular definite of <zot> master, lord, God + pronoun; masculine nominative of <ynë> our -- our lord
- kloftë -- verb; 3rd person singular present optative of <jam> be -- may... be
- bām -- verb; participle of <bâj> do, make -- made
- drita -- noun, feminine; nominative singular definite of <dritë> light -- the light
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- u -- marker; <u> NON-ACTIVE -- ...
- bā -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite of <bâj> do, make -- was made
- drita -- noun, feminine; nominative singular definite of <dritë> light -- the light
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- pā -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite indicative active of <shoh> see -- saw
- Zot'ynë -- noun, masculine; contraction of nominative singular definite of <zot> master, lord, God + pronoun; masculine nominative of <ynë> our -- our Lord
- se -- conjunction; <se> that -- that
- drita -- noun, feminine; nominative singular definite of <dritë> light -- the light
- ish -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect indicative active of <jam> be -- was # ish is a short variant of Standard ishte still seen in contemporary Albanian.
- e -- particle; feminine nominative singular definite of <e> NYJE -- ...
- mirë -- adjective; feminine singular of <mirë, e> good -- good
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- dau -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite indicative active of <daj> separate -- separated # Std. Alb. ndaj
- Zot'ynë -- noun, masculine; contraction of nominative singular definite of <zot> master, lord, God + pronoun; masculine nominative of <ynë> our -- our Lord
- dritënë -- noun, feminine; accusative singular definite of <dritë> light -- the light
- ën -- preposition, ablative; <ën> from, by, with -- from
- s'erëtit -- particle; contraction of neuter ablative singular definite of <e> NYJE + noun, neuter; ablative singular definite of <erët, e> darkness -- the darkness
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- grishi -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite indicative active of <gërshas> call -- called
- Zot'ynë -- noun, masculine; contraction of nominative singular definite of <zot> master, lord, God + pronoun; masculine nominative of <ynë> our -- our Lord
- dritënë -- noun, feminine; accusative singular definite of <dritë> light -- the light
- ditë -- noun, feminine; accusative singular indefinite of <ditë> day -- day
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- t'erëtitë -- particle; contraction of neuter nominative singular definite of <e> NYJE + noun, neuter; nominative singular definite of <erët, e> darkness -- the darkness # Std. Alb. errët, e
- natë -- noun, feminine; accusative singular indefinite of <natë> night -- night
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- u -- marker; <u> NON-ACTIVE -- ...
- bā -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite indicative of <bâj> do, make -- was made
- natë -- noun, feminine; nominative singular indefinite of <natë> night -- night
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- duol -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite indicative active of <dal> leave, go out, rise, arrive -- arrived
- drita -- noun, feminine; nominative singular definite of <dritë> light -- the light
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- tha -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite indicative active of <them> say, speak -- said
- Zot'ynë -- noun, masculine; contraction of nominative singular definite of <zot> master, lord, God + pronoun; masculine nominative of <ynë> our -- our Lord
- kloftë -- verb; 3rd person singular present optative of <jam> be -- may... be
- bām -- verb; participle of <bâj> do, make -- made
- të -- particle; neuter accusative plural definite of <e> NYJE -- ...
- firmuomitë -- noun, neuter; accusative singular definite of <firmuom, e> vault -- vault
- për -- preposition, ablative; <për> for, about, by, through -- in
- viedmis -- noun, feminine; ablative singular definite of <viedmi> midst -- the midst
- ujënavet -- noun, ambigeneric; of ablative plural definite of <ujë> water -- of the waters
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- ata -- pronoun; masculine accusative of <ata, ato> they, those -- ...
- të -- particle; neuter nominative singular indefinite of <e> NYJE -- ...
- fërmuom -- noun, neuter; nominative singular indefinite of <firmuom, e> vault -- vault
- të -- conjunction; <të> SUBORDINATOR -- ...
- daë -- verb; 3rd person singular present subjunctive active of <daj> separate -- separate
- ujënatë -- noun, ambigeneric; accusative plural definite of <ujë> water -- waters
- ën -- preposition, ablative; <ën> from, by, with -- from
- ujënashit -- noun, ambigeneric; ablative plural definite of <ujë> water -- waters # This is an alternative locative plural definite form of ujë that is formed by the suffixation of -t to the locative plural indefinite form. This is not necessarily uncommon in Old or Modern Albanian. There are some varieties that have generalized -t as a definite marker throughout the plural paradigm (e.g., dat.pl.indef. in -ve, dat.pl.def. in -ve-t), as opposed to Standard Albanian now with t-less -ve as dat.pl.def (as well as indef).
