Albanian language

From Free net encyclopedia

{{Infobox Language |name=Albanian |nativename=Shqip |pronunciation=/ʃcip/ |states=Albania, Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro, Republic of Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Italy, and other countries |region=Southeastern Europe |speakers=6,169,000 (Ethnologue, 2000) |familycolor=Indo-European |script=Latin alphabet (Albanian variant) |nation=Albania, Kosovo, parts of Serbia and Montenegro, parts of the Republic of Macedonia |iso1=sq|iso2b=alb|iso2t=sqi |lc1=sqi|ld1=Albanian (generic)|ll1=none |lc2=aln|ld2=Gheg|ll2=Gheg language |lc3=aae|ld3=Arbëreshë|ll3=Arbëreshë#Language |lc4=aat|ld4=Arvanitika|ll4=Arvanitic language |lc5=als|ld5=Tosk|ll5=Tosk language}}

Albanian (gjuha shqipe /Template:IPA/) is a language spoken by over 6 million people, primarily in Albania, Kosovo, and the Republic of Macedonia but also in other parts of the Balkans, along the eastern coast of Italy and in Sicily, as well as by emigrant groups in Scandinavia, Germany, Greece, Italy, the UK, Egypt, Turkey, and the USA. The language forms its own distinct branch of the Indo-European language family.

Contents 1 Classification 1.1 How Albanian compares with other languages 2 Geographic distribution 2.1 Official status 2.2 Dialects 2.2.1 Notable lexicological differences between Tosk and Gheg 3 Sounds 3.1 Consonants 3.2 Vowels 4 Grammar 5 Vocabulary 6 Writing system 7 History 8 Examples 9 References 10 Dictionaries 11 See also 12 External links

Classification

Albanian was proved to be an Indo-European language in 1854 by the German philologist Franz Bopp. The Albanian language is its own independent branch of the Indo-European language family with no living close relatives. There is no scholarly consensus over its origin. Some scholars maintain that it derives from the Illyrian language, and others claim that it derives from Daco-Thracian (Illyrian and Daco-Thracian however may have been closely related languages; see Thraco-Illyrian). This question is often loaded with political implications, but linguistically, the problem is very open; a recent linguist has even stated that Illyrian and Thracian may have been as close as Czech to Slovak, or Spanish to Portuguese (Paliga, 2002).

How Albanian compares with other languages

Albanian	muaj	i ri	nanë	motër	natë	hundë	tri	zi	kuq	verdhë	gjelbër	ujk
Other Indo-European languages
English	month	new	mother	sister	night	nose	three	black	red	yellow	green	wolf
Latin	mēnsis	novus	māter	soror	nox	nasus	trēs	āter/niger	ruber	flāvus/gilvus	viridis	lupus
Italian	mese	nuovo	madre	sorella	notte	naso	tre	nero	rosso	giallo	verde	lupo
German	Monat	neu	Mutter	Schwester	Nacht	Nase	drei	schwarz	rot	gelb	grün	Wolf
Romanian	luna	nou/noi	mamă	soră	noapte	nas	trei	negru	roşu	galben	verde	lup
Welsh	mis	newydd	mam	chwaer	nos	trwyn	tri	du (/di/)	coch	melyn	gwyrdd	gweilgi
Lithuanian	mėnuo	naujas	motina	sesuo	naktis	nosis	trys	juoda	raudona	geltona	žalias	vilkas

Note: Albanian 'muaj', 'motër', 'natë', 'tre', and 'ujk' are directly inherited from Proto-Indo-European. Albanian 'motër' is cognate with the Indo-European root for "mother", unique in having the meaning shift to "sister".

Note: The roots for "yellow" and "green" are very similar to the Romanian for "green" and "yellow". Does this show a similarity with Latin or with other languages of the Balkans such as Dacian? The separation must have occurred when "green" and "yellow" were not considered distinct colours much as we consider both "turquoise" (cyan) and "indigo" (primary blue) to be "blue".

Geographic distribution

Image:Albanian language map.jpg Albanian is spoken by about 6 million people mainly in Albania and Kosovo but also in many other countries, including the Republic of Macedonia, Belgium, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Italy, Sweden, Turkey (Europe), Ukraine, the UK and USA.

