Wikijunior:Languages/Albanian

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What writing system(s) does this language use?

Many different alphabets were used to write the Albanian language, like Cyrrilic, Arabic, Greek, etc. The modern Albanian alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet, and consists of 36 letters. It was adopted at 1908.:

Letter:

A

B

C

Ç

D

Dh

E

Ë

F

G

Gj

H

I

J

K

L

Ll

M

N

Nj

O

P

Q

R

Rr

S

Sh

T

Th

U

V

X

Xh

Y

Z

Zh

Pronunciation:

a

b

t͡s

t͡ʃ

d

ð

ɛ

ə

f

ɡ

ɟ

h

i

j

q

l

ɫ

m

n

ɲ

o

p

c

ɾ

r

s

ʃ

t

θ

u

v

d͡z

d͡ʒ

y

z

ʒ

How many people speak this language?

Albanian language is spoken natively by about 8 million people, who live mainly in Balkans (the nations of Albania, Kosovo, FYROM, and Greece). Small communities of Albanian speakers are scattered throughout the world.

Where is this language spoken?

Albanian is spoken in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro (official Language, spoken in the south, especially around Ulcinj), Serbia, Greece, Turkey, Romania (spoken by a minority) and among Albanian refugees, emigrants, and exiles in Europe and North America.

What is the history of this language?

Albanian language is a branch in the Indo-European languages tree. It doesn't share the same group with any other Indo-European language or any language in the world. It is a group on its own. The Albanian language has an ancient history. It has descended from the Pelasgo-Illyrian language spoken in Ballkan peninsula and it's surroundings. The modern Albanian language was established in 1972 at the Orthographic Congress held in Tirana. It was based in the literary tosk dialect, written by Konstandin Kristoforidhi.

Who are some famous authors or poets in this language?

Famous poets in Albanian language are...

Old: Marin Barleti, Gjon Buzuku, Pjetër Bogdani, and Pjetër Budi.

Renaissance: Naim Frashëri, Jeronim de Rada, Asdren, Ndre Mjeda, Sami Frashëri, Abdyl Frashëri, and Fan Noli.

Modern: Ismail Kadare, Fatos Kongoli, Rifat Kukaj, Ali Podrimja, Din Mehmeti, and Daut Demaku.

What are some basic words in this language that I can learn?

• Hello!, Hi! - Tungjatjeta! or Tung!
• Goodbye, bye-bye, bye - Mirupafshim! or Tung!
• Good morning! - Mirëmëngjesi!
• Good afternoon! - Mirëdita!
• Good evening! - Mirëmbrëma!
• Good night! - Natën e mirë!
• Thank you! - Faleminderit!
• Congratulations! - Urime!
• Water - ujë
• Earth - toka
• Hi, how are you? - Përshëndetje, si jeni?
• See you later! - Shihemi më vonë
• I love you! - Të dua!
• Albanian - Shqiptar
• Albanian language - Shqip, gjuha shqipe
• Englishman, Englishwoman - Anglez (male) or Angleze (female)
• American - Amerikan (male) or Amerikane (female)
• English language - Anglisht or gjuha angleze
• Language - gjuha
• Tongue - gjuha