Albanian language

Albanian, also called shqip or gjuha shqipe, is an Indo-European language and the only surviving member of the Albanoid branch. It is spoken by the Albanian people and is the official language of Albania and Kosovo. It is also a co-official language in North Macedonia and Montenegro, where many Albanians live.

The language has around 7.5 million native speakers, including communities in Italy, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, and Greece, as well as people from the Albanian diaspora living in the Americas, Europe, and Oceania. Albanian has two main dialect groups, Gheg in the north and Tosk in the south, which are mostly understandable to each other when spoken in their standard forms.

Albanian has a long history, with its earliest written mention dating back to 1284. It is believed to have developed from an ancient language called Illyrian, spoken in the Balkans before the arrival of Slavic languages. Today, Standard Albanian is based mainly on the Tosk dialect.

Geographic distribution

Main article: Albanians

The Albanian language is spoken by around 6 million people mainly in the Balkans, including countries like Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece. Because of historical communities and modern immigration, the total number of Albanian speakers worldwide is about 7.5 million.

In Europe, Albanian is the official language in Albania and Kosovo, and a co-official language in North Macedonia and Montenegro. It is also recognized as a minority language in countries such as Croatia, Italy, Romania, and Serbia. In the Americas, many Albanian speakers live in the United States, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Canada. Smaller communities exist in Turkey, Egypt, Australia, and New Zealand.

Dialects

Main article: Albanian dialects

The Albanian language has two main dialects: Tosk, spoken in the south, and Gheg, spoken in the north. The Shkumbin River roughly marks the boundary between these two dialects. Standard Albanian is based on the Tosk dialect.

Gheg has four sub-dialects: Northwest Gheg, Northeast Gheg, Central Gheg, and Southern Gheg. It is mainly spoken in northern Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, and northwestern North Macedonia. Tosk includes sub-dialects such as Northern Tosk, Labërisht, Cham, Arvanitika, and Arbëresh. Tosk is spoken in southern Albania, parts of North Macedonia, and Greece. The Arbëresh dialect is spoken by descendants of ancient Albanian migrants living in Italy, specifically in Sicily and Calabria.

Orthography

Main articles: Albanian alphabet and Albanian braille

The Albanian language has been written with many different alphabets since the 15th century. Early Albanian writing used Italian or Greek spellings. The Tosk dialect used the Greek alphabet, while the Gheg dialect used the Latin script. Some writers also used Ottoman Turkish versions of the Arabic script, Cyrillic, and local alphabets like Elbasan and Vithkuqi.

In 1908, Albanian leaders met at the Congress of Manastir to decide on a standard alphabet. They chose the Latin alphabet with extra letters like ⟨ë⟩ and ⟨ç⟩, plus nine special pairs of letters. This became the official way to write Albanian.

Classification

Albanian is one of the major branches of the Indo-European language family. It stands alone within its group and is the only surviving language from the Albanoid branch. Scholars have shown that Albanian is closely related to Greek and Armenian, and it is part of a larger group called the "Balkan Indo-European" languages, which also includes Ancient Greek, Phrygian, and others.

Albanian has several dialects, including Tosk and Gheg Albanian. Researchers are studying an older form of the language called Old Albanian, which may have influenced many nearby languages in the Balkans. This research helps us understand how Albanian developed and interacted with other languages over time.

History

Albanian is an ancient language that belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is the only surviving language in its branch, which is part of the Paleo-Balkan group. The first known written mention of Albanian appeared in 1284 in Ragusa, now Dubrovnik in Croatia. Over time, Albanian developed into two main dialects: Tosk and Gheg.

The oldest surviving document written in Albanian dates back to 1462. Important early books include Meshari by Gjon Buzuku in 1555 and a Christian teaching book by Lekë Matrënga in 1592. During the time of Ottoman presence in the region, Albanian was not officially recognized as a school language until 1909.

Literary tradition

The Albanian language has a rich literary history. The earliest known Albanian text is the Baptismal Formula from 1462, written by Pal Engjëlli, Archbishop of Durrës. It is a short phrase used in religious ceremonies. Another early text is a small list of Albanian phrases with German translations, written in 1496.

The first full book in Albanian is called the Meshari, written by Gjon Buzuku between 1554 and 1555. It includes religious prayers, rituals, and stories from important holy days. Later, in 1592, the first printed book in another Albanian dialect was published in Rome.

Indo-European features

Main article: Indo-European vocabulary

Albanian has some interesting features that show how it has changed from its ancient roots. For example, some sounds that were different in old Indo-European languages now sound the same in Albanian. Also, Albanian often loses sounds at the end of words or in the middle when they are not stressed.

The way Albanian handles certain sounds, like "k" and "g," is unique. It doesn’t fit neatly into two main groups of Indo-European languages, making its sound changes special and interesting to study.

Standard Albanian

Since World War II, standard Albanian in Albania has been based on the Tosk dialect. Kosovo and other areas where Albanian is official started using this form in 1969.

Before that, Albanian writing used three main traditions: Gheg, Tosk, and Arbëreshë. A Gheg form from around Elbasan was suggested as a base for a unified language in 1908. Later efforts kept this form for official use, but both Gheg and Tosk kept developing. After World War II, the new government in Albania chose the Tosk dialect for all official uses. This became the standard across Albania, while Kosovo later adopted it as well. Today, Albanian is used in schools, and most people in Albania can read and write.

Phonology

See also:

Standard Albanian has seven vowels and 29 consonants. Like English, it includes special sounds such as th (like in thin) and dh (like in this).

Gheg has longer and nasal vowels, which are not found in Tosk. The stress in Albanian words usually falls on the last syllable. In Gheg, certain sounds change in Tosk, such as n turning into r.

The Albanian language includes unique sounds like a rolled rr, similar to Spanish or Armenian. There are also special letters and sounds, like ll, which is like a soft English l. Some letters can be written in different ways depending on technical limits, such as using ch instead of ç.