Shkije
Shkije, shkje, shqa, or shkla is an Albanian ethnonym used to denote non-Albanians. Derived from the Latin ethnonym "Sclaveni", it is among the oldest ethnonyms used in the Albanian language. In modern Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia and Macedonia, shkije, shkje, shkavell and similar terms acquired a pejorative connotation.
From around mid-20th century onwards, to denote Slavs Albanian lexicographers have preferred the Modern Albanian ethnonym sllav, pl. sllavë, which is an internationalism that has penetrated and taken hold in use over time.
Name
Attestation
The ethnonym was firstly documented by the Old Albanian author Pjetër Bogdani in 1685, while the name Shkienia "Schiavonia" was documented by the Old Albanian author Frang Bardhi in 1635. However, the ethnonym has been used since the earliest contacts of Albanians and South Slavs from around the 6th century CE onwards.Etymology
It is derived from the Latin term "Sclaveni", which contained the traditional meaning of “the neighbouring foreigner”. Ethnonyms with the same origin are also found in Romance languages of the Balkans, such as Dalmatian and Eastern Romance languages.Usage
It is used in the Gheg dialect of Albanian to refer to Southern Slavs such as Serbs, Macedonians, Montenegrins, to a lesser extent Croats and Bosniaks, and also simply non-Albanians such as Greeks and Italians. The Arvanites in Greece use the version shkla to refer to the Greek population, while the Arbëreshë in Italy, a substantial part of which originates from the Arvanites, use the words shklan and shklerisht which mean "that does not speak Arbëreshë", or "that speaks an incomprehensible language", referring to the Latin languages.It was widely used in the Albanian literature as well, i.e. Sami Frasheri in his works and Gjergj Fishta, notably in Lahuta e Malcís.
During the Yugoslav Wars, Albanian newspapers often called Serbs "Shkja".