ARBANASI AND THEIR ETHNOLINGUISTIC IDENTITY

U ovom se radu govori o etničkom i jezičnom identitetu Arbanasa nakon njihova doseljenja u novu domovinu Hrvatsku početkom 18. stoljeća, te višestoljetnim nastojanjima u održanju kako svog jezika tako i svoje kulturne tradicije. Analizom prezimena dade se zaključiti da su uspjeli zadržati (bez poznavanja pisma arbanaškog jezika) svoj etnojezični identitet iako je međukulturalna prilagodba oslabila sam jezik kao obilježje identiteta.This paper deals with the ethnic and linguistic identity of Arbanasi after their settling in their new Croatian homeland at the beginning of the 18th c., and their centuries-long efforts to preserve both their language and cultural tradition. The analysis of their surnames leads to the conclusion that they succedeed in preserving (without knowing the Albanian script) their ethnolinguistic identity, although the language itself, as an identity feature, was weakened through cross-cultural adaptation