Official status

Albanian in the Tosk dialect is the official language of the Republic of Albania. Albanian is also one of the official languages of Kosovo, Montenegro, and the Republic of Macedonia

Dialects

Albania has hundreds of dialects. However, the dialects can be divided into two main dialects, Gheg and Tosk. The Shkubim is roughly the dividing line, north of the Shkubim is where Gheg is spoken and south of the Shkubim is where Tosk is spoken. The Gheg literary language has been documented since 1555, but sources say that it existed as a written language since, at least 1332. Until the communists took power in Albania, the standard was based on Gheg. Although the literary versions of Tosk and Gheg are mutually intelligible, many of the regional dialects are not.

Tosk is divided into many dialects. In Greece, the Çam and the Arvanites speak different Tosk dialects with the dialect of the Arvanites only partially intelligible with other Tosk dialects. The Tosk dialects are spoken by most members of the large Albanian immigrant communities of Ukraine, Turkey, Egypt, and the United States. Tosk dialects are spoken by the Arbëreshë, descendants of 15th and 16th century immigrants in southeastern Italy, in small communities in the provinces of Sicily, Calabria, Basilicata, Campania, Molise, Abruzzi, and Puglia.

Gheg (or Geg) is spoken in Northern Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo, and in parts of Montenegro. Each area of northern Albania has its own dialect and can be divided into dialect groups: Tirana, Durrës, Elbasan and Kavaja; Kruja and Latsi; Mati, Dibra and Mirdita; Lezha, Shkodra, Ulqinj; etc. Maltsia e Madhe, Rugova, and villages scattered alongside the Adriatic Cost form the northmost dialect of Albania today although, Albanian was formerly spoken in Dalmatia until recently. There are many other dialects in the region of Kosovo and in parts of southern Montenegro, and in Macedonia. The dialects of Maltsia e Madhe and Dujadjini near Shkodra are being lost because the younger generations prefer to speak the the dialect of Shkodra.

Notable lexicological differences between Tosk and Gheg

Standard form	Tosk form	Gheg form	Translation
Shqipëri	Shqipëri	Shqypni	Albania
një	një	nji	one
nëntë	nëntë	nândë	nine
është	është	âsht	is
bëj	bëj	bâj	do
emër	emër	êmën	name
pjekuri	pjekuri	pjekuni	maturity
gjendje	gjëndje	gjêndje	situation
zog	zok	zog	bird
mbret	mbret	mret	king
për të punuar	për të punuar	me punue	to work
rërë	rërë	rânë	sand
qenë	qënë	kenë/kânë	been (part.)

(ˆ) denotes nasal vowels, which are a common feature of Gheg.

Sounds

Albanian has 7 vowels and 29 consonants. Gheg has a set of nasal vowels which are absent in Tosk. Another peculiarity is the mid-central vowel "ë" reduced at the end of the word. Two dental fricatives exist (/Template:IPA/ and /Template:IPA/) and the sounds r and l can be weak or strong. The original Indo-European phonetic system was destroyed in Albanian after diphthongs disappeared, and unstressed vowels were dropped. The stress is fixed mainly on the penultimate syllable.

Consonants

	bilabial	labio- dental	dental	alveolar	post- alveolar	palatal	velar	glottal
plosive	Template:IPA			Template:IPA		Template:IPA	Template:IPA
nasal	Template:IPA			Template:IPA		Template:IPA
trill				Template:IPA
flap				Template:IPA
fricative		Template:IPA	Template:IPA	Template:IPA	Template:IPA			Template:IPA
affricate				Template:IPA	Template:IPA
approximant						Template:IPA
lateral approximant				Template:IPA