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- bani -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite indicative active of <bâj> do, make -- made # Std. Alb. bëj
- Zot'ynë -- noun, masculine; contraction of nominative singular definite of <zot> master, lord, God + pronoun; masculine nominative of <ynë> our -- our Lord
- të -- particle; masculine accusative plural definite of <e> NYJE -- ...
- firmuomitë -- noun, neuter; accusative singular definite <firmuom, e> vault -- the vault
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- dau -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite indicative active of <daj> separate -- separated # Std. Alb. ndaj
- ujënatë -- noun, ambigeneric; accusative plural definite of <ujë> water -- the waters
- qi -- conjunction; <qi> that, which -- that # Std. Alb. që
- ishnjinë -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect indicative active of <jam> be -- were
- për -- preposition, accusative; <për> for, about, by, through -- ...
- ëndënë -- preposition, accusative /loc.; <ëndënë> under -- under # Std. Alb. nën, nëndë
- të -- particle; neuter accusative singular definite of <e> NYJE -- ...
- firmuomitë -- noun, neuter; accusative singular definite of <firmuom, e> vault -- the vault
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- ato -- pronoun; feminine accusative of <ata, ato> they, those -- those
- qi -- conjunction; <qi> that, which -- that # Std. Alb. që
- ishnë -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect indicative active of <jam> be -- were # ishnë, and ishnjinë (seen several lines above) are both variants of the 3.pl.imperf. of jam.
- për-ënbī -- preposition, accusative; <për-ënbī> on top of, over, about -- over
- të -- particle; neuter accusative singular definite of <e> NYJE -- ...
- firmuomitë -- noun, neuter; accusative singular definite of <firmuom, e> vault -- the vault
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- ashtu -- adverb; <ashtu> so, thus -- so
- u -- marker; <u> NON-ACTIVE -- ...
- bā -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite indicative of <bâj> do, make -- it was done
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- grishi -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite indicative active of <gërshas> call -- called
- Zot'ynë -- noun, masculine; contraction of nominative singular definite of <zot> master, lord, God + pronoun; masculine nominative of <ynë> our -- our Lord
- të -- particle; accusative singular definite of <e> NYJE -- ...
- firmuomitë -- noun, neuter; accusative singular definite of <firmuom, e> vault -- the vault
- qiell -- noun, masculine; accusative singular indefinite of <qiell> sky, heaven -- heaven
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- u -- marker; <u> NON-ACTIVE -- ...
- bā -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite indicative of <bâj> do, make -- was made
- natë -- noun, feminine; nominative singular indefinite of <natë> night -- night
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- duol -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite indicative active of <dal> leave, go out, rise, arrive -- arrived
- drita -- noun, feminine; nominative singular definite of <dritë> light -- the light
- qi -- conjunction; <qi> that, which -- which
- anshtë -- verb; 3rd person singular present indicative active of <jam> be -- is
- e -- particle; feminine nominative singular definite of <e> NYJE -- ...
- dyta -- adjective; feminine singular definite of of <dytë, e> second -- the second
- ditë -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <ditë> day -- day # The sequence e dyta ditë shows the somewhat rare case (briefly discussed in Lesson 2) of an adjective preceding the noun it modifies. Recall that if an adjective does precede the noun in modifies, the adjective is marked for definiteness (thus, dyta rather than dytë in this example).
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- tha -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect indicative active of <them> say, speak -- said
- Zot'ynë -- noun, masculine; contraction of nominative singular definite of <zot> master, lord, God + pronoun; masculine nominative of <ynë> our -- our Lord
- u -- marker; <u> NON-ACTIVE -- ...
- ënbëliedhshinë -- verb; 3rd person plural present optative of <ënbëledh> gather -- may... be gathered # Std. Alb. mbledh
- ujënatë -- noun, masculine; nominative plural definite of <ujë> water -- the waters
- për -- preposition, accusative; <për> for, about, by, through -- ...
