Talk:Dardani

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[edit] Dardha and Dardani

Albanian dardhë has not been derived from any Proto-Indo-European root, so it appears to be an isolated word found only in Albanian, though other words with that Dard- form (but with different meaning and from different roots) exist. Decius

I am not sure there is a PIE root. Latin and German languages use a word related to Latin "pyrus" (Romanian "pară", French "poir", English "pear", German "Birne" etc), while the Balto-Slavs have a root somethning like "krusha" (Slovenian "Khrushka", Russian "Grusha", Lithuanian "Kriaushe", etc). Bogdan | Talk 09:21, 5 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I want to identify the first known person to suggest a link between dardhë and dardania so I can mention him/her in the article, and mention when the connection was proposed. It will also remind people that the suggested connection is a recent connection, and not a hoary old tradition passed down, which would have given it more credit. Though the lack of such an old tradition does not mean that the idea itself is wrong.Decius 09:50, 5 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I've read some information, that if accurate, is quite convincing in favor of Dardania deriving from Albanian dardhë: [1]. The part about Bertius, mapmaker of Louis the XIII of France, naming the region Pirustae on his map (perhaps from Latin pirus=pear-tree) and the fact that there is a Slavic toponym in the heart of Dardania that also supports the idea (>Krusevac, probably from krusa, 'pear'; the Serbian word for 'pear' is kruška), added to the fact that "it has been remarked that in contemporary times pear-trees abound in the area" are enough to make me favor the Albanian case. Decius 05:01, 8 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I removed Julius Pokorny's speculation from the article. He suggested that the Balkan Dardani ethnonym derives from PIE *der, 'to flay, tear', but he only based this on similar formed words that are known to derive from this root. Yet the similar forms might just be a coincidence, and Pokorny was probably wrong, as he has very often been shown to be wrong and off-the-mark in his derivations. Decius 05:06, 8 Mar 2005 (UTC)

This Albanian etymology of Dardania fits my ideas concerning Albanians: that they are descended from Balkan tribes that lived in the area of the Balkans that was between the Illyrian (west) and Thracian (east, and north) spheres in ancient times (though Thracians and Illyrians were very much present in Dardania as well) , and that their language should show heavy Daco-Thracian influence as well as some Illyrian influence. Dardania was immediately north of Paionia, and the Agrianes, a Paionian tribe according to Thucydides, also lived in Dardania. Decius 05:20, 8 Mar 2005 (UTC)

In Julius Ceasar's De Bello Gallico, book 5, there is mention of a tribe called the Pirustae who were causing trouble in Illyricum. A variant form of pirustae appears to be pipustae. Decius 06:07, 8 Mar 2005 (UTC)

The Serbian city of Krusevac has nothing to do with pears. The city was built by Knez Lazar in 1371, and the city was given its name after a type of rock which was used to build much of the city. - 07:41, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Interesting. S. S. Juka's site is not that reliable, and I take everything with skepticism. I also take your info with skepticism: what type of rock was it? Decius 02:17, 16 Jun 2005 (UTC)

According to the article Krusevac: Its name stems from the word for "bread" in Serbian. 10:41, 16 Jun 2005 (UTC)

So, we have a choice between 'pears', 'rocks' or 'bread'. Wonderful. Decius 10:52, 16 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Not sure if this is of any use, but the Ossetian word for pear is kardo. Edrigu 00:00, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

Isn't it possible that the Dardanians were neither Illyrians nor Thracians, and unrelated to either of them? Edrigu 20:51, 11 November 2006 (UTC)