IPA	Description	Written as	Pronounced as in
Template:IPA	Voiceless bilabial plosive	p	Template:Bold dark reden
Template:IPA	Voiced bilabial plosive	b	Template:Bold dark redat
Template:IPA	Voiceless alveolar plosive	t	Template:Bold dark redan
Template:IPA	Voiced alveolar plosive	d	Template:Bold dark redebt
Template:IPA	Voiceless palatal plosive	q	similar to geTemplate:Bold dark red Template:Bold dark redou
Template:IPA	Voiced palatal plosive	gj	similar to haTemplate:Bold dark red Template:Bold dark redou
Template:IPA	Voiceless velar plosive	k	Template:Bold dark redar
Template:IPA	Voiced velar plosive	g	Template:Bold dark redo
Template:IPA	Voiceless alveolar affricate	c	haTemplate:Bold dark red
Template:IPA	Voiced alveolar affricate	x	gooTemplate:Bold dark red
Template:IPA	Voiceless postalveolar affricate	ç	Template:Bold dark redop
Template:IPA	Voiced postalveolar affricate	xh	Template:Bold dark redet
Template:IPA	Voiceless dental fricative	th	Template:Bold dark redin
Template:IPA	Voiced dental fricative	dh	Template:Bold dark redis
Template:IPA	Voiceless labiodental fricative	f	Template:Bold dark redar
Template:IPA	Voiced labiodental fricative	v	Template:Bold dark redan
Template:IPA	Voiceless alveolar fricative	s	Template:Bold dark redon
Template:IPA	Voiced alveolar fricative	z	Template:Bold dark redip
Template:IPA	Voiceless postalveolar fricative	sh	Template:Bold dark redow
Template:IPA	Voiced postalveolar fricative	zh	viTemplate:Bold dark redion
Template:IPA	Voiceless glottal fricative	h	Template:Bold dark redat
Template:IPA	Bilabial nasal	m	Template:Bold dark redan
Template:IPA	Alveolar nasal	n	Template:Bold dark redot
Template:IPA	Palatal nasal	nj	Spanish seTemplate:Bold dark redor
Template:IPA	Alveolar lateral approximant	l	Template:Bold dark redean
Template:IPA	Palatal approximant	j	Template:Bold dark redes
Template:IPA	Velarized alveolar lateral approximant	ll	baTemplate:Bold dark red
Template:IPA	Alveolar trill	rr	Spanish hieTemplate:Bold dark redo
Template:IPA	Alveolar tap	r	Spanish aTemplate:Bold dark redo

Notes:

• The affricates are pronounced as one sound (a stop and a fricative at the same point).
• The palatal stops q and gj are completely unknown to English, so the pronunciation guide is approximate. Palatal stops can be found in other European languages, for example, in Hungarian (where these sounds are spelt ty and gy respectively).
• The palatal nasal nj corresponds to the sound of the Spanish ñ or the French or Italian digraph gn (as in gnocchi). It is pronounced as one sound, not a nasal plus a glide.
• The ll sound is a velarised lateral, close to English "dark L".
• The contrast between flapped r and trilled rr is the same as in Spanish. English does not have any of the two sounds phonemically (but tt in butter is pronounced as a flap r in most American dialects).
• (1) The letter ç can be spelt ch on American English keyboards, both due to its English sound, but more importantly, due to analogy with Albanian xh, sh, zh. (Usually, however, it's spelt simply c, which may cause confusion; however, meanings are usually understood).

Vowels

IPA	Description	Written as	Pronounced as in
Template:IPA	Close front unrounded vowel	i	bTemplate:Bold dark redd
Template:IPA	Open-mid front unrounded vowel	e	bTemplate:Bold dark redd
Template:IPA	Open front unrounded vowel	a	Spanish cTemplate:Bold dark redsa
Template:IPA	Schwa	ë	Template:Bold dark redlone
Template:IPA	Open-mid back rounded vowel	o	fTemplate:Bold dark redr
Template:IPA	Close front rounded vowel	y	French tTemplate:Bold dark red
Template:IPA	Close back rounded vowel	u	dTemplate:Bold dark redm

Grammar

Albanian nouns are inflected by gender (masculine, feminine and neuter) and number (singular and plural). There are 4 declensions with 6 cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative and vocative), although the vocative only occurs with a limited number of words. The cases apply to both definite and indefinite nouns and there are numerous cases of syncretism. The equivalent of a genitive is formed by using the prepositions i/e/të/së with the dative.

The following shows the declension of the masculine noun mal (mountain):

	Indefinite Singular	Indefinite Plural	Definite Singular	Definite Plural
Nominative	mal (mountain)	male (mountains)	mali (the mountain)	malet (the mountains)
Accusative	mal	male	malin	malet
Genitive	i/e/të/së mali	i/e/të/së maleve	i/e/të/së malit	i/e/të/së maleve
Dative	mali	maleve	malit	maleve
Ablative	mali	maleve/malesh	malit	maleve

The following table shows the declension of the feminine noun vajzë (girl)

	Indefinite Singular	Indefinite Plural	Definite Singular	Definite Plural
Nominative	vajzë (girl)	vajza (girls)	vajza (the girl)	vajzat (the girls)
Accusative	vajzë	vajza	vajzën	vajzat
Genitive	i/e/të/së vajze	i/e/të/së vajzave	i/e/të/së vajzës	i/e/të/së vajzave
Dative	vajze	vajzave	vajzës	vajzave
Ablative	vajze	vajzave/vajzash	vajzës	vajzave

The article can be posited either before or after the noun as in many other Balkan languages, for example Romanian and Bulgarian.