- ëndënë -- preposition, accusative /loc.; <ëndënë> under -- under # Std. Alb. nën, nëndë
- qiellt -- noun, masculine; locative singular of <qiell> sky, heaven -- the sky
- ënbë -- preposition, accusative; <ënbë> at -- at
- një -- determiner; <një> a, one -- one
- vend -- noun, masculine; accusative singular indefinite of <vend> place, seat, country -- place
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- u -- marker; <u> NON-ACTIVE -- ...
- duktë -- verb; 3rd person singular present optative of <dukem> appear -- may...appear # Note that although this is a non-active form morphologically, it does not have a non-active meaning ('appear' rather than 'be appeared' or 'appear to oneself'); this is true for dukem in general.
- thatë -- noun, neuter; nominative singular indefinite of <thatë, e> dry ground -- dry ground # Since this noun is derived from the adjective thatë, e, we would expect it to require a nyje particle (e.g., see the next section of the text where the acc.sg.def. of this noun is të thatëtë). However, for some reason the nyje particle has been omitted in this instance.
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- ashtu -- adverb; <ashtu> so, thus -- so
- kle -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite indicative active of <jam> be -- it was
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- grishi -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite indicative active of <gërshas> call -- called
- Zot'ynë -- noun, masculine; contraction of nominative singular definite of <zot> master, lord, God + pronoun; masculine nominative of <ynë> our -- our Lord
- të -- particle; accusative plural definite of <e> NYJE -- ...
- thatëtë -- noun, neuter; accusative plural definite of <thatë, e> dry ground -- the dry ground
- dhē -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <dhe> land, earth -- earth
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- të -- particle; neuter accusative singular definite of <e> NYJE -- ...
- ënbëliedhunitë -- noun, neuter; accusative singular definite participle of <ënbëledh> gather -- the gathering
- e -- particle; feminine genitive plural definite of <e> NYJE -- ...
- ujënavet -- noun, ambigeneric; genitive plural definite of <ujë> water -- of waters
- grishi -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite indicative active of <gërshas> call -- he called
- dēt -- noun, masculine; accusative singular indefinite of <det> sea -- sea
- e -- conjunction; <e> and -- and
- pā -- verb; 3rd person singular past definite indicative active of <shoh> see -- saw
- Zot'ynë -- noun, masculine; contraction of nominative singular definite of <zot> master, lord, God + pronoun; masculine nominative of <ynë> our -- our Lord
- se -- conjunction; <se> that -- that
- ish -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect indicative active of <jam> be -- it was
- fort -- adverb; <fort> very, loudly, strongly -- very
- mirë -- adverb; masculine singular of <mirë> well -- good
Lesson Text
Ëndë e zanët të shekullit bani Zot'ynë qiellë e dhenë. E dheu ish i pāfrujt e i shprazëtë, e t'erëtitë ish për-ënbī faqet të fondit ujit, e shpirti i t'inë Zot vëlizee për-ënbī ujënat. E tha Zot'ynë: Kloftë bām drita. E u bā drita. E pā Zot'ynë se drita ish e mirë; e dau Zot'ynë dritënë ën s'erëtit. E grishi Zot'ynë dritënë ditë, e t'erëtitë natë. E u bā natë, e duol drita. E tha Zot'ynë: Kloftë bām të firmuomitë për viedmis ujënavet, e ata të fërmuom të daë ujënatë ën ujënashit. E bani Zot'ynë të firmuomitë e dau ujënatë qi ishnjinë për ëndënë të firmuomitë, e ato qi ishnë për-ënbī të firmuomitë. E ashtu u bā. E grishi Zot'ynë të firmuomitë qiell. E u bā natë, e duol drita, qi anshtë e dyta ditë. E tha Zot'ynë: u ënbëliedhshinë ujënatë për ëndënë qiellt ënbë një vend, e u duktë thatë. E ashtu kle. E grishi Zot'ynë të thatëtë dhē, e të ënbëliedhunitë e ujënavet grishi dēt. E pā Zot'ynë se ish fort mirë.
