Albanian language

Albanian (shqip [cip] or gjuha shqipe [uha cip], Donald Ringe and Tandy Warnow described as sur-
meaning Albanian language) is an independent branch of prising their nding, using quantitative linguistic tech-
the Indo-European family of languages, spoken by over niques, that Albanian appears to comprise a subgroup
ve million people,[2] primarily in Albania, Kosovo, the with Germanic.[18] This theory is reinforced by subse-
Republic of Macedonia, and Greece,[1] but also in other quent research by the same authors.[19]
areas of Southeastern Europe in which there is an Alba- However, this hypothetical subgroup is no longer signif-
nian population, including Montenegro and the Preevo icant to the modern descendant languages, according to
Valley of Serbia.[lower-alpha 1] Centuries-old communities Taylor, Ringe and Tarnow, because Albanian has lost
speaking Albanian-based dialects can be found scattered so much of its original vocabulary and morphology.[18]
in Greece, Southern Italy,[4] Sicily, and Ukraine.[5] Due Albanian also shares two features with Balto-Slavic lan-
to the large Albanian diaspora, the total number of speak- guages: a lengthening of syllabic consonants before
ers is much higher than the native speakers in Southeast voiced obstruents and a distinct treatment of long syl-
Europe.[6] lables ending in a sonorant.[20] Other conservative fea-
tures of Albanian include the retention of the distinc-
tion between active and middle voice, present tense and
1 History aorist. In another but uncommon hypothesis, Albanian
is grouped with both Balto-Slavic and Germanic based
The rst written mention of the Albanian language was on on the merger of Proto-Indo-European * and * into *
14 July 1284 in Dubrovnik (modern-day Croatia), when in a supposed northern group.[21] However, this vowel
a certain Matthew, witness of a crime, stated I heard shift is now regarded as only part of a larger push chain
a voice shouting on the mountainside in the Albanian that aected all long vowels.[22]
tongue" (Latin: Audivi unam vocem, clamantem in mon-
te in lingua albanesca).[7][8] The rst audio recording of
1.2 Linguistic inuences
Albanian was made by Norbert Jokl on 4 April 1914 in
Vienna.[9] During the ve-century period of the Ottoman The earliest loanwords attested in Albanian come from
presence in Albania, the language was not ocially rec- Doric Greek,[23] whereas the strongest inuence came
ognized until 1909, when the Congress of Dibra decided from Latin. According to Matthew C. Curtis, the loan-
that Albanian schools would nally be allowed.[10] words do not necessarily indicate the geographical loca-
tion of the ancestor of Albanian language.[24] However,
according to other linguists, the borrowed words can help
1.1 Linguistic anities to get an idea about the place of origin and the evolu-
tion of the Albanian language.[25][26] According to an-
The Albanian language is part of the Indo-
other group of linguists, Albanian originates from an area
European language group. It is considered to have thats located east of its present geographic spread due to
evolved from one of the Paleo-Balkan languages of
the several common lexical items found between the Al-
antiquity,[11][12][13][14][15] although there is a disagree- banian and Romanian language.[27]
ment which one language can be linked with Albanian
as well as what place in the Balkans this population The period during which Proto-Albanian and Latin in-
lived.[16] In general there is insucient evidence to teracted was protracted and drawn out roughly from the
connect Albanian with one of those languages: whether 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD.[28] This is borne
one of the Illyrian languages or Thracian and Dacian.[17] out into roughly three layers of borrowings, the largest
number belonging to the second layer. The rst, with the
Albanian is now considered an isolate within Indo- fewest borrowings, was a time of less important interac-
European; no extant language shares the same branch. tion. The nal period, probably preceding the Slavic or
The only other languages that are the sole surviving mem- Germanic invasions, also has a notably smaller number
ber of a branch of Indo-European are Armenian and of borrowings. Each layer is characterized by a dier-
Greek. ent treatment of most vowels, the rst layer having sev-
Although Albanian shares lexical isoglosses with Greek, eral that follow the evolution of Early Proto-Albanian into
Balto-Slavic, and Germanic languages, the vocabulary Albanian; later layers reect vowel changes endemic to
of Albanian is quite distinct. In 1995, Ann Taylor, Late Latin and presumably Proto-Romance. Other for-

1
2 1 HISTORY

mative changes include the syncretism of several noun to Albanian. In contrast, in later Latin borrowings,
case endings, especially in the plural, as well as a large- the internal syllable is retained: paganus pagan ;
scale palatalization. plaga plag etc.
A brief period followed, between the 7th and the 9th
centuries, that was marked by heavy borrowings from 4. Latin /tj/, /dj/, /kj/ palatalized to Albanian /s/, /z/,
Southern Slavic, some of which predate the o-a shift /c/: vitius ves ; ratio arsye ; radius rreze ;
common to the modern forms of this language group. facies faqe ; socius shoq etc. In turn, Latin /s/
Starting in the latter 9th century, there was a pe- was altered to // in Albanian.
riod characterized by protracted contact with the Proto-
Romanians, or Vlachs, though lexical borrowing seems to
have been mostly one sidedfrom Albanian into Roma- Haralambie Mihescu demonstrated that:
nian. Such borrowing indicates that the Romanians mi-
grated from an area where the majority was Slavic (i.e. Some 85 Latin words have survived in Albanian but
Middle Bulgarian) to an area with a majority of Albanian not (as inherited) in any Romance language. A few
speakers (i.e. Dardania, where Vlachs are recorded in the examples include bubulcus bujk, hibernalia
10th century). Their movement is probably related to the mrraj, sarcinarius shelqror, trifurcus tr-
expansion of the Bulgarian Empire into Albania around furk, accipiter skifter, chersydrus kuedr, sple-
that time. neticum shpretk, solanum shull.[34]

1.3 Latin inuence 151 Albanian words of Latin origin were not inher-
ited in Romanian. A few examples include Albanian
Jernej Kopitar (17801844) was the rst to note Latins mik from Latin amicus, or armik from inimicus, ar-
inuence on Albanian and claimed the Latin loanwords sye from rationem, bekoj from benedicere, qelq from
in the Albanian language had the pronunciation of the calix (calicis), kshtjell from castellum, qind from
time of Emperor Augustus.[29] Kopitar gave examples centum, gjel from gallus, gjymtyr from iunctura,
such as Albanian qiqer from Latin cicer (meaning chick- mjek from medicus, rrjet from rete, shpresoj from
peas), qytet from civitas (meaning city), peshk from pis- sperare, vullnet from voluntas (voluntatis).[35]
cis (meaning sh) and shigjet from sagitta (meaning ar-
row). The hard pronunciations of Latin c and g are Some Albanian church terminology have phonetic
retained as palatal and velar stops in the Albanian loan- features which demonstrate their very early borrow-
words. Gustav Meyer (1888)[30] and Wilhelm Meyer- ing from Latin. A few examples include Albanian
Lbke (1914)[31] later corroborated this. Meyer noted the altar from Latin altare, engjll from angelus, bekoj
similarity between the Albanian verbs shqipoj and shqip- from benedicere, i krishter from christianus, kryq
toj (both meaning to enunciate) and the Latin word ex- from crux (crucis), kish from ecclesia, ipeshkv from
cipio (meaning to welcome). Therefore, he believed that episcopus, ungjill from evangelium, mallkoj from
the word Shqiptar (meaning Albanian) was derived from maledicere, mesh from missa, murg from monacus,
shqipoj, which in turn was derived from the Latin word pagan from paganus.[36]
excipio. Johann Georg von Hahn, an Austrian linguist,
had proposed the same theory in 1854.[32]
Other authors[37] have detected Latin loanwords in Alba-
Eqrem abej also noticed, among other things, the ar-
nian with an ancient sound pattern from the 1st century
chaic Latin elements in Albanian:[33]
BC, for example, Albanian qingl from Latin cingula and
1. Latin /au/ becomes Albanian /a/ in the earliest bor- Albanian e vjetr from Latin vetus/veteris. The Romance
rowings: aurum ar ; gaudium gaz ; laurus languages inherited these words from Vulgar Latin: Vul-
lar. Latin /au/ is retained in later borrowings, but is gar *cingla became N. Romanian chinga, meaning belly
altered in a way similar to Greek: causa kafsh ; band, saddle girth, and Vulgar veteran became N. Ro-
laud lavd. manian btrn, meaning old.
Albanian, Basque, and the surviving Celtic languages
2. Latin // becomes Albanian /e/ in the oldest Latin
such as Breton and Welsh, are the non-Romance lan-
borrowings: pmum pem ; hra her.
guages today that have this sort of extensive Latin element
An analogous mutation occurred from Proto-Indo-
dating from ancient Roman times, which have undergone
European to Albanian; PIE *ns became Albanian
the sound changes associated with the languages. Other
ne, PIE *ot + sux -ti- became Albanian tet etc.
languages in or near the former Roman area either came
3. Latin unstressed internal and initial syllables be- on the scene later (Turkish, the Slavic languages, Ara-
come lost in Albanian: cubitus kub ; medicus bic) or borrowed little from Latin despite coexisting with
mjek ; paludem > V. Latin padule pyll. An analo- it (Greek, German), although German does have a few
gous mutation occurred from Proto-Indo-European such ancient Latin borrowings (Fenster, Kse, Kln).
1.4 Historical presence and location 3

