Wikijunior:Languages/Albanian

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What writing system(s) does this language use?

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

Legend

• Green: Accented letter
• Yellow: Does not sound the same as in English
• Grey: English does not have this sound

Letter: a b c ç d dh e ë f g gj h i j k l ll m Sounds like: a in hat b in bat ts in cats ch in cheese d in dog th in that e in bed i in bird f in farm g in good j in joke y in happily y in yes s in treasure c in car, but more pronounced than normal l in loop l in peel m in map

Letter: n o p q r rr s sh t th u v x xh y z zh Sounds like: n in no aw in yawn p in pan c in car tt in better r in rule s in soup sh in sheep t in tool th in three oo in boot v in volcano ds in cards j in joke oo in food z in zebra s in treasure

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 chiefly 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, which means that is distinctly related to English, Sanskrit, and other Indo-European languages. However, it does not share the same group with any other Indo-European language or any language in the world, although it has borrowed and given loanwords to Greek, Baltic, and Slavic languages. The Albanian language has an ancient history. It is thought to have descended from the Pelasgo-Illyrian language spoken in Ballkan peninsula and it's surroundings.

Albanian, at one point or another, was written in seven different scripts, two of which were created only to write Albanian. The oldest script in Albanian was written in the Latin (like English) script, and it was always used the most. However, the Greek alphabet was also popular from 1500 to 1850. Albanian was even written with an Arabic script. This was because Albania and some neighbouring countries were conquered by the Ottoman Empire, and the Arabic script was used by the Muslims well into the 20th century.

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?

Basic Greetings: Tungjatjeta! — "Hello!" Tung! — "Hi!" Mirëmëngjes. — "Good morning." Mirëmbrëma. — "Good evening." Mirë u pafshim. — "Goodbye." Simple Words: Po! — "Yes!" Jo! — "No!" Qen — "Dog" Mace — "Cat" Shtëpi — "House" Courtesies: Faleminderit! — "Thank you!" Më falni — "I am sorry"

Numbers: Zero — "Zero" Një — "One" Dy — "Two" Tre — "Three" Katër — "Four" Pesë — "Five" Gjashtë — "Six" Shtatë — "Seven" Tetë — "Eight" Nëntë — "Nine" Dhjetë — "Ten" Qind — "Hundred" Mijë — "Thousand" Milion — "Million" Pi — "Pi (3.14)"