• The definite article can be in the form of noun suffixes, which vary with gender and case.
  • For example in singular nominative, masculine nouns add -i or -u:
    • mal (mountain) / mali (the mountain);
    • libër (book) / libri (the book);
    • zog (bird) / zogu (the bird).
  • Feminine nouns take the suffix -(j)a:
    • veturë (car) / vetura (the car);
    • shtëpi (house) / shtëpia (the house);
    • lule (flower) / lulja (the flower).
• Neuter nouns take -t.

Albanian develops an analytical structure of the verb. Its complex system of moods (6 types) and tenses (3 simple and 5 complex constructions) is distinguishing among other Balkan languages. There are two general types of conjugation. In Albanian the Constituent Order is Subject Verb Object and negation is expressed by the particles nuk or s' in front of the verb, for example:

• Toni nuk flet anglisht "Tony doesn't speak English";
• s'di "don't know".

In imperative sentences, the particle mos is used:

• mos harro "do not forget!".

Vocabulary

There are Albanian words which have cognates (of non-Latin origin) in Romanian and there is a theory that the language spoken by the Dacians before the Romanization was a language related to proto-Albanian.

Although there's no documentation on the Albanian language prior to the 15th century AD, it is widely assumed that Greek and Balkan Latin (which was the ancestor of Romanian and other Balkan Romance languages), would exert a great influence on Albanian. Examples of words borrowed from Latin: qytet < civitas (city), qiell < caelum (sky), mik < amicus (friend).

After the Slavs arrived in the Balkans, another source of Albanian vocabulary were the Slavic languages, especially Bulgarian. The rise of the Ottoman Empire meant an influx of Turkish words; this also entailed the borrowing of Persian and Arabic words through Turkish. Some loanwords from Modern Greek also exist especially in the south of Albania. Also due to the large population of Roma Gypsies in Albania words such as "jaan" or "xhan" in Albanian and Hindi mean the same thing which literally translates as "my life" or "my soul" but is also used to refer to a beloved one as "darling"

Writing system

Full article: Albanian alphabet

Albanian has been written with many different alphabets since the 15th century. Originally, the Tosk dialect was written with the Greek alphabet and the Gheg dialect was written with the Latin alphabet. They have both also been written with the Ottoman Turkish version of the Arabic alphabet, the Cyrillic alphabet, and some local alphabets.

The modern Albanian alphabet was standardised in 1909, and is based on the Latin alphabet, with the addition of the letters ë, ç, and nine digraphs.

History

The place where the ancestors of today's Albanians lived in ancient Balkans is still uncertain, but they are usually identified with the ancient Illyrians or Thracians. The common vocabulary with Romanian suggests that the ancestors of the Albanians and Romanians lived close to each other in ancient times. Some scholars support a "theory of continuity", which says that the Albanians lived in the territory of current Albania. However, the low number of Doric Greek words and the high number of Latin borrowings suggests that the Albanians have lived well north of the Jirecek Line, which divided the spheres of influence of Latin and Greek languages.

The oldest surviving document written in Albanian is "Formula e Pagëzimit" (Baptismal formula), written in 1462 in the Gheg dialect, and some New Testament verses from that period.

The oldest known Albanian printed book, Meshari [1] or missal, was written by Gjon Buzuku, a Catholic cleric, in 1555. The first Albanian school is believed to have been opened by Franciscans in 1638 in Pdhanë. In 1635, Frang Bardhi wrote the first Latin-Albanian dictionary.