Illyrians, Dacians, Getae and Thracians at 200 BC

1.4 Historical presence and location

Main article: Origin of the Albanians

The place and the time where the Albanian language

was formed is uncertain. American linguist Eric Hamp
stated that during an unknown chronological period a pre-
Albanian population (termed as Albanoid by Hamp) October 1899 issue of the magazine Albania, the most important
Albanian periodical of the early 20th century
inhabited areas stretching from Poland to southwestern
Balkans.[38] Further analysis has suggested that it was in a
mountainous region rather than on a plain or seacoast:[39]
while the words for plants and animals characteristic of the boundary of the primary dialect division for Albanian,
mountainous regions are entirely original, the names for Tosk-Gheg. The characteristics of Tosk and Gheg in the
sh and for agricultural activities (such as ploughing) are treatment of the native and loanwords from other lan-
borrowed from other languages.[40] A deeper analysis of guages are evidence that the dialectal split preceded the
the vocabulary, however, shows that this could be a conse- Slavic migration to the Balkans,[42][43][28] which means
quence of the prolonged Latin domination of the coastal that in that period (the 5th to 6th centuries AD), Alba-
and plain areas of the country, rather than evidence of the nians were occupying nearly the same area around the
original environment where the Albanian language was Shkumbin river, which straddled the Jireek Line.[44][39]
formed. For example, the word for 'sh' is borrowed from
Latin, but not the word for 'gills, which is native. Indige- References to the existence of Albanian as a distinct
language survive from the 14th century, but they failed
nous are also the words for 'ship', 'raft', 'navigation', 'sea
shelves and a few names of sh kinds, but not the words to cite specic words. The oldest surviving documents
written in Albanian are the "formula e pagzimit" (Bap-
for 'sail', 'row' and 'harbor'objects pertaining to naviga-
tion itself and a large part of sea fauna. This rather shows tismal formula), Un'te paghesont' pr'emenit t'Atit e t'Birit e
t'Spertit Senit. (I baptize thee in the name of the Father,
that Proto-Albanians were pushed away from coastal ar-
eas in early times (probably after the Latin conquest of and the Son, and the Holy Spirit") recorded by Pal Eng-
the region) thus losing large parts (or the majority) of jelli, Bishop of Durrs in 1462 in the Gheg dialect, and
sea environment lexicon. A similar phenomenon could some New Testament verses from that period.
be observed with agricultural terms. While the words for The oldest known Albanian printed book, Meshari, or
'arable land', 'corn', 'wheat', 'cereals, 'vineyard', 'yoke', missal, was written in 1555 by Gjon Buzuku, a Roman
'harvesting', 'cattle breeding', etc. are native, the words Catholic cleric. In 1635, Frang Bardhi wrote the rst
for 'ploughing', 'farm' and 'farmer', agricultural practices, LatinAlbanian dictionary. The rst Albanian school is
and some harvesting tools are foreign. This, again, points believed to have been opened by Franciscans in 1638 in
to intense contact with other languages and people, rather Pdhan.
than providing evidence of a possible Urheimat. One of the earliest dictionaries of Albanian language
The centre of Albanian settlement remained the Mat was written in 1693 which was an Italian language
river. In 1079, they were recorded farther south in the val- manuscript authored by Montenegrin sea captain Julije
ley of the Shkumbin river.[41] The Shkumbin, a seasonal Balovi Pratichae Schrivaneschae and includes a multilin-
stream that lies near the old Via Egnatia, is approximately gual dictionary of hundreds of the most often used words
4 2 CLASSIFICATION

in everyday life in the Italian, Slavo-Illirico, Greek, Al- than previously thought. We have also discov-
banian and Turkish languages.[45] ered a great many verbal forms that are now
obsolete or have been lost through restructur-
ing until now, these forms have barely even
2 Classication been recognized or, at best, have been classi-
ed incorrectly. These verbal forms are cru-
cial to explaining the linguistic history of Al-
Albanian was demonstrated to be an Indo-European lan-
banian and its internal usage. However, they
guage in 1854 by the philologist Franz Bopp. The Al-
can also shed light on the reciprocal relation-
banian language constitutes its own branch of the Indo-
ship between Albanian and its neighbouring
European language family.[46]
languages. The researchers are following vari-
Albanian was formerly compared by some Indo- ous leads which suggest that Albanian played a
Europeanists with Balto-Slavic and Germanic,[47] both key role in the Balkan Sprachbund. For exam-
of which share a number of isoglosses with Albanian. ple, it is likely that Albanian is the source of the
Moreover, Albanian has undergone a vowel shift in which suxed denite article in Romanian, Bulgar-
stressed, long o has fallen to a, much like in the for- ian and Macedonian, as this has been a feature
mer and opposite the latter. Likewise, Albanian has of Albanian since ancient times.[54]
taken the old relative jos and innovatively used it ex-
clusively to qualify adjectives, much in the way Balto-
Slavic has used this word to provide the denite ending 2.3 Proto-IE features
of adjectives. Other linguists link Albanian with Greek
and Armenian, while placing Germanic and Balto-Slavic Although sometimes Albanian has been referred to as the
in another branch of Indo-European.[48][49][50] Nakhleh, weird sister for several words that do not correspond to
Ringe, and Warnow argued that Albanian can be placed IE cognates, it has retained many proto-IE features: for
at a variety of points within the Indo-European tree with example, the demonstrative pronoun **o- is ancestral to
equally good t; determining its correct placement is Albanian ky/kjo and English he but not to English this or
hampered by the loss of much of its former diagnostic to Russian etot.
inectional morphology and vocabulary.[51] Albanian is compared to other Indo-European languages
below, but note that Albanian has exhibited some notable
instances of semantic drift (such as motr meaning sis-
2.1 Origin ter rather than mother or the Latin loans gjelbr and
verdh having become switched in meaning).
Modern linguists have challenged the Illyrian origin of the
Albanian language.[52] Alternative theories maintain that
it derives from Dacian or Thracian.[53] (Illyrian, Dacian, 2.4 AlbanianPIE phonological corre-
and Thracian, however, may have formed a subgroup or
spondences
a Sprachbund; see Thraco-Illyrian.)
Phonologically Albanian is not so conservative. Like
2.2 (Old) Albanian many IE stocks it has merged the two series of voiced
stops (e.g. both *d and *d became d). In addition
According to the central hypothesis of a project under- the voiced stops tend to disappear in between vowels.
taken by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, Old Albanian There is almost complete loss of nal syllables and very
had a signicant inuence on the development of many widespread loss of other unstressed syllables (e.g. mik,
Balkan languages. Intensive research now aims to con- friend from Lat. amicus). PIE *o appears as a (also
rm this theory. This little-known language is being re- as e if a high front vowel i follows), while * and * be-
searched using all available texts before a comparison come o, and PIE * appears as e. The palatals, velars,
with other Balkan languages is carried out. The outcome and labiovelars all remain distinct before front vowels, a
of this work will include the compilation of a lexicon pro- conservation found otherwise in Luvian and related Ana-
viding an overview of all Old Albanian verbs.[54] tolian languages. Thus PIE *, *k, and *k become th,
q, and s, respectively (before back vowels * becomes th,
while *k and *k merge as k). Another remarkable reten-
As project leader Dr. Schumacher ex-
tion is the preservation of initial *h4 as Alb. h (all other
plains, the research is already bearing fruit: So
laryngeals disappear completely).[55]
far, our work has shown that Old Albanian
contained numerous modal levels that allowed
[1] Between vowels or after r
the speaker to express a particular stance to
what was being said. Compared to the existing
[1] Before u /u or i/i
knowledge and literature, these modal levels
are actually more extensive and more nuanced [2] Before sonorant
4.2 Tosk standard 5

[3] Archaic relic variety, the Elbasan speech is closer to Tosk in phonology
and practically a hybrid between other Gheg subdialects
[4] Syllable-initial and followed by sibilant
and literary Tosk.[58]
[1] Initial Between 1916 and 1918, the Albanian Literary Commis-
sion met in Shkodr under the leadership of Luigj Gu-
[2] Between vowels rakuqi with the purpose of establishing a unied orthog-
[3] Between vowels and after u /i/r/k (ruki law) raphy for the language. The Commission, made up of
representatives from the north and south of Albania, reaf-
[4] Cluster -sd- rmed the Elbasan subdialect as the basis of a national
tongue. The rules published in 1917 dened spelling for
[5] Cluster -s-
the Elbasan variety for ocial purposes. The Commis-
[6] Cluster -sp- sion did not, however, discourage publications in one of
the dialects, but rather laid a foundation for Gheg and
[7] Cluster -st-
Tosk to gradually converge into one.[58]
[8] Dissimilation with following vowel When the Congress of Lushnje met in the aftermath of
World War I to form a new Albanian government, the
[1] Before i, e, a 1917 decisions of the Literary Commission were upheld.
[2] Before back vowels
The Elbasan subdialect remained in use for administra-
tive purposes and many new writers embraced for cre-
[3] After front vowels ative writing. Gheg and Tosk continued to develop freely
and interaction between the two dialects increased.
[4] After all other vowels

4.2 Tosk standard

3 Dialects
At the end of World War II, however, the new communist
Main article: Albanian dialects regime radically imposed the use of the Tosk dialect in all
facets of life: administration, education, and literature.
Most Communist leaders were Tosks from the south.[58]
Albanian is divided into two major dialects: Gheg, Tosk,
Standardization was directed by the Albanian Institute of
and a transitional dialect zone between them.[56] The
Linguistics and Literature of the Academy of Sciences
Shkumbin river is roughly the dividing line, with Gheg
of Albania.[59] Two dictionaries were published in 1954:
spoken north of the Shkumbin and Tosk south of it.[57]
an Albanian language dictionary and a RussianAlbanian
There are also other dialects like Arbresh and Arvan-
dictionary. New orthography rules were eventually pub-
itika, which are mixtures between Gheg and Tosk with
lished in 1967[59] and 1973 Drejtshkrimi i gjuhs shqipe
some archaic features of Albanian. They are spoken in
(Orthography of the Albanian Language).[60]
some areas of Italy and Greece.
More recent dictionaries from the Albanian government
are Fjalori Drejtshkrimor i Gjuhs Shqipe (1976) (Or-
4 Standard Albanian thographic Dictionary of the Albanian Language)[61]
and Dictionary of Todays Albanian language (Fjalori
Gjuhs s Sotme Shqipe) (1980).[59][62] Prior to World
Since World War II, standard Albanian used in Albania War II, dictionaries consulted by developers of the stan-
has been based on the Tosk dialect. Kosovo and other ar- dard have included Lexikon tis Alvanikis glossis (Alba-
eas where Albanian is ocial adopted the Tosk standard nian: Fjalori i Gjuhs Shqipe (Kostandin Kristoforidhi,
in 1969.[58] 1904),[63] Fjalori i Bashkimit (1908),[63] and Fjalori i
Gazullit (1941).[64]
4.1 Elbasan-based standard
Until the early 20th century, Albanian writing devel-
4.3 Calls for reform
oped in three main literary traditions: Gheg, Tosk, and
Arbresh. Throughout this time, an intermediate sub- Further information: Albanian Orthography Congress
dialect spoken around Elbasan served as lingua franca
among the Albanians, but was less prevalent in writing. Since the fall of the communist regime, Albanian orthog-
The Congress of Manastir of Albanian writers held in raphy has stirred heated debate among scholars, writers,
1908 recommended the use of the Elbasan subdialect for and public opinion in Albania and Kosovo, with hardlin-
literary purposes and as a basis of a unied national lan- ers opposed to any changes in the orthography, moderates
guage. While technically classied as a southern Gheg supporting varying degrees of reform, and radicals calling
6 6 PHONOLOGY

