Albanian (Shqip)

Albanian is an Indo-European language which forms its own branch in the Indo-European family and has no close relatives. There are two main dialects of Albanian: Tosk, which is spoken by about 3 million people in southern Albania, Turkey, Greece and Italy; and Gheg, which is spoken by about 2.8 million people in Serbia and Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, northern Albania and Bulgaria. The dialects are more or less mutually intelligible and Tosk is the official language of Albania, and one of the official languages of Kosovo and Macedonia.

Albanian has been written with various alphabet since the 15th century. Originally the Tosk dialect was written with the Greek alphabet, while the Gheg dialect was written with the Latin alphabet. They have both also been written with the Turkish version of the Arabic alphabet. The Latin alphabet for Albanian was standardised in 1909, and a unified literary version of Albanian, based on the Tosk dialect, was established in 1972.

Albanian alphabet and pronunciation

Albanian has also been written with two other scripts: Elbasan and Beitha Kukju, local inventions which appeared during the 18th and 19th centuries but were not widely used.

Elbasan script

The Elbasan script was invented around the middle of the 18th century and named after the city of Elbasan in central Albania where it was used.

Elbasan script

Beitha Kukju script

The Beitha Kukju or Buthakukye script was apparently invented in about 1840 and named after its inventor. There are very few references to the script itself, and the name is not Albanian, so it is unclear whether it is genuine.

Beitha Kukju script

Sample text (Tosk)

Të gjithë njerëzit lindin të lirë dhe të barabartë në dinjitet dhe në të drejta. Ata kanë arsye dhe ndërgjegje dhe duhet të sillen ndaj njëri tjetrit me frymë vëllazërimi.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Longer sample text (Tower of Babel)

Useful phrases in Albanian

Albanian language courses, dictionaries, etc.

Other languages written with the Latin alphabet

Links

Albanian World - online lessons, Albanian translations of world literature, etc
http://www.geocities.com/cezarkurti/

Online Albanian lessons
http://www.learnalbanianlanguage.com

Online Albanian dictionary
http://www.argjiro.net/fjalor/

Albanian-English Electronic talking dictionaries
http://www.ectaco.com

Online Albanian radio
http://www.radioezeta.com
http://www.bbc.co.uk/albanian/
http://rtsh.sil.at/online.htm
http://www.europaelire.org/

Online Albanian newspapers
http://www.zeripopullit.com
http://www.kohajone.com

Other alphabets

Armenian, Avestan, Bassa (Vah), Beitha Kukju, Coptic, Cyrillic, Elbsan, Etruscan, Fraser, Georgian (Asomtavruli & Nuskha-khucuri), Georgian (Mkhedruli), Glagolitic, Gothic, Greek, Hungarian Runes, Irish, Kayah Li, Korean, Latin, Lycian, Lydian, Manchu, Meroïtic, Mongolian, N'Ko, Ogham, Old Church Slavonic, Oirat Clear Script, Old Italic, Old Permic, Orkhon, Pollard Miao, Runic, Santali, Somali, Sutton SignWriting, Tai Dam, Thaana, Uyghur