Visit Himara
  • Things to Do
  • Destinations
  • Plan Your Trip
  • About Himara
  • Articles
  • FAQ
  • Tour Packages
  • Contact
  • Select Language
    • English
    • Greek
    • Shqip

Language

The Chaonians, today Himariots, Hellenized in culture, education, development, civilization still retain the language and the ancient dialect used 2500 years ago.

ANTIQUITY

The region of Himara is the place where Dorians were born and stretched along the southern shores of the whole Mediterranean, is the place where these developed, civilized, with an evolved language, Dorians were reinstated to build their colonies, transit centers from Butrint to Himara and cities to such as Orikum, Apollonia, Durres. On the Adriatic coast all colonies were assimilated by the Illyrians over the centuries, while on the Ionian coast the Chaonians colonies, due to their isolation with the main land, maintained their identity 2-3 thousand years by assimilating any other small tribe that managed to pass through the Acroceraunian mountains.

"An ancient Greek dialect preserved only on our region."

Package Tours

Show More

TOPONYMS

It is characteristic that the place names, the toponyms from the village of Palasa till Nivica is filled with Hellenic names. Also, toponyms of the Albanian and Slavic language are found in various villages, especially on mountainous areas. The multiple bridges of Himara with the outside world also bear witness to the history of language contacts and the covering of languages in the Albanian and Greek local varieties of the region.

The place names of Slavic origin that are found in the coastal line are relatively limited in number and are presented as eigenvalues: Lukove, Hundecove, Nivice, Sopot, etc.

For the Albanian toponyms, we observe that they are the vast majority of the macro and micro-phonemes, clearly distinct and often bilateral, with Bregu, Llaka, Fusha, Mali, Qafa etc.

Ancient inscriptions found at the bay of Gramata.
Religious writings in a church dating to 16th century.
The greek school at Vuno village in 1909.
The Akroceraunian Greek school in Himara.

GREEK ANCIENT WORDS

For the place names of a Greek origin we find that they come across the coastal line from Vlora to Butrint but they thicken in some parts of the coast (Palasa, Drymades and Himara), while elsewhere they dilute as in Qeparo, Piqeras and Nivica or they answer mainly macro-toponyms. Their main characteristic is Archaic traits, but also uniqueness, which means that some are found only here.

With regard to the date of the toponyms, it is worth mentioning the name Paga-i (παγά), which is found in three parts of the coastal line of Himara, but also in Kefalonia (Greece). As it is known, the word "παγά" has the characteristics of a Doric, Ancient Greek dialect where the long η appears as a long a.

The place name Fitá (< ο φυτάς < ο φτας < Οφτάς < οφτός/οπτός ‘[νερό που βράζει εύκολα-easy boiling water]’ + επίθημα -άς), the name of the water source at the south of the castle of Himara, north of Livadhi beach. Which responds in Himariot greek as (N) Afta. Similarly, Kastané and Kasanéos. The Vounó Vowel (village of Vuno), which the Albanians use, corresponds to the Vouno of Greek (Mountain), which we also find opposite in Corfu.

THE HIMARIOT DIALECT

The Chaonians, today Himariote, Hellenized in culture, education, development, civilization still retain the language and the ancient dialect used 2500 years ago. The Helene of the Himara area, Drymades and Palasa managed to preserve the archaic dialect, the Himariot dialect. While other villages of the region lost their identity through war and time and adopted the Albanian language as of today. Himariote Greek is a dialect of the Greek language that is mainly spoken by ethnic Greeks in the region of Himara in Albania. Despite the small distances between the towns in the region, there exists some dialectal variation, most prominently in accent.

Despite the fact that the Greek community in Himara resides at the northern end of the Greek-speaking world, in a region known among Greeks as Northern Epirus, the Himariote dialect is a southern dialect of the Greek language, a trait shared by most other dialects in Northern Epirus and Greek prefecture of Thesprotia. Although links with the Greek dialects spoken in Apulia and Mani have been suggested, the exact provenance of Northern Epirote dialects remains obscure. According to Greek linguist Vayacacos, Himariote, as a subbranch of the Northern Epirote dialects, is classified as a southern dialect, but the two towns next to Himara, Drymades and Palasa, speak semi-northern dialects.

Because of the region's geography and isolation, the local dialect in the region of Himara became separated from the surrounding dialects and underwent a slower evolution, preserving a more conservative and faithful picture of the ancient and medieval Greek vernacular. According to Greek professor Anagnostopoulos, this dialect, like other conservative forms of modern Greek, such as the Maniot dialect, was spoken by populations that lived in virtual autonomy during Ottoman rule. Another linguistic analysis suggests that Himara was colonized by Apulian Italiotes after the Turkish raid on Otranto in 1480, but this position is vigorously questioned. Some scholars have argued that there are parallels with the local idioms spoken in Crete as well as in nearby Corfu. In particular, these scholars argue that the dialect of Himara has parallels with dialects in Crete, whereas the dialect of Drymades and Palasa has parallels with those in Corfu.

In spite of the short distances between these towns, there are differences in the accents of the dialect in every town. Himariote has been affected by language contact, and uses some borrowed words from the Lab Albanian dialect. Some Greek words have also been partially influenced by their Albanian counterparts. Contrary to the nearby Albanian idioms that are spoken both inland (Kurvelesh) and in the coastal region in Himara, Slavic influence in Himariote Greek is limited.

During the communist era in Albania, the country's borders were sealed for 45 years (1945–1990), while Himara remained outside of the so-called Greek minority zone, which the Albanian state recognized as Greek populated regions. In accordance with the communist Albanian policy of unification and homogenization, the use of the Greek language in Himara was forbidden in public, and many Greek-speaking people were forced to move to places in northern or central Albania. As a consequence, Greek schools in the Himara area were closed, and the local communities stuck to their language, which slowly became archaic when they started to emigrate to Greece (1991) in the aftermath of the communist regime's collapse.

By Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia, created and edited by volunteers around the world and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himariote_dialect

Plan Your Trip

How to arrive

It is easy to reach Himara and travel around the region once you arrive. By air from Tirana or Corfu airports, by ferry from Corfu, by bus or by your own car.

How to get around

Read about buses, taxis and ferry’s that tie the region together in a web of sea and land connections operated by both large and small scale operators.

Useful Informations

We have compiled useful information and good advise for your visit in the Region of Himara in our list of Frequently Asked Questions.

When to come

Summer is a season of swimming and partying , while spring is for exploration and sightseeing, read about when is the perfect time to Visit Himara.

Visit Himara

About Visit Himara

VISIT HIMARA aims to provide all the essential information that a visitor might need on their next adventure to the Region of Himara. The data has been collected from Google Maps, Wikipedia, Local Guides and Personal Experience.

Frequently Visited Pages

  • Things to Do
  • Destinations
  • Attractions
  • When to go
  • Himariot Culture
  • Frequently Asked Questions

Other Websites By Visit Himara:

  • explorehimara.al
  • himara.info

Newsletter

Receive inspiring stories, travel deals and news from Himara via email.

SIGN UP HERE

HIMARA – contact us:

Mon. - Fri: 7 am - 7 pm

Visit Himara
Spile Center
Himara 9425
Albania

Direct phone:
+355 69 959 1070

info@visithimara.al
Copyright Visit Himara 2017 © Produced by Design Interactive A/S
We use cookies OK Read More
Scroll to top