for a return to the Elbasan dialect. Criticism of Standard Republic of Macedonia, Greece and Italy (Arbereshe)
Albanian has centred on the exclusion of the 'me+' in- and by immigrant communities in many other coun-
nitive and the Gheg lexicon. Critics say that Standard tries, notably the United Kingdom, the United States,
Albanian disenfranchises and stigmatizes Gheg speakers, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
aecting the quality of writing and impairing eective
public communication. Supporters of the Tosk standard
contend view the 1972 Congress as a milestone achieve- 5.1 Standard
ment in Albanian history and dismiss calls for reform as
eorts to divide the nation or create two languages.
Standard Albanian, based on the Tosk dialect of southern
Moderates, who are especially prevalent in Kosovo, gen-
Albania, is the ocial language of Albania and Kosovo
erally stress the need for a unied Albanian language, but
and is also ocial in municipalities of the Republic of
believe that the 'me+' innitive and Gheg words should
Macedonia where ethnic Albanians form more than 20%
be included. Proponents of the Elbasan dialect have been
of the municipal population.[65] It is also an ocial lan-
vocal, but have gathered little support in the public opin-
guage of Montenegro, where it is spoken in municipalities
ion. In general, those involved in the language debate
with ethnic Albanian populations.
come from diverse backgrounds and there is no signi-
cant correlation between ones political views, geographic
origin, and position on Standard Albanian.
Many writers have continued to write in the Elbasan di- 6 Phonology
alect, which is somewhat erroneously referred to as Gheg
(other Gheg variants have found much more limited use Standard Albanian has 7 vowels and 29 consonants. Gheg
in literature). But most publications adhere to a strict uses long and nasal vowels, which are absent in Tosk, and
policy of not accepting submissions that are not written the mid-central vowel is lost at the end of the word. The
in Tosk. Some print media even translate direct speech, stress is xed mainly on the last syllable. Gheg n (femn:
replacing the 'me+' innitive with other verb forms and compare English feminine) changes to r by rhotacism in
making other changes in grammar and word choice. Even Tosk (femr).
authors who have published in the Elbasan dialect will
frequently write in the Tosk standard.
In the recent years, a group of academics for Albania and 6.1 Consonants
Kosovo have proposed minor changes in the orthography.
Hardline academics boycotted the initiative, while other Notes:
reformers have viewed it as supercial. Media such as
Rrokum and Java have oered content that is almost ex-
clusively in the Elbasan dialect. Meanwhile, author and The contrast between apped r and trilled rr is the
linguist Agim Morina has promoted a reformed version of same as in Spanish or Armenian. In most of the
the Tosk standard that aims at reecting the natural devel- dialects, as also in standard Albanian, the single r
opment of the language among all Albanians. Morinas merges from an alveolar ap // into a retroex ap
variant incorporates the 'me+' innitive, accommodates [], or even an alveolar approximant [] when it is at
for Gheg features, and provides for simpler and dialect- the end of a word.
neutral rules.
The palatal nasal // corresponds to the Spanish
and the French and Italian gn. It is pronounced as
4.4 Education one sound, not a nasal plus a glide.

Albanian is the medium of instruction in most Albanian The ll sound is a velarised lateral, close to English
schools. The literacy rate in Albania for the total popula- dark L.
tion, age 9 or older, is about 99%. Elementary education
is compulsory (grades 19), but most students continue
The letter is sometimes written ch due to technical
at least until a secondary education. Students must pass
limitations because of its use in English sound and its
graduation exams at the end of the 9th grade and at the
analogy to the other digraphs xh, sh, and zh. Usually
end of the 12th grade in order to continue their education.
it is written simply c or more rarely q with context
resolving any ambiguities.

5 Geographic distribution Many speakers merge the palatal sounds q and gj

into the palatoalveolar sounds and xh. This is espe-
Albanian is spoken by approximately 5.4 million cially common in Northern Gheg, but is increasingly
people,[2] mainly in Albania, Kosovo, Turkey, the the case in Tosk as well.[66]
7.1 Word order 7

6.2 Vowels mal (mountain) / mali (the mountain);

libr (book) / libri (the book);
6.2.1 Schwa zog (bird) / zogu (the bird).

Although the Indo-European schwa ( or -h2-) was pre- Feminine nouns take the sux -(i/j)a:
served in Albanian, in some cases it was lost, possibly vetur (car) / vetura (the car);
when a stressed syllable preceded it.[67] Until the stan- shtpi (house) / shtpia (the house);
dardization of the modern Albanian alphabet, in which lule (ower) / lulja (the ower).
the schwa is spelled as , as in the work of Gjon Buzuku in
the 16th century, various vowels and gliding vowels were Neuter nouns take -t.
employed, including ae by Lek Matrnga and by Pjetr
Bogdani in the late 16th and early 17th century.[68][69] Albanian has developed an analytical verbal structure
The schwa in Albanian has a great degree of variabil- in place of the earlier synthetic system, inherited from
ity from extreme back to extreme front articulation.[70] Proto-Indo-European. Its complex system of moods (six
Within the borders of Albania, the phoneme is pro- types) and tenses (three simple and ve complex con-
nounced about the same in both the Tosk and the Gheg structions) is distinctive among Balkan languages. There
dialect due to the inuence of standard Albanian. How- are two general types of conjugations.
ever, in the Gheg dialects spoken in the neighbouring Albanian verbs, like those of other Balkan languages,
Albanian-speaking areas of Kosovo and Macedonia, the have an "admirative" mood (mnyra habitore) that is used
phoneme is still pronounced as back and rounded.[70] to indicate surprise on the part of the speaker or to imply
that an event is known to the speaker by report and not by
direct observation. In some contexts, this mood can be
7 Grammar translated using English apparently.

See also: Albanian morphology Ti et shqip. You speak Albanian. (indicative)

Ti iske shqip! You (surprisingly) speak Alba-
Albanian has a canonical word order of SVO (subject nian!" (admirative)
verbobject) like English and many other Indo-European
languages.[71] Albanian nouns are inected by gender Rruga sht e mbyllur. The street is closed. (in-
(masculine, feminine and neuter) and number (singular dicative)
and plural). There are ve declensions with six cases Rruga qenka e mbyllur. "(Apparently,) The street
(nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative, and is closed. (admirative)
vocative), although the vocative only occurs with a limited
number of words, and the forms of the genitive and da-
For more information on verb conjugation and on inec-
tive are identical (a genitive is produced when the prepo-
tion of other parts of speech, see Albanian morphology.
sitions i/e/t/s are used with the dative). Some dialects
also retain a locative case, which is not present in standard
Albanian. The cases apply to both denite and indenite 7.1 Word order
nouns, and there are numerous cases of syncretism.
The following shows the declension of mal (mountain), a Albanian word order is relatively free.[72] However, the
masculine noun which takes i in the denite singular: most common order is subjectverbobject, and negation
is expressed by the particles nuk or s in front of the verb,
The following shows the declension of the masculine
for example:
noun zog (bird), a masculine noun which takes u in the
denite singular:
Toni nuk et anglisht Tony does not speak English";
The following table shows the declension of the feminine
noun vajz (girl): Toni set anglisht Tony doesn't speak English";
The denite article is placed after the noun as in many Nuk e di I do not know";
other Balkan languages, like in Romanian, Macedonian
and Bulgarian. S'e di I don't know.

However, the verb can optionally occur in sentence-initial

The denite article can be in the form of noun suf-
position, especially with verbs in the non-active form
xes, which vary with gender and case.
(forma joveprore):
For example, in singular nominative, mascu-
line nouns add -i, or those ending in -g/-k/-h Parashikohet nj ndrprerje An interruption is an-
take -u (to avoid palatalization): ticipated".
8 9 LITERARY TRADITION

In imperative sentences, the particle mos is used: 9 Literary tradition

Mos harro do not forget!". 9.1 Earliest undisputed texts
SVO: Agimi i hngri t gjith portokallt. See also: Formula e pagzimit and Meshari
SOV: Agimi t gjith portokallt i hngri.
The earliest known texts in Albanian:
OVS: T gjith portokallt i hngri Agimi.

OSV: T gjith portokallt Agimi i hngri.

VSO: I hngri Agimi t gjith portokallt.

7.2 Numerals

8 Orthography
Main articles: Albanian alphabet and Albanian braille
The Albanian language has been written using many

Albanian keyboard layout.

dierent alphabets since the earliest records from the

15th century. The history of Albanian language orthog-
raphy is closely related to the cultural orientation and
knowledge of certain foreign languages among Albanian Meshari of Gjon Buzuku 15541555
writers.[64] The earliest written Albanian records come
from the Gheg area in makeshift spellings based on Ital- a 208-page parchment written by Theodor of Shko-
ian or Greek and sometimes in Arabic characters. Orig- dra discovered in the secret archives of Vatican.[73]
inally, the Tosk dialect was written in the Greek alpha- The work is a manuscript decorated with golden
bet and the Gheg dialect was written in the Latin script. miniatures and colored initials, divided in three
Both dialects had also been written in the Ottoman Turk- parts. Pages 197 deal with theology, 98146 with
ish version of the Arabic script, Cyrillic, and some local philosophy, and pages 147208 with a history of the
alphabets (Elbasan, Bthakukye/Vithkuqi, Todhri, Veso known world from AD 153 to 1209. On the nal
Bey, Jan Vellara and others, see original Albanian alpha- page of the manuscript we nd a note by the author
bets). More specically, the writers from northern Alba- With the assistance and great love of the blessed
nia and under the inuence of the Catholic Church used Lord, I nished this in the year 1210 on the 9th day
Latin letters, those in southern Albania and under the in- of March.
uence of the Greek Orthodox church used Greek letters,
while others throughout Albania and under the inuence the "formula e pagzimit" (Baptismal Formula),
of Islam used Arabic letters. There were initial attempts which dates back to 1462 and was authored by Pal
to create an original Albanian alphabet during the 1750 Engjlli (or Paulus Angelus) (c. 1417 1470),
1850 period. These attempts intensied after the League Archbishop of Durrs. Engjlli was a close friend
of Prizren and culminated with the Congress of Manastir and counsellor of Skanderbeg.[74] It was written in a
held by Albanian intellectuals from 14 to 22 November pastoral letter for a synod at the Holy Trinity in Mat
1908, in Manastir (present day Bitola), which decided on and read in Latin characters as follows: Unte pagh-
which alphabet to use, and what the standardized spelling esont premenit Atit et Birit et Spertit Senit (standard
would be for standard Albanian. This is how the literary Albanian: Un t pagzoj n emr t Atit, t Birit
language remains. The alphabet is the Latin alphabet with e t Shpirtit t Shenjt"; English: I baptize you in
the addition of the letters <>, <>, and nine digraphs. the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
9.3 Ottoman period 9

Spirit). It was discovered and published in 1915 by

Nicolae Iorga.[75]
the Fjalori i Arnold von Hart (Arnold Ritter von
Hars lexicon), a short list of Albanian phrases with
German glosses, dated 1496.[76]
a song, recorded in the Greek alphabet, retrieved
from an old codex that was written in Greek. The
document is also called Perikopeja e Ungjillit t
Pashkve or Perikopeja e Ungjillit t Shn Ma-
teut (The Song of the Easter Gospel, or The Song
of Saint Matthews Gospel). Although the codex is
dated to during the 14th century, the song, written
in Albanian by an anonymous writer, seems to be a
16th-century writing. The document was found by
Arbresh people who had emigrated to Italy in the
15th century.[77]