Translation
In the beginning of time our Lord made heavens and the earth. And the earth was barren and empty and the darkness was over the surface of the deep of the water and the spirit of our Lord was moving over the waters. And our Lord said: May the light be made. And the light was made. And our Lord saw that the light was good, and our Lord separated the light from the darkness. And our Lord called the light 'day' and the darkness 'night'. And night was made, and the light arrived. And our Lord said: May a vault be made in the midst of the waters and (may the) vault separate waters from waters. And our Lord made the vault and separated the waters that were under the vault and those that were over the vault. And so it was done. And our Lord called the vault 'heaven'. And night was made, and the light arrived, which is the second day. And our Lord said "May the waters under the sky be gathered at one place and may dry ground appear. And it was so. And our Lord called the dry ground 'earth' and the gathering of waters he called 'sea'. And our Lord saw that it was very good.
Grammar
25 Numerals
25.1 Cardinal Numbers
| 1 | një | 6 | gjashtë | |||||||
| 2 | dy | 7 | shtatë | |||||||
| 3 | tre/tri | 8 | tetë | |||||||
| 4 | katër | 9 | nëntë | |||||||
| 5 | pesë | 10 | dhjetë |
The Albanian numbers 11 through 19 are formed following the pattern DIGIT - ON(mbë) - TEN(dhjetë). For example, the number '15' is FIVE(pesë) - ON(mbë) - TEN(dhjetë) > pesëmbëdhjetë. The word for '20' is njëzet and the word for '40' is dyzet. The rest of the multiples of ten are formed on the pattern DIGIT - TEN(dhjetë). For example, '50' is pesëdhjetë. The Albanian patterns used to form 11-19 and the multiples of ten are found in other Balkan languages as well (e.g., Mac. FIVE(pet) - ON(na) - TEN (deset) > petnaeset '15'; FIVE(pet) - TEN (deset) > pedeset '50')
'100' is njëqind, and to form other multiples of 100, replace një with another number, e.g., '500' is pesëqind. 'One thousand' is një mijë, and 'one million' is një milion.
25.2 Ordinal numbers
| 1st | parë, e | 6th | gjashtë, e | |||||||
| 2nd | dytë, e | 7th | shtatë, e | |||||||
| 3rd | tretë, e | 8th | tetë, e | |||||||
| 4th | katërt, e | 9th | nëntë, e | |||||||
| 5th | pestë, e | 10th | dhjetë, e |
The word for 'first' is suppletive and not related to the cardinal number një. 'Second' through 'fifth' are formed via the suffixation of -të (sometimes with slight modification of the numerical root or the suffix). 'sixth' through 'tenth' have the identical forms to their corresponding cardinal numbers though, since they are articulated adjectives, a nyje particle is obligatory.
26 The Imperative Mood
The imperative mood is used for commands, requests, etc. Positive and negative imperatives are morphologically identical. The negator mos is used to form a negative imperative.
26.1 Formation of the Second Person Plural Imperative
The 2nd person plural imperative form is almost always identical to the 2nd person plural present indicative form. For example, the 2nd person plural present indicative of punoj work is punoni. Thus, this is also the plural imperative, punoni '(you all) work!' The only exceptions to this generalization are 'be' (jini 'be!' vs. jeni 'you (pl.) are', though jini 'you (pl.) are' occurs dialectally) and 'have' (kini 'have!' vs. keni 'you (pl.) have', though keni 'you (pl)' occurs for the indicative dialectally, as seen in Lesson 4).
26.2 Formation of the Second Person Singular Imperative
The formation of the singular imperative is not as consistent as that of the plural form. The general pattern for consonant stems is that the 2SG imperative is identical to the 2PL with -ni removed. However, in some cases, the 2SG imperative of consonant stems will be identical to the 2SG indicative (e.g., hap 's/he opens', hap! 'open!'). Vowel stems in -o or -e take no ending in the 2SG imperative (e.g., puno! 'work!'). Vowel stems in any other vowel have the 2SG imperative ending -j (e.g., shkruaj! 'write!'). There are also a number of more unpredictable cases.
27 The Optative Mood
27.1 Use of the Optative Mood
The optative mood is used to express wishes or desires. The function of the optative overlaps somewhat with the present subjunctive. Optatives are usually translated into English as "may SUBJECT VERB". For example, the text above has the phrase u ënbëliedhshinë ujënatë, where u is the non-active marker, ënbëliedhshinë is the 3PL present optative of the Old Albanian verb ënbëledh, and ujënatë is the nominative plural of 'water'. Thus, this translates to 'may the waters be gathered'.
