Tosk Albanian

Tosk is the southern group of dialects of the Albanian language. It is spoken by a group of people called the Tosks. The main difference between Tosk and the northern Albanian dialect, called Gheg, is found along the Shkumbin River. Tosk is the basis for the standard Albanian language that people use today.

Many different groups speak Tosk Albanian. These include the Myzeqars in Myzeqe, the Labs in Labëria, the Chams in Çamëria, the Arvanites in Greece, and the Arbëreshë in Italy. There are also Tosk speakers in Bulgaria and North Macedonia. In the early 1980s, about 3000 people in North Macedonia still spoke Tosk Albanian.

Tosk features

Tosk Albanian has some special sounds and changes compared to other Albanian dialects. For example, in Tosk, certain sounds change in specific ways: the sound r often appears where other dialects might have n, and some consonant groups stay the same while they change in other dialects.

There are also special vowel sounds in Tosk. Some vowels can change their pronunciation depending on the exact local dialect, and certain endings might be dropped in some words. These features help make Tosk unique from other Albanian dialects.

Northern Tosk

Vowels

Mid sounds e, o can also change to similar sounds, depending on how they are spoken.