The rst book in Albanian is the Meshari (The Missal),

written by Gjon Buzuku between 20 March 1554 and 5
January 1555. The book was written in the Gheg dialect Possibly the oldest surviving Albanian text, highlighted in red,
in the Latin script with some Slavic letters adapted for Al- from the Bellifortis manuscript, written by Konrad Kyeser around
banian vowels. The book was discovered in 1740 by Gjon 14021405.
Nikoll Kazazi, the Albanian archbishop of Skopje. It
contains the liturgies of the main holidays. There are also moon fell when ...
texts of prayers and rituals and catechetical texts. The Try to encompass that which spurts far ...
grammar and the vocabulary are more archaic than those Call the light when the moon falls and no longer
in the Gheg texts from the 17th century. The 188 pages of exists ...
the book comprise about 154,000 words with a total vo-
cabulary of c. 1,500 dierent words. The text is archaic
Dr. Robert Elsie, a specialist in Albanian studies, consid-
yet easily interpreted because it is mainly a translation of
ers that The Todericiu/Polena Romanian translation of
known texts, in particular portions of the Bible. The book
the non-Latin lines, although it may oer some clues if
also contains passages from the Psalms, the Book of Isa-
the text is indeed Albanian, is fanciful and based, among
iah, the Book of Jeremiah, the Letters to the Corinthians,
other things, on a false reading of the manuscript, includ-
and many illustrations. The uniformity of spelling seems
ing the exclusion of a whole line.[80]
to indicate an earlier tradition of writing. The only known
copy of the Meshari is held by the Apostolic Library.[78]
In 1968 the book was published with transliterations and 9.3 Ottoman period
comments by linguists.
In 1635, Frang Bardhi (16061643) published in Rome
his Dictionarum latinum-epiroticum, the rst known
9.2 Disputed earlier text Latin-Albanian dictionary. Other scholars who stud-
ied the language during the 17th century include
In 1967 two scholars claimed to have found a brief text in
Andrea Bogdani (16001685), author of the rst Latin-
Albanian inserted into the Bellifortis text, a book written
Albanian grammar book, Nilo Katalanos (16371694)
in Latin dating to 14021405.[79]
and others.[81]

A star has fallen in a place in the woods,

distinguish the star, distinguish it.
10 Vocabulary
Distinguish the star from the others, they
are ours, they are. 10.1 Cognates with Illyrian
Do you see where the great voice has re-
sounded? Stand beside it See also: Illyrian languages
That thunder. It did not fall. It did not fall for
you, the one which would do it.
... Andena/Andes/Andio/Antis personal Illyrian
Like the ears, you should not believe ... that the names based on a root-word and- or ant-, found in
10 10 VOCABULARY

both the southern and the Dalmatian-Pannonian (in- mag- great"; cf. Alb. i madh big , great[87]
cluding modern Bosnia and Herzegovina) onomastic
provinces; cf. Alb. and (northern Albanian dialect, manta bramblebush"; Old and dial. Alb mand
or Gheg) and nd (southern Albanian dialect or berry, mulberry (mod. Alb mn, man)
Tosk) appetite, pleasure, desire, wish"; Andi proper rhinos, fog, mist"; cf. Old Alb ren cloud (mod.
name, Andizetes, an Illyrian people inhabiting the Alb re, r) ( < PA *rina)[96]
Roman province of Panonia.[82]
Vendum place"; cf. Proto-Alb. wen-ta (Mod. Alb.
aran eld"; cf. Alb. ar; plural ara[83] vend)[90]
Ardiaioi/Ardiaei, name of an Illyrian people, cf.
Alb. ardhja arrival or descent, connected to
hardhi vine-branch, grape-vine, with a sense de-
10.2 Loanwords
velopment similar to Germanic *stamniz, meaning
10.2.1 Early Greek loans
both stem, tree stalk and tribe, lineage. However, the
insuciency of this theory is that so far there is no
There are some 30 Ancient Greek loanwords in
certainty as to the historical or etymological devel-
Albanian.[97] Many of these reect a dialect which voiced
opment of either ardhja/hardhi or Ardiaioi, as with
its aspirants, as did the Macedonian dialect. Other loan-
many other words.[82]
words are Doric; these words mainly refer to commodity
Bilia daughter"; cf. Alb. bij, dial. bil [84] items and trade goods and probably came through trade
with a now-extinct intermediary.[23]
Bindo/Bindus, an Illyrian deity from Biha, Bosnia
and Herzegovina; cf. Alb. bind to convince or to
blet; hive, bee < Attic mlitta bee (vs. Ionic
make believe, prbindsh monster.[85]
mlissa).[98]
bounon, hutt, cottage"; cf. Alb bun[86]
drapr; sickle < (NW) drpanon[99]
brisa, husk of grapes"; cf. Alb brs lees, dregs;
kumbull; plum < kokkmelon[99]
mash ( < PA *bruti)[87]
Barba- swamp, a toponym from Metubarbis; pos- lakr; cabbage, green vegetables < lchanon
sibly related to Alb. brrak swampy soil[87] green; vegetable[100]

can- dog"; related to Alb. qen[87] lpjet; orach, dock < lpathon[101]

Daesitiates, a name of an Illyrian people, cf. Alb. leva (lyej); to smear, oil < *liwenj < *elaiw < Gk
dash ram, corresponding contextually with south elai(w)n oil
Slavonic dasa ace, which might represent a bor- mokr; millstone < (NW) mchan device,
rowing and adaptation from Illyrian (or some other instrument[97]
ancient language).[82]
moll; apple < mlon fruit[102]
mal, mountain"; cf. Alb mal[88]
pjepr; melon < ppn
bardi, white"; cf. Alb bardh [89]
presh; leek < prson[100]
drakoina supper"; cf. Alb. darke, dreke[90]
shpell; cave < splaion
drenis, deer"; cf. Alb dre, dreni[86]
trumz; thyme < (NW) thmbr, thrmbr [99]
delme sheep"; cf. Alb dele, Gheg dialect delme[91]
dard, pear"; cf. Alb dardh [92]
10.2.2 Gothic loans
Hyllus (the name of an Illyrian king); cf. Alb. yll
(hyll in some northern dialects) star, also Alb. hyj Some Gothic loanwords were borrowed through Late
god, Ylli proper name.[90] Latin, while others came from the Ostrogothic expansion
into parts of Praevalitana around Naki and the Gulf of
sca, dagger"; cf. Alb thik or thika knife[93] Kotor in Montenegro.
Ulc-, wolf (pln. Ulcinium); cf. Alb ujk wolf, ulk
(Northern Dialect)[94] fat; groom, husband < Goth brfas
bridegroom[103]
logeon, pool"; cf. Alb lag, legen to wet, soak,
bathe, wash ( < PA *lauga), lgat pool ( < PA horr; scoundrel, horr; hussy, whore < Goth
*leugat), lakshte dew ( < PA laugista)[95] hors adulterer, *hora whore
 11

shkulk; boundary marker for pastures made of ^* This designation is without prejudice to
branches < Late Latin sculca < Goth skulka positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR
guardian 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Dec-
laration of Independence.
shkum; foam < Late Latin < Goth skma
tirq; trousers < Late Latin tubrucus < Goth *io-
brok knee-britches"; cf. OHG dioh-bruoh, Eng 13 Bibliography
thigh, breeches
Ajeti, Idriz. La presence de l'albanais dans les par-
10.2.3 Other loans lers des populations slaves de la Peninsule Balka-
nique la lumiere de la langue et de la toponymie.
It is assumed that Greek and Balkan Latin (which was SA 1968/2
the ancestor of Romanian and other Balkan Romance lan-
Ajeti, Idriz. Pr historin e marrdhnieve t her-
guages) had exerted a great inuence on Albanian. Exam-
shme gjuhsore shqiptare-sllave. SF 1972/4
ples of words borrowed from Latin: qytet < civitas (city),
qiell < caelum (sky), mik < amicus (friend). Areddu, Alberto. Le origini albanesi della civilt in
After the Slavs arrived in the Balkans, the Slavic lan- Sardegna. Napoli 2007
guages became an additional source of loanwords. The
Ban, Emanuele. Linguistica balcanica. Bologna
rise of the Ottoman Empire meant an inux of Turkish
1985
words; this also entailed the borrowing of Persian and
Arabic words through Turkish. Many Albanian names Ban, Emanuele. Storia linguistica del sud-est eu-
(such as Enver Hoxha) are of Turkish origin. Some loan- ropeo. Milano 1991
words from Modern Greek also exist especially in the
south of Albania. A lot of the borrowed words have been Bopp, Franz. ber das Albanesische in seinen ver-
re-substituted from Albanian rooted words or modern La- wandtschaftlichen Beziehungen. Berlin (1855)
tinized (international) words.
Buchholz, Oda / Fiedler, Wilfried: Albanische
Grammatik ; Leipzig : VEB Verlag Enzyklopdie,
(1987)
11 See also
Camaj, Martin. Albanian Grammar. Wiesbaden,
Arbresh language Germany: Otto Harrassowitz.

Arvanitika abej, Eqrem. Disa probleme themelore t historis

s vjetr t gjuhs shqipe. BUSHT,SSHSH 1962/4
Dacian language
(In German SA 1964/1)
Gheg Albanian
abej, Eqrem. Rreth disa shtjeve t historis s
Illyrian languages gjuhs shqipe. BUSHT,SSHSH1963/3 (In Roma-
nian SCL 1954/4)
IPA for Albanian
abej, Eqrem. Mbi disa rregulla t fonetiks his-
List of Romanian words of possible Dacian origin
torike t shqipes. SF 1970/2 (In German Die
occasional correspondence in Albanian
Sprache, Wien 1972)
Thraco-Illyrian
abej, Eqrem. L'ancien nom national des albanais.
Tosk Albanian SA 1972/1

abej, Eqrem. Problemi i vendit t formimit t

12 Notes gjuhs shqipe. SF 1972/4

abej, Eqrem. Karakteristikat e huazimeve latine t

[1] Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the gjuhs shqipe. SF 1974/2 (In German RL 1962/1)
Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Re-
public of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on abej, Eqrem. Studime etimologjike n fush t
17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part shqipes.; vll. II, Tiran 1976
of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began
to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the Brussels abej, Eqrem. Studime etimologjike n fush t
Agreement. Kosovo has received formal recognition as shqipes; vll. I. Tiran 1982
an independent state from 111 out of 193 United Nations
member states. Camarda, Demetrio.[104]
12 13 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Camarda, Demetrio.[105] Gjinari, Jorgji. Struktura dialektore e shqipes e par

n lidhje me historin e popullit. SF 1976/3
Campbell, George L., ed. Compendium of the
Worlds Languages, 2nd edn., vol. 1: Abaza to Gjinari, Jorgji. Dshmi t historis s gjuhs shqipe
Kurdish, s.v. Albanian. London and New York: pr kohn dhe vendin e formimit t popullit shqiptar.
Routledge, 2000, pp. 507. SF 1982/3
Cimochowski, Waclaw. Recherches sur l'histoire du Gjinari, Jorgji. Dialektologjia shqiptare. Prishtin:
sandhi dans la langue albanaise. LP II, 1950 Universiteti, 1970.
Cimochowski, Waclaw. Des recherches sur la to- Hahn, Georg von. Albanesische Studien. Wien
ponomastique de l'Albanie. LP VIII, 1960 (1853)
Cimochowski, Waclaw. Pozicioni gjuhsor i Hamp, E. P. Albanian, in Encyclopedia of Lan-
ilirishtes ballkanike n rrethin e gjuhve indoevropi- guage and Linguistics, edited by R. E. Asher, vol. 1.
ane. SF 1973/2 Oxford: Pergamon, 1994, pp. 657.
Demiraj, Shaban. (Albanian in pp. 480501)[106]
Huld, Martin E. Basic Albanian etymologies.
Demiraj, Shaban. Gjuha shqipe dhe historia e saj. Columbus, OH: Slavica Publishers. (1984)
Shtpia botuese e librit universitar (Tirane) 1988
Katicic, Radoslav. Ancient languages of the Balkans
Demiraj, Shaban. Fonologjia historike e gjuhs (Trends in linguistics). The Hague and Paris: Mou-
shqipe. (Akademia e Shkencave e Shqiperise. Insti- ton. (1976)
tuti i Gjuhesise dhe i Letersise) TOENA (Tirane),
1996 Kopitar, B.J. Albanische, walachische und bulgar-
ische Sprache. Vienna (1829)
Demiraj, Shaban. Prejardhja e shqiptarve n dritn
e dshmive t gjuhs shqipe. Shkenca (Tirane) 1999 Kretschmer, Paul.[108]