27.2 Formation of the Present Optative
The optative stem is formed by attaching the suffix -fsh/-sh/-ç to the verbal stem. Newmark et al. (1982) describe the general pattern as that -fsh is used with vowel stems, -ç is used with consonant stems in n or sh, and -sh is used elsewhere. The verbal stem to which the suffix is attached is usually identical to the stem used in the past definite. The present optative endings are as follows:
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | -a | -im | ||
| 2nd person | - | -i | ||
| 3rd person | -të | -in |
In the 3rd person singular, the segment sh is lost when the optative ending is -fsh- or -sh-. If the ending is -ç-, it becomes s in the 3rd person singular. For example, the verb shkruaj 'write' has the verb stem shkro and the optative stem formation suffix -fsh-. Thus, the present optative paradigm of this verb is as follows:
Present optative paradigm of shkruaj 'write':
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | shkrofsha | shkrofshim | ||
| 2nd person | shkrofsh | shkrofshi | ||
| 3rd person | shkroftë | shkrofshin |
Recall that the stem to which the optative suffix is attached is normally the past definite stem. For example, as discussed in Lesson 4, the past definite of jam 'be' has the stem qe (as in qeshë). The stem of the optative of 'be' is made from a modified form of this stem, qo-.
Present optative paradigm of jam 'be':
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | qofsha | qofshim | ||
| 2nd person | qofsh | qofshi | ||
| 3rd person | qoftë | qofshin |
Included here is the paradigm of kam 'have', which has an optative stem paç-, essential due to its use in the compound optative tense.
Present optative paradigm of kam 'have':
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | paça | paçim | ||
| 2nd person | paç | paçi | ||
| 3rd person | pastë | paçin |
27.3 Formation of the Present Perfect Optative
The present perfect optative is formed with the optative of kam 'have' (or jam 'be' if non-active), followed by the participle.
Present perfect optative paradigm of shkruaj 'write':
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | paça shkruar | paçim shkruar | ||
| 2nd person | paç shkruar | paçi shkruar | ||
| 3rd person | pastë shkruar | paçin shkruar |
28 The Admirative Mood
28.1 Use of the Admirative Mood
The admirative mood is used to express shock/surprise at an event. It can also be used to express doubt, or other strong emotions connected to a lack of confirmation of knowledge of an event.
28.2 Present Admirative
The present admirative is formed from the short form of the participle suffixed by a present tense form of kam 'have'. The final -ë of kanë is lost in the 3PL admirative. The example below gives the present admirative of the verb jam be. Recall that the past participle of jam is qenë, and thus the shortened form of the participle to which the forms of kam is attached is qen-.
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | qenkam | qenkemi | ||
| 2nd person | qenke | qenkeni | ||
| 3rd person | qenka | qenkan |
28.3 Imperfect Admirative
The imperfect admirative is formed as described above for the present admirative, except that an imperfect form of kam is suffixed to the participle.
Imperfect admirative paradigm of jam 'be':
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | qenkësha | qenkëshim | ||
| 2nd person | qenkëshe | qenkëshit | ||
| 3rd person | qenkësh | qenkëshin |
28.4 Compound Admirative Tenses
There are two compound admirative tenses: the present perfect and the past perfect. They are formed by the present admirative and imperfect admirative of kam (or jam if non-active), respectively, plus the participle.
Present perfect admirative paradigm of jam 'be':
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | paskam qenë | paskemi qenë | ||
| 2nd person | paske qenë | paskeni qenë | ||
| 3rd person | paska qenë | paskan qenë |
Past perfect admirative paradigm of jam 'be':
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | paskësha qenë | paskëshim qenë | ||
| 2nd person | paskëshe qenë | paskëshit qenë | ||
| 3rd person | paskësh qenë | paskëshin qenë |
29 Questions
Forming interrogative statements in Albanian is fairly straightforward. If a question is seeking information (rather than a yes/no answer), an interrogative pronoun is used. It is important to note that some of the interrogative pronouns have different case forms, e.g., Kush flet? 'Who is talking?" vs. Me kë flet? 'With whom are you talking?'.
To form a yes/no question, the interrogative marker a is required, e.g., A di shqip? 'Do you know/speak Albanian?'.
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