Albanian Odonyms in North Macedonia as Means for Preserving Linguistic and Cultural Heritage

Abstract

This paper analyses some problems related to street names in North Macedonia, the necessity of their translation or adaptation into Albanian, as well as some issues related to the standardization of these names. Street names (odonyms) constitute a prominent feature of a city's linguistic landscape and they are associated with a particular nation in geo-linguistics. As a result, certain political regimes using their authority, influence/change/or do not accept changes in the existing street names and designations. Language itself is a marker of the identity of a group of people and as such carries a symbolic value, especially in cases where two languages are identified with two national communities, which due to several reasons may be in a "conflict". In such situations, state authorities tend to influence in favour of that group that constitutes the dominant part of the nation, giving priority to the language of this group. In general terms, this is also the context in which the Albanian language is found in North Macedonia, where, despite being recognized as the second official language, there are observed problems, especially in its implementation in various spheres of life. We have observed problems in the names of the streets, and we strongly emphasize the idea (which originally originates from the law on the languages) that they should be translated or adapted into Albanian according to the rules dictated by the Albanian language itself. On the other hand, the standardization of street names is as necessary for national and international communication as the standardization of street names. A series of normative rules and criteria are applied for the standardization of the countries’ names, which basically aim to guarantee the uniformity of these names. This means that they should only have one standardized spelling form. Even for the standardization of street names, it is applied the same criteria, but there are also respected some specific rules that apply only to these types of names, since often, street names come as a result of spontaneous actions of a certain speaking community. However, although the establishment of these designations seems like a natural process, it is usually, if not always, a process directed by the administrative or political authorities of a country, which makes their standardization difficult.

Received: 14 May 2023 / Accepted: 20 June 2023 / Published: 5 July 2023