Demiraj, Shaban. Gramatik historike e gjuhs Kretschmer, Paul. Sprachliche Vorgeschichte des
shqipe. (Akademia e Shkencave e Shqiperise. In- Balkans, (Parahistoria gjuhsore e Ballkanit), Re-
stituti i Gjuhesise dhe i Letersise) 2002 vue Internationale des e'tudes balkaniquee, vol. II
(1935)
De Simone, Carlo. Gli illiri del Sud. Tentativo di
una denizione. Iliria (Tiran) 1986/1 Lambertz, Maximilian. Lehrgang des Albanischen.
Teil I: Albanisch-Deutsches Wrterbuch. Teil II:
Desnickaja, A.V. Albanskij jazyk i ego dialekty. Albanische Chrestomathie. Teil III: Grammatik
Leningrad 1968 der albanischen Sprache (Berlin: Deutscher Verlag
der Wissenschaften 1954, Berlin 1955, Halle/Saale
Desnickaja, A.V. Language Interferences and His- 1959)
torical Dialectology Linguistics, EJ088069 (1973)
Mallory, J.P. and D.Q. Adams. Albanian, in
Desnickaja, A.V. Osnovy balkanskogo jazykoz-
Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. London:
nanija, Cast 1. Leningrad: Nauka Press. 1990
Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.
Domi, Mahir. Prapashtesa ilire dhe shqipe, prkime
Mayer, Antun. Die Sprache der alten Illyrier. B. II.
dhe paralelizma. SF 1974/4
Wien 1959
Domi, Mahir. Considerations sur les traits com-
muns ou paralleles de l'albanais avec les autres Mann, Stuart E.: An Albanian Historical Grammar
langues balkaniques et sur leur etude. SA 1975/1 ; Hamburg : Helmut Buske Verlag, 1977

Encyclopdia Britannica, Albanian language arti- Meyer, Gustav.[109]

cle, 15th edn. (1985).
Miklosich, Franz: Albanische Forschungen. I: Die
Fortson IV, Benjamin W. (Albanian in pp. 390 slavischen Elemente im Albanischen. Wien (1870)
399)[107]
Miklosich, Franz. Albanische Forschugen, II: Die
Gjinari, Jorgji. Pr historin e dialekteve t gjuhs romanischen Elemente im Albanischen. Wien
shqipe. SF 1968/4 (1870)

Gjinari, Jorgji. Mbi vazhdimsin e ilirishtes n Mihaescu, Haralambie. Les elements latins de la
gjuhn shqipe. SF 1969/3 langue albanaise. RESEE 1966/1-2
 13

Mihaescu, Haralambie La langue latine dans le Watkins, Calvert.[106]

sud-est de lEurope. Bucuresti-Paris: Editura
Academiei-Les Belles Lettres (1978) Ylli, Xhelal; Sobolev, Andrej N. Albanskii gegskii
govor sela Muhurr. Muenchen: Biblion Verlag,
Newmark, Leonard et al. Standard Albanian: A 2003. ISBN 3-932331-36-2
Reference Grammar for Students. Standford: Stan-
ford University Press, 1982.

lberg, Hermann. Einige Uberlegungen zur Au- 14 References

tochtonie der Albaner auf der Balkanhalbinsel. Ak-
ten Innsbruck (1972) [1] Euromosaic project (2006). L'arvanite/albanais en
Grce (in French). Brussels: European Commission.
lberg, Hermann. Kontributi i gjuhsis pr sht- Retrieved 2016-12-05.
jen e atdheut ballkanik t shqiptarve. SF 1982/3
[2] Albanian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
Pedersen, Holger. Bidrag til den albanesiske Arbresh at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
sproghistorie. (Festskrift til Vilhelm Thomsen). Arvanitika at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
Kobenhavn (1894) Gheg at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
Tosk at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
Pedersen, Holger. Albanesisch 1905. Rom. Jb. IX
(1905). Erlangen (1909) [3] Hammarstrm, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath,
Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). Albanian.
Pellegrini, Giovan Battista : I rapporti linguistici Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science
interadriatici e lelemento Latino dellalbanese n: of Human History.
Abruzzo. Rivista dell'Istituto di Studi Abruzzesi
XIX, 1980 [4]

Pellegrini, Giovan Battista : Disa vzhgime mbi el- [5] Robert Elsie. The Albanian Language. 1972-11-25.
ementin Latin t shqipes (Some observations over Retrieved 2017-01-17.
the Latin element of the Albanian language), in: SF [6] Fatjona Mejdini (2013-05-03). Albania Aims to Regis-
1982/3 ter its Huge Diaspora. Balkan Insight. Retrieved 2017-
01-17.
Pellegrini, Giovan Battista : Avviamento alla lin-
guistica albanese (Edizione rinnovata) (1997) [7] Nicholas Georey Lemprire Hammond (1976).
Migrations and invasions in Greece and adjacent ar-
Pisani, Vittore L'albanais et les autres langues in- eas. Noyes Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-8155-5047-1.
doeuropennes, Annuaire de l'Institut de philolo- Retrieved 23 January 2013.
gie et d'histoire orientales etslaves, t. X, Bruxelles,
1950 [8] Zeitschrift fr Balkanologie. R. Trofenik. 1990. p. 102.
Retrieved 23 January 2013.
Pisani, Vittore. Les origines de la langue albanaise.
SA 1964/1 [9] Robert Elsie (2010). Historical Dictionary of Albania.
Rowman & Littleeld. p. 216. ISBN 978-0-8108-6188-
Pisani, Vittore. Sulla genesi dell'albanese. Akten 6. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
Innsbruck (1972)
[10] Torte, Rexhep (2009-08-04). Prfundoi shnimi i 100-
Orel, Vladimir.[110] vjetorit t Kongresit t Dibrs. Albaniapress.

Price, Glanville, ed. Encyclopedia of the Languages [11] Fine, JA. The Early medieval Balkans. University of
of Europe, s.v. Albanian. Oxford: Blackwell, Michigan Press, 1991. p.11. Google Books
1998, pp. 48.
[12] In his latest book, Eric Hamp supports the thesis that the
Riza, Selman. Studime albanistike. Prishtina 1979 Illyrian language belongs to the Northwestern group, that
the Albanian language is descended from Illyrian, and that
Sandfeld, Kristian. Linguistique balkanique, prob- Albanian is related to Messapic which is an earlier Illyrian
lemes et resultats. Paris 1930 dialect (Comparative Studies on Albanian, 2007).

Tagliavini, Carlo. La straticazione del lessico al- [13] Ominglot: Albanian Language
banese. Elementi indoeuropei. Bologna 1965
[14] Brittanica: Albanian Language
Thumb, A. Altgriechische Elemente des Albanesis-
chen. IF 26 (1926) [15] The ancient languages of Europe - Roger D. Woodard
The modern Albanian language, it has been conjectured,
Thunmann, Johann.[111] is descendent directly from ancient illyrian...
14 14 REFERENCES

[16] Curtis, Matthew Cowan. Slavic-Albanian Language BRILL. p. 23. ISBN 978-90-04-11647-4. Latin loan-
Contact, Convergence, and Coexistence. ProQuest LLC. words are of extreme importance for the history of Alba-
p. 16. Retrieved 31 March 2017. It is generally accepted nian phonology, especially its vocalism. The duration of
that Albanians continue one of the ancient languages of the borrowing was so long that loanwords reect several
the Balkans, although scholars disagree on which language distinct chronological stages.
they spoke and what area of the Balkans they occupied be-
fore the Slavs migration to the Balkans.. line feed char- [27] Curtis, Matthew Cowan. Slavic-Albanian Language
acter in |quote= at position 6 (help) Contact, Convergence, and Coexistence. ProQuest LLC.
p. 17. One other point that some scholars make is the fact
[17] Curtis, Matthew Cowan. Slavic-Albanian Language that Albanian and Romanian share many lexical items;
Contact, Convergence, and Coexistence. ProQuest LLC. this has led some to believe that Albanian originated east
p. 18. Retrieved 31 March 2017. So while linguists of its present geographical spread (Georgiev 1957; Hamp
may debate about the ties between Albanian and older 1994).
languages of the Balkans, and while most Albanians may
take the genealogical connection to Illyrian as incontro- [28] Mallory & Adams 1997, p. 9.
vertible, the fact remains that there is simply insucient [29] Kopitar 1829, p. 254.
evidence to connect Illyrian, Thracian, or Dacian with any
language, including Albanian [30] Meyer 1888, p. 805.

[18] Ann Taylor, Donald Ringe and Tandy Warnow, 2000, [31] Meyer-Lbke 1914, p. 32.
Character Based Reconstruction of a Linguistic Clado-
gram, in (eds) John Charles Smith, Delia Bentley Histor- [32] Bardhyl Demiraj (2010). Wir sind die Deinen. Studien
ical Linguistics 1995: Volume 1: General issues and non- zur albanischen Sprache, Literatur und Kulturgeschichte,
Germanic Languages. Selected papers from the 12th Inter- dem Gedenken an Martin Camaj (19251992) gewidmet.
national Conference on Historical Linguistics, Manchester, Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-447-06221-3.
August 1995, Amsterdam, John Benjamins Publishing, p. [33] abej 1962, pp. 1351.
400.
[34] Mihaescu 1966, pp. 1, 30.
[19] CPHL: Computational Phylogenetics In Historical Lin-
guistics], an ongoing collaborative project that has in- [35] Mihaescu 1966, pp. 1, 21.
volved Don Ringe, Tandy Warnow, Luay Nakhleh &
Steven N. Evans since 2004. Cs.rice.edu. Retrieved [36] Mihaescu 1966, pp. 12.
2017-01-17. [37] Rosetti 1986, pp. 195197.
[20] Hamp 1994, pp. 6667. [38] Curtis, Matthew Cowan. Slavic-Albanian Language
Contact, Convergence, and Coexistence. ProQuest LLC.
[21] Watkins 1998, p. 38.
p. 17. for example, argues that from some indeterminate
[22] Labov 1994, p. 42. time a pre-Albanian (in Hamps terms, Albanoid) popula-
tion inhabited areas stretching from Poland to the current
[23] Huld, Martin E. (1986). Accentual Stratication of An- area
cient Greek Loanwords in Albanian. Zeitschrift fr ver-
gleichende Sprachforschung (99.2): 245253. [39] Hamp 1963.

