Albanoid
Albanoid or Albanic is a branch or subfamily of the Indo-European languages, of which Albanian language varieties are the only surviving representatives. Albanian is grouped in the same IE branch with Messapic, an ancient extinct language of Balkan provenance that is preserved in about six hundred inscriptions from Iron Age Apulia. This IE subfamily is alternatively referred to as 'Albanoid', 'Illyric', 'Illyrian complex', 'Western Paleo-Balkan', or 'Adriatic Indo-European'. Concerning "Illyrian" of classical antiquity, it is not clear whether it is actually one language and not material from several languages, but if "Illyrian" is defined as the ancient precursor to Albanian it is automatically included in this IE branch. Albanoid is also used to explain pre-Romance features found in Eastern Romance languages.
| Albanoid | |
|---|---|
| Albanic, Adriatic Indo-European, Illyric, Illyrian complex, Western Paleo-Balkan | |
| Geographic distribution | Balkans, Italy |
| Linguistic classification | Indo-European
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| Proto-language | Proto-Albanoid |
| Subdivisions |
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| Linguasphere | 55 (phylozone) |
| Part of a series on |
| Indo-European topics |
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