Map of Albania

Spoken Albanian:Albanian writing

There are two main dialects divided geographically by the Shkumbin river:

Tosk (Toskësisht)

The official language is spoken in Southern Albania

Gheg (Gegërisht)

is spoken in Northern Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia and parts of Bulgaria

One of the main differences between the dialect are nasalized letters, which are abundant in Gheg but not used in Tosk. Many Gheg speakers feel themselves discriminated by Tosk speakers.

General

Shqipëria (Albania) derives from the Albanian word Shqiptonjë, which means "eagle". Albanians refer to themselves as Sons of the Eagles.

Written Albanian

In its spoken form, it is spoken/pronounced how it is written (except for the letter ë). German as a second language is used more than English, especially outside the Capital.

Written (Tosk) using the Latin Alphabet. Additions to the Latin Alphabet:

ë, ç, and 9 digraphs: dh, gj, ll, nj, rr, sh, th, xh, zh

Prior to 1908 the Arabian and Greek alphabet was used, although since this date it is exclusively the Latin alphabet.

Albanian accents

To type accents with ALT codes, hold down the ALT key, then on the numeric keypad type the three or four digits listed here. However not with laptops, ALT codes only work with the numeric keypad, NOT the row of numbers across the top of your keyboard, as on laptops.

c with cedilla
   ç  ALT + 135    Ç  ALT + 128

e with tréma
   ë  ALT + 137    Ë  ALT + 0203

dh digraph
   dh    Dh

gj digraph
   gj    Gj

ll digraph
   ll    Ll

nj digraph
   nj    Nj

rr digraph
   rr    Rr

sh digraph
   sh    Sh

th digraph
   th    Th

xh digraph
   xh    Xh

zh digraph
   zh    Zh

Albanian Alphabet

The Albanian alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet and has 36 letters.

To type accents with ALT codes, hold down the ALT key, then on the numeric keypad type the three or four digits listed here. However not with laptops, ALT codes only work with the numeric keypad, NOT the row of numbers across the top of your keyboard, as on laptops.

   a      A  

   b      B  

   c      C  

   ç      Ç  

   d      D  

   dh    Dh

   e      E  

   ë      Ë  

   f      F  

   g      G  

   h      H  

   i      I  

   j      J  

   k      K  

   l      L  

   m      M  

   n      N  

   o      O  

   p      P  

   q      Q  

   r      R  

   s      S  

   t      T  

   u      U  

   v      V  

   w      W  

   x      X  

   y      Y  

   z      Z  

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Albanian Translation sample:

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.

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)

Albanian Speaking countries

Albania, Kosovo.

Indo-European Language group

European language groups

Indo-European > Albanian

 

Difficulty in learning Albanian as a native English speaker

The Defense Language Institute categorizes Albanian as difficult (level 3, of 4 levels)

Albanian letter writing samples

  • Letter (formal)
  • Letter (informal)