[24] Curtis, Matthew Cowan. Slavic-Albanian Language [40] Fine 1991, p. 10.
Contact, Convergence, and Coexistence. ProQuest LLC. [41] Kazhdan 1991, pp. 5253.
p. 16. The number of loanwords is not necessarily a
compelling argument for geographical placement, as loan- [42] Brown & Ogilvie 2008, p. 23.
words may be replaced in subsequent developments of the
language (especially considering the copious borrowing [43] Fortson 2004, p. 392.
that Albanian later did from Latin and Slavic before any
[44] Demiraj 1999.
lexicon of Albanian was ever compiled)... homeland of
the Albanians. [45] Panti, Miroslav (1990). Knjievnost na tlu Crne Gore i
Boke Kotorske od XVI do XVIII veka. Srpska knjievna
[25] Douglas Q. Adams (January 1997). Encyclopedia of Indo- zadruga. p. 98.
European Culture. Taylor & Francis. p. 11. ISBN 978-
1-884964-98-5. The loan words from Greek and Latin [46] Fortson, Benjamin W (2004). Indo-European language
date back to before the Christian era and suggest that the and culture: an introduction. Blackwell Publishing. p.
ancestors of the Albanians must have occupied Albania 390. ISBN 1-4051-0315-9. Retrieved 28 May 2010. Al-
by then to have absorbed such loans from their historical banian forms its own separate branch of Indo-European;
neighbors. As the Illyrians occupied the Albanian territory it is the last branch to appear in written records
at this time, they are the most likely recipients of such
loans. [47] Watkins, Calvert. Proto-Indo-European: Comparison
and Reconstruction, in The Indo-European Languages,
[26] Vladimir Orel (2000). A concise historical grammar of Anna Giacalone Ramat and Paolo Ramat, eds. London:
the Albanian language: reconstruction of Proto-Albanian. Routledge, 1998.
 15

[48] Google Books, Mallory, J. P. and Adams, D. Q.: The Ox- [63] Lloshi, p. 9.
ford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-
Indo-European World [64] Lloshi, p. 12.

[49] JHholm.de, Holm, Hans J.: The Distribution of Data in [65] Basic Facts. President.gov.mk. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
Word Lists and its Impact on the Subgrouping of Lan-
[66] Kolgjini, Julie M. (2004). Palatalization in albanian :
guages. In: Christine Preisach, Hans Burkhardt, Lars
an acoustic investigation of stops and aricates. Ph.D.
Schmidt-Thieme, Reinhold Decker (eds.): Data Analy-
Dissertation, University of Texas at Arlington. ISBN
sis, Machine Learning, and Applications. Proc. of the
0496859366.
31st Annual Conference of the German Classication So-
ciety (GfKl), University of Freiburg, 79 March 2007. [67] Orel, Vladimir (2000). A concise historical grammar of
Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg-Berlin the Albanian language: reconstruction of Proto-Albanian.
BRILL. p. 3. ISBN 978-90-04-11647-4. Retrieved 15
[50] HJholm.de A possible Homeland of the Indo-European
December 2010
Languages And their Migrations in the Light of the Sepa-
ration Level Recovery (SLRD) Method Hans J. Holm [68] de Vaan, Michiel. PIE *e in Albanian (PDF). p. 72.
Retrieved 16 December 2010.
[51] Perfect Phylogenetic Networks: A New Methodology for
Reconstructing the Evolutionary History of Natural Lan- [69] Elsie, Robert; (London, Centre for Albanian Studies;
guages, pg. 396 (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the origi- England) (2005). Albanian literature: a short history.
nal on 5 November 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2010. I.B.Tauris. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-84511-031-4. Retrieved
15 December 2010.
[52] Fine, JA. The Early medieval Balkans. University of
Michigan Press, 1991. p.10. Google Books: Recently [70] Granser, Thedor; Moosmller, Sylvia. The schwa in
the Albanian-Illyrian identication has come under more Albanian (PDF). Institute of Acoustics of the Austrian
serious challenge from linguists Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
[53] Fine, JA. The Early medieval Balkans. University of [71] Maxwell, Daniel Newhall. (1979). A Crosslinguistic Cor-
Michigan Press, 1991. p.11. Google Books relation between Word Order and Casemarking institu-
tion. Bloomington: Indiana University Pub.
[54] FWF Austrian Science Fund Press (Old) Albanian
Living legacy of a dead language?". Fwf.ac.at. Retrieved [72] Aida Kurani; Anisa Trifoni. Syntactic Similarities and
22 September 2010. Dierences between Albanian and English. Eujour-
nal.org. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
[55] Encyclopedia of Indo-European culture By J. P. Mal-
lory, Douglas Q. Adams Edition: illustrated Published by [73] Robert Elsie. Albanian Literature: A Short History.
Taylor & Francis, 1997 ISBN 1-884964-98-2, ISBN 978- Books.google.com. p. 5. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
1-884964-98-5
[74] Prifti 1982, p. 3.
[56] Gjinari, Jorgji. Dialektologjia shqiptare
[75] Iorga & 1s971, p. 102.
[57] Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World By
Keith Brown, Sarah Ogilvie Contributor Keith Brown, [76] Anamali 2002, p. 311.
Sarah Ogilvie Edition: illustrated Published by Elsevier,
[77] Lloshi 2008, p. 97.
2008 ISBN 0-08-087774-5, ISBN 978-0-08-087774-7
[78] Meshari. National Library of Albania. Retrieved 14
[58] Agim Morina, Udhrrfyes i shkurt i historis s stan-
May 2010.
dardizimit t shqipes, DodonaPress (2015-02-21), also
in Plisi.org (2015-02-24). [79] Todericiu 1967.
[59] Lloshi, p. 10. [80] Elsie 1986, p. 158162.
[60] Kostallari, Androkli (1973). Drejtshkrimi i gjuhs shqipe. [81] Marmullaku 1975, p. 17.
Instituti i Gjuhsis dhe i Letrsis" ( in Akademia
e Shkencave e RPS t Shqipris", today Akademia e [82] Cultural Treasure of Bosnia and Herzegovina edition-
Shkencave e Republiks s Shqipris"),. Prehistoric and Ancient Period- Book 2- Illyrian Bosnia
and Herzegovina-an Overview of a Cultural Legacy/
[61] Kostallari, Androkli (1976). Fjalori drejtshkrimor i Ancient Illyrians of Bosnia and Herzegovina | Ardian
gjuhs shqipe. Instituti i Gjuhsis dhe i Letrsis" (in Adanela Adzanela Axhanela. Academia.edu. 1970-01-
Akademia e Shkencave e RPS t Shqipris", today 01. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
Akademia e Shkencave e Republiks s Shqipris"),.
[83] Suart E. Mann (1977). An Albanian Historical Grammar.
[62] Akademia e Shkencave e RPS t Shqipris", today Buske. ISBN 978-3-87118-262-4.
Akademia e Shkencave e Republiks s Shqipris" ,
Instituti i Gjuhsis dhe i Letrsis" (Albania). (1980). [84] Sbornk prac Filozock fakulty brnnsk univerzity :
Fjalori i Gjuhs s Sotme Shqipe. Tirana: Academy of Sci- ada klasick. Books.google.com. 2008-06-03. Re-
ences of Albania. Retrieved 7 July 2010. trieved 2017-01-17.
 16 15 EXTERNAL LINKS

[85] Ushaku, Ruzhdi, Hulumtime etnoliguistike, chapter: The [101] A concise historical grammar of the Albanian language:
continuation of Illyrian Bind in Albanian Mythology and reconstruction of Proto-Albanian Author Vladimir .
Language, Fakulteti lologjise, Prishtine, 2000, p. 46-48 Orel Publisher BRILL, 2000 ISBN 90-04-11647-8, ISBN
978-90-04-11647-4 p.102
[86] Mayani, Zchari (1962). The Etruscans begin to speak.
Souvenir Press. Retrieved 25 June 2011. [102] Guillaum Bonnet, Les mots latins de l'albanais (Paris:
L'Harmattan, 1998), 324.
[87] Illyrian Glossary. bizland.com.
[103] The word fat has both the meaning of fate, luck and
[88] Stipevi, Aleksandar (1977). The Illyrians: history and groom, husband. This may indicate two separate words
culture. Noyes Press. Retrieved 25 June 2011. that are homophones, one derived from Gothic and the
other from Latin ftum; although, Orel (2000) sees them
[89] Linguistic Society of America (1964). Language, Vol-
as the same word. Similarly, compare Albanian short
umes 13. Linguistic Society of America. Retrieved 25
fate; spouse, wife which mirrors the dichotomy in mean-
June 2011.
ing of fat but is considered to stem from one single
[90] Orel, Vladimir; Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Brill, sourceLatin sortem fate.
1998 ISBN 90 04 11024 0
[104] Saggio di grammatologia comparata sulla lingua albanese.
[91] Diokletian und die Tetrarchie: Aspekte einer Zeitenwende. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
Millennium Studies. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
[105] Demetrio Camarda. Appendice al saggio de Grammatolo-
[92] Homeric whispers: intimations of orthodoxy in the Iliad gia comparata sulla lingua albanese. Books.google.com.
and Odyssey. Books.google.com. p. 72. Retrieved 25 Retrieved 2017-01-17.
June 2011.
[106] Anna Giacalone Ramat; Paolo Ramat. The Indo-
[93] Albanien: Schtze aus dem Land der Skipetaren. European Languages. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2017-
Books.google.com. Retrieved 25 June 2011. 01-17.

