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The Illyrian language is nonexistent. What survives are Illyrian glosses of names and places preserved in ancient Greek and Latin literature and epigraphs. It was originally thought that Illyrian was closely related to both the Venetic and Messapic languages, however, both may have branched off separately from Illyrian through a common language (Indo-European = IE), although, the resemblance between Illyrian and Messapian proper names suggest that the Italic tribes of southern Italy were migrants from northern Illyria (seeTribes). What can be said with certainty is that Illyrian was an IE language as expressed in the classic example of IE, teuta(country, people) and the name of the third century Illyrian queen, Teuta.
When discussing the Illyrian language, the Albanian question arises. Is it a descendant of Illyrian? The controversy began with the etymological studies of the Albanian vocabulary. The Albanian language appears to explain some Illyrian proper names. The name of the Taulanti tribe appears to be connected with the Albanian word "dallendyshe" meaning "swallow" as in the small migratory bird and the name of the Dardani tribe could be explained in the Albanian word "dardhe" for "pear." Placenames like the old Illyrian city of Ulcinium, modern day Ulcinj in southern Montenegro, relates to the IE "wlkos" and to the Albanian "ujk," both meaning "wolf." The Albanian word "delme" (sheep) appears to be rooted in Delminium, the ancient capital of the Delmatae, and in the tribes label itself. The very name "Illyrian" was accepted by a few to mean "the free" in respects to the Albanian interpretation of "Illyrian" as "i lir" and so, long before America came into existence "Illyria" in the Albanian would mean "land of the free," but this theory is disregarded as it is coincidental (see Origins for another view on "Illyrian").
Yet, the Albanian relation to Illyrian was not so convincing to some linguists. Some scholars of ancient Balkan languages see Albanian as an extraction of Thracian instead (Katacic,Ancient Languages). Even though little is also known about Thracian, this placed Albanian among the Indo-Iranian east or "satem" group of languages as Thracian is believed to have been a "satem" language and left Illyrian within the Latin west or "centum" group assuming that Illyrian belonged there at all (see image) thus, denying the Illyrian descent of Albanian, eg:
- Thracian "bur" and the Albanian "burrë" meaning "a man"
- Thracian "mal" and the Albanian "mal" meaning "mount"
- Thracian "karpa" and Albanian "karpe" meaning "rock"
For linguists, these correspondences between Albanian and Thracian justified their claim and left Illyrian and Albanian on the opposite sides of the IE linguistic spectrum. This also suggests that the Albanians were originally much more further inland (central Balkans) thus in close proximity to the Thracians and only later migrated southwest towards the Adriatic. Considering that the Albanian language lacks maritime terminology as the Albanian words for fish (peshk), oar (lopatë) and barge (barkë) are loaners from Latin, Slavic, and Greek respectively, this Thracian hypothesis has some logic. Consequently, the central Balkan region has been an archaeological troublesome area in deciphering "who is who" and "what is what." This is because the central Balkans was not only the "gateway" between east and west via the Danube river route, but also the "meltway" between the many cultures in and around it - Roman-Illyrian (west), Thracian (east), Celtic (north) and Greco-Macedonian (south) which is attested by the different elements and artifacts found in this region. With this type of intermingling, it could have been possible for a new culture or language to have arisen - Albanian? Dacian? (see Herm, Celts, in reference to the birth of the IE language).
The haunting argument, though, for the Illyrian descent of Albanian is supported by two indisputable facts. The first is the geographical presence of the Albanians themselves; regions once inhabited by the Illyrians. It must be said that there is no record of any Albanian mass migration to the areas they occupy today and this strengthens their ties to the Albanoi tribe mention by Ptolemy in the second century AD. The Slavic advances, however, are well documented and their migrations into the Balkans may explain the correspondences between Thracian and Albanian. The second is the connection of Illyrian proper names accorded to the Albanian (as noted above). These facts are a testament to the paleo-Balkan identity of the Albanians and the proofs therein make the Illyrian origin of the Albanian more probable. Therefore, " ... in this controversy the burden of proof is with those who deny the Illyrian descent of Albanian" (see Katacic).