Filolog (Dec 2023)
THE OPTATIVE IN THE ALBANIAN LANGUAGE
Abstract
The verb system of the Albanian language in its present form is quite rich in different tense and modal forms. Some of them are inherited from the oldest stages of the language, others are relatively new internal creations. Although this verb form has been studied by a number of prominent albanologists such as F. Bopp (1854) (Franz Bopp), G. Meyer (1888) (Gustav Meyer), H. Pedersen (1895) (Holger Pedersen), Dh. Kamarda (1864) (Dhimitër Kamarda), Gj. Pekmezi (1908) (Gjergj Pekmez), M. Domi (1961) (Mahir Domi), Sh. Demiraj (1986) (Shaban Demiraj), its origin and development remain unclear and many questions remain open. In this paper, we deal with its historical development, its use, and we will give the opinions of other well-known linguists about this verb form. We will also analyse two books in terms of how much the optative is used in the standard language and how much in the dialect. Based on the analysis of specific examples, we concluded that the optative mood in the Albanian language is more commonly used in old texts, ballads, folktales, and dialects, and it is increasingly less utilised in standard literature, indicating a trend towards reduction, similar to what occurs in other Indo-European languages.
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