[94] Ancient Indo-European dialects: proceedings, Volume [107] Benjamin W. Fortson, IV. Indo-European Language and
1963. Millennium Studies. Retrieved 25 June 2011. Culture: An Introduction. Books.google.com. Retrieved
2017-01-17.
[95] An Albanian historical grammar. Books.google.com.
1977. Retrieved 26 June 2011. [108] Paul Kretschmer. Einleitung in die Geschichte der griechis-
chen Sprache. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
[96] Indo-european language and culture: an introduction
Blackwell textbooks in linguistics Author Benjamin W. [109] Gustav Meyer. Albanesische Studien. Books.google.com.
Fortson Edition 2, illustrated, reprint Publisher John Wi- Retrieved 2017-01-17.
ley and Sons, 2009 ISBN 1-4051-8896-0, ISBN 978-1-
[110] Vladimir Orel. A Concise Historical Grammar of the Al-
4051-8896-8 p.465
banian Language: Reconstruction of ... Books.google.com.
[97] The Field of Linguistics, Volume 2 Volume 1 of World Retrieved 2017-01-17.
of linguistics Authors Bernd Kortmann, Johan Van Der
[111] Untersuchungen ber die Geschichte der stlichen eu-
Auwera Editors Bernd Kortmann, Johan Van Der Auwera
ropischen Vlker. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2017-
Publisher Walter de Gruyter, 2010 ISBN 3-11-022025-3,
01-17.
ISBN 978-3-11-022025-4 p.412

[98] Vladimir Orel (2000) postulates a Vulgar Latin interme-

diary for no good reason. Mallory & Adams (1997) erro- 15 External links
neously give the word as native, from *melti, the proto-
form underlying Greek mlissa; however, this protoform
gave Albanian mjalc bee, which is a natural derivative Albanian Lessons (free online through the
of Proto-Albanian *melita honey (mod. mjalt). Linguistics Research Center at UT Austin)

[99] Ancient Indo-European dialects: proceedings, Volume Albanian Translation

1963 Ancient Indo-European Dialects: Proceedings, Uni-
versity of California, Los Angeles. Center for Research Albanian Dictionary
in Languages and Linguistics Authors Henrik Birnbaum,
Jaan Puhvel, University of California, Los Angeles. Cen- Albanian Swadesh list of basic vocabulary words
ter for Research in Languages and Linguistics Editors (from Wiktionarys Swadesh-list appendix)
Henrik Birnbaum, Jaan Puhvel Publisher University of
California Press, 1966 p.102 Albanian basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatisti-
cal Database
[100] A concise historical grammar of the Albanian language:
reconstruction of Proto-Albanian Author Vladimir . Doctor John Bassett Trumper discussing the clas-
Orel Publisher BRILL, 2000 ISBN 90-04-11647-8, ISBN sication of Albanian within Indo-European on
978-90-04-11647-4 p.23 YouTube
 17

The emblematic gure of the Albanian linguist, Pr.

Eqrem ABEJ (19081980, by Prof. Remzi Pr-
naska on the cultural website Albania (fr), (sh), (en)

Dictionaries

Albanian Online Dictionary (40 000 lemmas)

English Albanian / Albanian English

Dictionary on Western Barbarisms and Albanian
Responsible Words entry on the National Library
of Albania (Hysenbegasi, Arion. Fjalor i barbariz-
mave perndimore n gjuhn shqipe dhe fjalve
prgjegjse shqipe. Ombra GVG, Tirana, 2011)
18 16 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

16 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

16.1 Text
Albanian language Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albanian_language?oldid=776324589 Contributors: David Parker, Mav, Zun-
dark, Jzcool, Andre Engels, Danny, XJaM, Christian List, PierreAbbat, Zimriel, Olivier, Tillwe, BrianHansen~enwiki, DopeshJustin,
Dan Koehl, Gabbe, Menchi, Zeno Gantner, Dori, Looxix~enwiki, Kricxjo, , Bogdangiusca, Andres, Junesun, Igor~enwiki,
Samuel~enwiki, Tobias Conradi, Nikola Smolenski, Uriber, Charles Matthews, Molinari, N-true, WhisperToMe, Wik, Joy, Geraki,
Opus33, AnonMoos, Carbuncle, JorgeGG, PuzzletChung, Dimadick, Robbot, Vardion, ChrisO~enwiki, Chris 73, Benwing, RedWolf,
Altenmann, Romanm, Naddy, Mirv, Babbage, Rursus, Auric, Hippietrail, Caknuck, JackofOz, Ungvichian, Scythian99, Pablo-ores,
McDutchie, Homsar2, DocWatson42, Wonder al, Netoholic, HangingCurve, Everyking, PRB, Gilgamesh~enwiki, Guanaco, Macrakis,
Grant65, Avala, Chameleon, Pne, Sesel, Gugganij, Toytoy, Quadell, Antandrus, Mustafaa, AlexanderWinston, DragonySixtyseven, Sam
Hocevar, Illyrianka, Burschik, Muijz, Picapica, Lacrimosus, Poccil, Duja, Twenex, An Siarach, , Discospinster, 4pq1injbok, Rich
Farmbrough, Guanabot, Rydel, Florian Blaschke, Wikiacc, HeikoEvermann, Eric Shalov, Dbachmann, Dolda2000, Tsujigiri~enwiki, Ben-
der235, Zencel, Gertjan R., Kwamikagami, LordRM, Femto, Pablo X, CDN99, Bobo192, Circeus, Smalljim, Viriditas, Shqiptar nga
Kosova, Hajenso, Bytyqis, Oreb, Jonathunder, HasharBot~enwiki, Alansohn, Albanau~enwiki, Ronline, Alex '05, Hadija, Ross Burgess,
Mavros, Ish ishwar, Suruena, Garzo, Inge-Lyubov, LFaraone, Cmprince, Embryomystic, Bookandcoee, Markaci, TShilo12, Dienstag,
PANONIAN, Angr, Woohookitty, Rocastelo, TomTheHand, Dodiad, Apokrif, Dangerous-Boy, Steinbach, John Hill, Karmosin, Waldir,
Wayward, Stevey7788, Paxsimius, Graham87, TaivoLinguist, Descendall, BD2412, RxS, DePiep, Rjwilmsi, Fahrenheit451, Coemgenus,
Mstermer, Koavf, Omnieiunium, Ev, Miskin, FlaBot, Salim, Ysangkok, Whimemsz, IgorMagic, Gurch, AKeckarov, Steppenfox, Kedadi,
Chobot, DVdm, Gdrbot, 334a, Bgwhite, Gwernol, Vmenkov, YurikBot, Hairy Dude, Xhyljen, TodorBozhinov, RussBot, Theathenae,
DanMS, VingenzoTM, Chamdarae, Gaius Cornelius, Theelf29, Aetil, Megistias, Matia.gr, Edinborgarstefan, Dysmorodrepanis~enwiki,
Wiki alf, Aeusoes1, Mike Halterman, Welsh, Nascigl, Rmky87, . , Tony1, DeadEyeArrow, Bota47, Maunus, AjaxS-
mack, Codrinb, Ray Chason, Nwm08, Edrigu, Opiaterein, Imperial78, Getoar, Curpsbot-unicodify, Nixer, PaxEquilibrium, Tropylium,
Alexanderj, GrinBot~enwiki, Apapa, Sintonak.X, SmackBot, WilliamThweatt, Ragusan, David Kernow, Reedy, Martin.Budden, Gailtb,
Tonyr68uk, Strabismus, Bomac, KocjoBot~enwiki, AndreasJS, Nouanoua, Kjaergaard, Wakuran, Rueckk, Alex earlier account, Trojani,
Tiv, Peter Isotalo, Gilliam, Ohnoitsjamie, Hmains, Izehar, Bluebot, TimBentley, Ferick, Movementarian, KiloByte, MalafayaBot, Hi-
bernian, Ceha, Kastrioti~enwiki, Zogu~enwiki, The Moose, Colonies Chris, Hongooi, Zachorious, MaxSem, Emrrans, Tamfang, Rbix,
JonHarder, Rrburke, Jpaulm, Khoikhoi, Salt Yeung, Derek R Bullamore, Dantadd, Megalophias, Smart Fox, Pjetr Bogdani, Terrasidius,
Evlekis, Shqype, Drmaik, Ugur Basak Bot~enwiki, Ohconfucius, The undertow, SashatoBot, Vildricianus, Shqiptari~enwiki, FunkyFly,
Wutzofant, NikoSilver, Soap, Shkodrani, UberCryxic, Njk92, JorisvS, Tim Q. Wells, Lexalwahid, 16@r, Hvn0413, Luokehao, Dr.K., An-
drwsc, MTSbot~enwiki, Jose77, NeroN BG, Dl2000, Hu12, Norm mit, Siebrand, HisSpaceResearch, Edvini, Joseph Solis in Australia, Joe-
Bot, Aeternus, Tony Fox, Ilir pz, LadyofShalott, Bruinfan12, Eluchil404, Tawkerbot2, Timrem, ChrisCork, Rambam rashi, Ben uk, GHe,
Sax Russell, ShelfSkewed, FlyingToaster, Skybon, FilipeS, Cydebot, Kupirijo, Future Perfect at Sunrise, NikX, Bryan, Aristophanes68,
Gvzggg, Gogo Dodo, Stephan Hense, JPopovic, SMWatt, Telex, Szoltys, NadirAli, Rbanzai, HJJHolm, Thijs!bot, Biruitorul, Olahus,
Ante Aikio, Kahriman~enwiki, Marek69, James086, Tgwaltz, Yannis77, Michael A. White, NOAH, AntiVandalBot, The Obento Musubi,
BokicaK, Gioto, Djalo24, Flibjib8, Mountolive, Mack2, Vanjagenije, Dylan Lake, Yalens, Kraja1, JAnDbot, Laurelind, Barek, The Tran-
shumanist, Coreydragon, JimCubb, , Magioladitis, Capmango, VoABot II, CAN, Bg007, Lmp06, Ling.Nut, Korenyuk, Nyttend,
Twsx, Avicennasis, Ccarroll, Indon, Korcar91, David Eppstein, Maja.Dj, Dan Pelleg, Shadiac, Floria L, JdeJ, FisherQueen, EsslingerBrian,
MartinBot, RoBri, A R King, Paracel63, Azalea pomp, Besian durmishi, DBlomgren, Smokizzy, Lilac Soul, Shellwood, EscapingLife, Justi-
narce, Gem-fanat, , Smeira, Hillock65, Jesushorses, Mquinlan3, Ahuskay, Robertgreer, Biglovinb, Largoplazo, Mets-
Fan76, Deenuz08, Bennelliott, Wikimandia, Alex:D, Gstarst, Arael2, Idioma-bot, MelkorDCLXVI, DarkNiGHTs, Ariobarzan, VolkovBot,
Masaruemoto, Orphic, Macedonian, Brando130, Shinju, Firstorm, Rubalvi, Philip Trueman, TXiKiBoT, Oshwah, Dardanos, Vipinhari,
Someguy1221, Anna Lincoln, Rysrudh, JhsBot, Jackfork, Akerbeltz, Mirc mirc, Rastrojo, Uannis~enwiki, Bulldoger, Belamp, Turgan,
RaseaC, Thanatos666, EmxBot, Poemsnewly, Demmy, , Beta000, SieBot, Ivan tambuk, No.13, Snoxius, Gerakibot, Foreign-
erFromTheEast, Dawn Bard, Bagrationi~enwiki, Clementguardian, Blake3522, Alboking, LibStar, Mr. Neutron, Aigest, UncleMartin,
Taulant23, StaticGull, Ilirianbytyci, Prevalis, Txen, M2Ys4U, Denisarona, Dzigor, Angelo De La Paz, 3rdAlcove, Gr8opinionater, Sk-
enderbeu, Khirurg, Keinstein, Skenderbeu1, Martarius, ClueBot, AllPurposeScientist, Albanco, EoGuy, Marxo, Kneperle, Leonid99, Dr-
mies, Clockwork Laser, Aballaci, NetProt, Tlustulimu, Zlerman, DragonBot, Bibliophilus, Gkmx, Gulmammad, Zaharous, 2007 account,
Decx, MacedonianBoy, NuclearWarfare, Arjayay, RC-0722, Takabeg, SchreiberBike, Zaimokoya, Arditbido, BOTarate, Thingg, Kikos,
K.a.foth, Besa Arvanon, BalkanFever, Zxly, DumZiBoT, Local hero, XLinkBot, Dodona, Kamili88, Cradel, Yettiu88, 77weqy, Visartema,
Namik, Master ZILE, MatthewVanitas, Bim03, Jafeluv, Twaz, Llokumi NY, Yolgnu, PMK1, Morriswa, Mr. Wheely Guy, ShqipShark,
Leszek Jaczuk, Resnjari, Dourcher, Visi08, Download, CarsracBot, Habibiizi, Sulmues, AndersBot, CUSENZA Mario, AnnaFrance,
Neq00, Numbo3-bot, Gd has abandoned me, Erutuon, Lightbot, Amateur55, Jozen, Covergirl12, Shikuesi3, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Pt-
botgourou, Prespa78, Anypodetos, Three01, KamikazeBot, Bsmilkov, Gaius Claudius Nero, AnomieBOT, Alex contributing, Rubinbot,
Jim1138, Reismuhameti, JackieBot, , Piano non troppo, Daesitiates, Xxkobra16xx, Alexikoua, Giants27, Materialscientist, Dan-
bae, Mbretresha, Sixtensson, LilHelpa, Xqbot, Balkanian`s word, Jonathan321, Iadrian yu, 4twenty42o, ITSENJOYABLE, Tfts, 3family6,
Indigestion, Zoguking, Onrswan, Markell West, J04n, Rangond, GrouchoBot, Omnipaedista, JohnOlsson, RibotBOT, SassoBot, Mttll, Dale
Chock, Dias10, Dusanstanojevic, Sophus Bie, Lyoizisi, Born Gay, Wiikkiiwriter, White whirlwind, WebCiteBOT, Preobrazhenskiy, Xhibi,
Silvius Graecus, FabioAbazaj, FreeKnowledgeCreator, FrescoBot, CaptainFugu, AlexanderKaras, Ijoni, VS6507, Uck-Albaner, Bnik, Mas-
sagetae, Ergon1234, Amherst99, Amowest, Mundart, Poeer, DrilBot, I dream of horses, Getoar TX, Enaidowain, Rushbugled13, MastiBot,
Serols, Fixer88, Vinie007, le ottante, Waxwingshadow, Jandalhandler, Rugovan, Meowcats727, TobeBot, Trappist the monk, Pvkwiki,
Guildenrich, BANTASAN, Donikanuhiu, Pbrower2a, Duoduoduo, Kielbasa1, Felipito1.966, Stephen MUFC, Irvi Hyka, Kobac, Uanfala,
Antidiskriminator, DASHBot, EmausBot, John of Reading, WikitanvirBot, Dominus Vobisdu, Riniarules, Kuxia1, Dewritech, Primefac,
GoingBatty, RA0808, IllusionFinal, Empathictrust, Dcirovic, Ilirpuhiza, ZjarriRrethues, Theurgist, Sarpasarpeti101, Frglz, AvicBot, Bur-
tAlert, Ida Shaw, TheAmericanizator, SporkBot, Gz33, Majuru, HammerFilmFan, Neddy1234, JoeSperrazza, Tackhawk, Anonimski,
Beserks, Jcaraballo, SailorMerkury, Zoupan, DanielPerrine, ClueBot NG, Sulmuesi, Stanleyh2010, Matthiaspaul, Macarenses, Albaredd,
GranitAlbana, Korrawit, Frietjes, Tizde88, Widr, Helpful Pixie Bot, Infotun, King Of The Moas, Zyztem2000, BG19bot, Evilism, Jon-
dresa, JeBonSer, Elspamo4, Sfkt, Dumbdog45, Interchangeable, AvocatoBot, AwamerT, Midnight Green, Atomician, Teshenoria, Note-
senses, Floating Boat, Glevum, Durresaryl1, Scarmeganolinious, , Word dewd544, Peacemaker67, Neptuni, Nado158,
Torvalu4, 786b6364, Klaudia carcani, Ktrimi991, Imituri, Grammior, Jmiles92, ArtonGerguri, Aoife246, Fred.jackson222, Medvegja,
Wrdstck, Allcoast14, Jo-Jo Eumerus, JustAMuggle, DerekWinters, Lemnaminor, Honda531, Davy55, Lfdder, Tentinator, Abrahamic
Faiths, GaeilgeSpraoi, NYBrook098, Etimo, Ahls23, LouisAragon, Celtic hand, Mondiad, Votedaisy, Medihaliti, Pqnlrn, SamAlPacino,
16.2 Images 19

