r/Arvanites

Na gluhasim greqisht, po në shpi klajmë shqip.

Μιλάμε ελληνικά, αλλά στο σπίτι κλαίμε αλβανικά.

We speak greek, but at home we cry in albanian.

Bardusia (Korakas): From Arvanitic "Bardushi" meaning white, put together with Greek "-ia" a suffix for toponyms.

Gkiona: From the Arvanitic version of John "Gjon", the word is also borrowed in Greek as the name of a small owl (Scops) because the sound it makes sounds like "Gjon". Meaning "the mountain of small owls".

Birbilio: From Arvanitic "Birbili" meaning "swallow". "Meaning the mountain of swallows".

Liakoura(Parnassus): From Arvanitic "Liakur" meaning "naked" or "with no vegetation".

Loutsa: From Arvanitic "Lutza" meaning "wet".

Liofateza: Is hypothesised to be Arvanitic in origin but the etymology is unclear.

Guras(Othrys): From Arvanitic "Gura" meaning "stone".

Names will be added as I find them and corrections will be made.

I really want to know more about him.

I want to learn my ancestral language the thought of speaking to Albanians scares me (joke) . What do you recommend, is there any place I can learn? I’ve thought maybe I can learn the tosk albanian nd then slowly evolve it to arvanitika, is this a good idea? Also I’ve thought of getting Albanian wife but that’s a story for another day.

This is out of topic but to Albanians who want to preserve this historic Albanian dialect in greece you shouldn’t insult ppl by calling them Albanians (spreading nationalism to arvanites deters us from learning or spreading arvanitika)

And to Greek nationalist arvanites stop doing the same thing in reverse because the people who can help preserving your language will be also deterred from helping

We should all cooperate and such because rare languages going extinct is bad, for example there should also be preservation of griko and Pontic Greek languages who have very few ppl left speaking them

(Stauros Larios)

-What does the name "Arvanites" mean?

-I dont know, to tell you the truth.

-Are Arvanites something different from Greeks?

-No they considered themselves Greeks, but they spoke Arvanitica and did not know where they came from. And they didnt know why they spoke it, if you asked the elderly "do we know why we speak Arvanitica" they didn't know.

-Is there an ethnic division (from Greeks)?

-No, no, "Greeks" they said they were.

-Does something distinguish them from the natives? A difference in mindset or way of life?

-They are different, because they are tougher/colder, certainly less educated, and they were employed in ships later by the natives.

(Alexandros Stauras)

-Are Arvanites different from the rest of the inhabitants of the island?

-No, we are all from the same cut of cloath.

-Are they different in any way?

-No, how would they be different?

-Are you an Arvanites?

-Arvanites let's say: Bastardarvanites, with the Albanians we can't communicate, only a bit can we say a few things.

-What does the word "Arvanites" mean now?

-There are no pure Arvanites here.

-When were your parents born?

-I dont know.

-Are you from Andros?

-My mother is from Amolochos and my father from here. The amolochites are not really arvanites. They are unique even now.

(Tsourmpis Takis)

-What does the name "Arvanites" mean?

-Arvanites are the only tribe noone likes. We dont like them. I speak (Arvanitica) too, and understand them.

-What do you mean? Those who spoke Rhomaica made fun of those who spoke Arvanitica?

-In the country (the south part of Andros) noone knew (Arvanitica), not at all. They cursed them. And the Arvanites called them "big dicks", and did not like us. They didn't care about Arvanites because they had a negative view of them.

-Despite not speaking Rhomaica they felt Greek?

-Of course, they are Greek. In the (revolutionary) war they feared arvanites because they were savage.

(Elena Mamais-Makrina)

-What a characteristic of Arvanites?

-They are hard workers, but the women lived beastly. The husband would ride the donkey carrying flour and fruit and the wife would be walking. If they had a baby the woman would carry it too to work. There were no roads back then. When roads finally came to Gaurio, only men came. The women never came, the men would shop and then drink.

-Whats the difference between the North (Arvanitic) and the South (Rhomaic) side? Where there issues or differences?

-The Andriotes(Southerne) would be working on ships, an entirely different world. Here these were the poorer places, the wilder places as they said.

-Did they curse at eachother?

-If they (Arvanites) went south they wouldn't even give them a chair to sit, they considered them degraded. But after the (German) occupation came there was hunger, they all left (the south) and came here where they would find food and settler and would make friends with the Arvanites.

(Demas Mamais)

-When you went South, did you say you were Arvanites?

-Sometimes they would tell me to make fun of me, not much. With that word (Arvanites) they would be degrading us. It meant "the poor people" the second grade houses.

-Was it an issue of being "less Greek" than the Southerners?

-No that wasn't it.

-So you Arvanites feel like Greeks and not foreigners.

-No they never called us foreigners.

-When you were in Athens, were did you say you were from?

-We didn't say we were Arvanites, we said we were from Andros. Arvanites are a tougher, colder and crueler people. As warriors say, a strong people.

Source: https://dspace.uowm.gr/xmlui/handle/123456789/1672

I’ve been looking into the shared roots of the Arbëreshë in Italy and the Arvanites in Greece. Historically, both groups come from the same ancestral population (Arbëror). A major piece of evidence is the traditional song **'Moj e bukura More'** (My Beautiful Morea), which laments the loss of the Morea (Peloponnese)—a region where many Arvanites also originated and were forced to abandon after ottoman invasion.

However, there is a big difference today: The Arbëreshë in Italy preserved their language and still identify strongly with their Albanian roots and albanian national hero like Scanderbeg . In contrast, most Arvanites in Greece have assimilated and identify solely as Greeks, often distancing themselves from the 'Albanian' label.

Why do you think the assimilation was so different?

Is it because religion?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this connection.

Zeriki (Ζερίκια/Ελικώνας): From Slavic "Ezernik" meaning puddle, similar to Bulgarian "Ezerec".

Lygourio(commonly thought to be a misspelling) or Ligourio or Legourio (Λυγουριό): From Arvanitic "Liekura" meaning animal skin. Cognate with Albanian "Lëkurë". Alternative from Greek "Eleourgio -> Leourgio -> Legourio".

Steiri (Στείρι): Possibly pre-greek etymology or from ancient Greek "Stereos" meaning "steady".

Marathon (Μαραθώνας): Either from the mythological Greek hero "Marathos" or the plant "marathos" (fennel). Might be pre-greek as well.

Belgradi (Μπελγκράδι): Serbian loanword "Belgrade" meaning "white fortress".

Kalyvia (Καλύβια): From Greek "Kalyvia" meaning "huts".

Martini (Μαρτίνι): Named after its founder, a catholic named Martinis Vitaliotis.

Sulima (Σουλιμοχώρια) : Named after its founder, an Ottoman bey called "Suleyman".(An explanation from Arvanitic "Souli" (pointy peak) is unlikely)

Kukuras (Κούκουρα/Αγία Άννα): From a medieval Greek word for the crossbow "koukoura".

Buzi (Μπούζι): Either from Arvanitic "buzi" meaning "nozzle" or from Turkish "buz" meaning "cold".

Dombraina(Δομβραίνα): From Slavic "Dobr" meaning "good" and "-ena" being a common word ending in Greek and Slavic.

I always think about this as an arvanite, we don’t have arvanite heritage flag