Vëzhgime mbi terminologjinë e shahut në gjuhën shqipe

On Chess Terminology in Albanian. Chess “terminology” has been interpreted in two different ways: a) as part of the lexicon registered in monolingual Albanian dictionaries, which often turn out to be neither comprehensive nor precise about this lexical field, due above all to the limited space that printed dictionaries provide; b) as a recognition of a selected field of human activity, and in this sense as a precise and complete collection of all the variety of terms and expressions used in that field. For a scientific interest as well as for a personal curiosity as chess players, we have chosen to consider the game of chess in Albania and the words that accompany/define it in that country, starting from the name of the game itself, continuing then with the “tools” of the game (which have been called “hardware”, i. e. chess pieces, chessboard etc.) till to the specific and non popular terminology regarding chess theory. Our investigation demonstrates that the Albanian chess terminology has different origins: from Turkish language as for the basic terms of the game, to the French, Italian and German languages for the more theoretical aspects. Another evidence is represented by the 55 superposition of several diachronic strata (for example the transition from the use of “fil” to that of “oficer” for the “Bishop” or the modern increase in the usage of “torrë” (from Italian ‘torre’ = ‘Rook’), compared to the original Turkish “kala”, which once was more common and widespread in Albania. Finally we also verified that in Albanian monolingual dictionaries there has been a passage from the complete absence of chess terminology in the Fjalor i gjuhës shqipe published in 1954, to the subsequent registration of a limited list of “chessonyms” (i. e. the lexicon of Chess) since 1980. Nonetheless we also ascertained that in all Albanian monolingual dictionaries, after the 1980’s edition of the Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe, the terminology of chess in many cases is given with unprecise definitions (e. g. as in the case of the entries “stalmate” and “castling”). With this complete scientific analysis/description , for the first time, a complete list of all the Albanian terms concerning the game of chess is given (including also some variants used in the Kosovo area); all the materials presented and discussed can be useful for the world of Albanian Chess, as a solid reference for all those who, in the future, are interested in publishing chess topics or books.