Examples

Albanian	shqip	Template:IPA	(shkEEp)	listen
hello	tungjatjeta	Template:IPA	(tUhn-ngIAt-IEta)	listen
good-bye	mirupafshim	Template:IPA	(mEEr-Uh-pA-fshEEm)	listen
please	ju lutem	Template:IPA	(iU LU-tehm)	listen
thank you	faleminderit	Template:IPA	(fAh-leh-mEE-nde-rEEt)	listen
that one	atë	Template:IPA	(ATEH)	listen
how much?	sa është?	Template:IPA	(sAh ush-te)	listen
English	anglisht	Template:IPA	(ahn-GLEE-sht)	listen
yes	po	Template:IPA	(POE)	listen
no	jo	Template:IPA	(IOH)	listen
sorry	më fal	Template:IPA	(mUh FAL)	listen
I don't understand	nuk kuptoj	Template:IPA	(nUhk KUP-toi)	listen
where's the bathroom?	ku është banjoja?	Template:IPA	(kuh ush-tEh bA-nio-jA)	listen
generic toast	gëzuar	Template:IPA	(gUh-zuh-ar)	listen
Do you speak English?	flisni Anglisht?	Template:IPA	(flee-snEE ahn-GLEE-sht)	listen

Note: All the sounds above are in the Ogg Vorbis format.

MONTHS IN ALBANIAN

January- Janar

February- Shkurt

March- Mars

April- Prill

May- Maj

June- Qershor

July- Korrik

August- Gusht

September- Shtator

October- Tetor

November- Nëntor

December- Dhjetor

DAYS OF THE WEEK

e hënë- Monday

e martë- Tuesday

e mërkurë- Wednesday

e enjte- Thursday

e premte- Friday

e shtunë- Saturday

e diel- Sunday

OTHER PHRASES AND WORDS IN ALBANIAN

unë jam- i am

ti je- you are

ju jini- you are (formal)

ai/ajo është- he/ she is

ne jemi- we are

ju jeni- you are (plural)

ata/ato janë- they(m)/they(f) are

më quajnë- my name is....

flisni anglisht?- do you speak English (formal)

flet anglisht- do you speak English (informal)

hajde këtu- come here

ik atje- go there

sa ështe ora- what time is it

si e ke emrin/ si te quajnë- what is your name (informal)

si e kini emrin/ si ju quajnë- what is your name (formal)

jam nga Amerika- I'm from America (a.k.a USA)

jam nga Kanadaja- I'm from Canada

nuk flas Shqip- I don't speak Albanian

flas pak Shqip- I speak little Albanian

References

• Encyclopædia Britannica, edition 15 (1985). Article: Albanian language
• Martin Camaj, Albanian Grammar, Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden
• Isa Zemberi, Colloquial Albanian, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-05663-2

Dictionaries

• Albanian Dictionary from Webster's Dictionary

See also

• Proto-Albanian language
• Albanian Wikipedia

External links

Template:Interwiki

• English - Albanian Dictionary
• An overview of the Albanian language and culture
• Albanian phrase guide
• Ethnologue report on Albanian
• List of free online resources for learners
• List of online Albanian-related resources
• Albanian World Learn Albanian here
• Modern Greek and Albanian with Japanese translation

Samples of various Albanian dialects:

• Albanian (Gheg)
• Albanian (Tosk)
• Albanian (Arbëreshë)
• Albanian (Arvanitika)

Dictionaries:

• English - Albanian dictionary
• English - Albanian dictionary
• Turkish - Albanian dictionary
• German - Albanian dictionaryar:لغة ألبانية

ast:Albanés be:Альбанская мова bs:Albanski jezik br:Albaneg bg:Албански език ca:Albanès cs:Albánština da:Albansk (sprog) de:Albanische Sprache et:Albaania keel el:Αλβανική γλώσσα es:Idioma albanés eo:Albana lingvo fo:Albanskt mál fr:Albanais gl:Lingua albanesa ko:알바니아어 id:Bahasa Albania it:Lingua albanese he:שפות אלבניות ka:ალბანური ენა kw:Albaynek li:Albanees hu:Albán nyelv mk:Албански јазик ms:Bahasa Albania nl:Albanees ja:アルバニア語 nn:Albansk språk nds:Albaansche Spraak pl:Język albański pt:Língua albanesa ro:Limba albaneză ru:Албанский язык se:Albánagiella sq:Gjuha Shqipe sl:Albanščina fi:Albanian kieli sv:Albanska th:ภาษาแอลเบเนีย tr:Arnavutça zh:阿尔巴尼亚语