Euripides , W. P. Uzer, Nertal, Luxure, Stamptrader, Akkilu, Helptottt, JaconaFrere, ColRad85, TheDragonFire, Margott, Ujkrieger,
Renamed user qweretrztzuzuzubvxcver4fdsf, Perkohesisht ai i vjetri, Bluebreeze17, Erio Daja, Negrocos, Half-full81, Mbiemri, JoeHebda,
Austin fridenberg, Settles, FBALBANIA, Gjirokastra15, Xhemipeza, SrpskiAnonimac, Herolind luma, SalopianTank01, NikitaTheRoyal,
Funny Gardaland, Ngrica, GabrielKuka, Nayrb Rellimer, Danikay33, EmptFullne, Bohemian Baltimore, RcLd-91, Julietdeltalima, EChas-
tain, StewdioMACK, Oranges Juicy, Leutrimg, Johan0112000, Ortonww, , Igaalbania, 123bimix123, KasparBot, Taekhosong,
Footballfan90210, -, QualityEncyclopedia, Pederasty, Soni123586, Ermahgerd9, Marin.Bar, Perballojmearmiqte, Whoamiwilli,
Netishbu, BowlAndSpoon, Gemmellms, EditorNiko, Narutolovespokemon, Mr KEBAB, Makolli86, Shqiptari2811, Turol68, LazarShy,
Luan Z. 4, AksheKumar, ACleaningPerson, Boikenboletini, PurpleRatBirds, Iaof2017, B A T O, Pokerst and Anonymous: 928

16.2 Images
File:AlbaniaPeriodical.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/AlbaniaPeriodical.jpg License: Public do-
main Contributors: Directorate of General Archives of Albania Original artist: Faik Konica
File:Albanian_dialects.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Albanian_dialects.svg License: CC BY-SA
3.0 Contributors: Own work, based on map 1, 2 and this dialect map here Original artist: ArnoldPlaton
File:Albanian_keyboard_layout.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Albanian_keyboard_layout.jpg
License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Mario CUSENZA
File:Buzuku_meshari.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Buzuku_meshari.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Coat_of_arms_of_Albania.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Coat_of_arms_of_Albania.svg Li-
cense: Public domain Contributors:
Taken from http://www.mitik.gov.al/mitik/njoftime/strategjia2.pdf Original artist: Government of Albania
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: PD Contributors: ? Origi-
nal artist: ?
File:Flag_of_Albania.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Flag_of_Albania.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Flag_of_Croatia.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Flag_of_Croatia.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: http://www.sabor.hr/Default.aspx?sec=4317 Original artist: Nightstallion, Elephantus, Neoneo13, Denelson83, Rainman,
R-41, Minestrone, Lupo, Zscout370,
<a href='//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:MaGa' title='User:MaGa'>Ma</a><a href='//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:
Croatian_squares_Ljubicic.png' class='image'><img alt='Croatian squares Ljubicic.png' src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/
commons/thumb/7/7f/Croatian_squares_Ljubicic.png/15px-Croatian_squares_Ljubicic.png' width='15' height='15' srcset='https:
//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Croatian_squares_Ljubicic.png/23px-Croatian_squares_Ljubicic.png 1.5x,
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Croatian_squares_Ljubicic.png/30px-Croatian_squares_Ljubicic.png
2x' data-le-width='202' data-le-height='202' /></a><a href='//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User_talk:MaGa' title='User
talk:MaGa'>Ga</a> (based on Decision of the Parliament)
File:Flag_of_Italy.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/03/Flag_of_Italy.svg License: PD Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:Flag_of_Kosovo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Flag_of_Kosovo.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: Originally from Image:Flag of Kosovo.png. Original artist: Cradel (current version), earlier version by Ningyou
File:Flag_of_Macedonia.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Flag_of_Macedonia.svg License: Public
domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: User:SKopp, redrawn by User:Gabbe
File:Flag_of_Montenegro.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Flag_of_Montenegro.svg License: Public
domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: B1mbo, Froztbyte
File:Flag_of_Romania.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Flag_of_Romania.svg License: Public do-
main Contributors: Own work Original artist: AdiJapan
File:Flag_of_Serbia.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Flag_of_Serbia.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: From http://www.parlament.gov.rs/content/cir/o_skupstini/simboli/simboli.asp. Original artist: sodipodi.com
File:Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg License: Cc-by-
sa-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Getae_200bc.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Getae_200bc.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Con-
tributors: Own work (Original text: self-made) Original artist: Thomas Lessman (talk)
File:Globe_of_letters.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Globe_of_letters.svg License: LGPL Contrib-
utors:
<a href='//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gnome-globe.svg' class='image'><img alt='' src='https://upload.
wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Gnome-globe.svg/120px-Gnome-globe.svg.png' width='120' height='120'
srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Gnome-globe.svg/180px-Gnome-globe.svg.png 1.5x,
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Gnome-globe.svg/240px-Gnome-globe.svg.png 2x' data-le-
width='48' data-le-height='48' /></a>

Gnome-globe.svg
<a href='//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Globe_of_letters.png' class='image'><img alt='' src='https://upload.
wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/62/Globe_of_letters.png/120px-Globe_of_letters.png' width='120' height='97'
srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Globe_of_letters.png 1.5x' data-le-width='144' data-le-
height='116' /></a>

Globe of letters.png
20 16 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Original artist: Seahen

File:High-contrast-camera-photo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/High-contrast-camera-photo.
svg License: LGPL Contributors: download.gnome.org Original artist: See Talk:GNOME High contrast icons
File:IE-migrations.gif Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/IE-migrations.gif License: CC BY-SA 4.0 Con-
tributors: Own work Original artist: Joshua Jonathan
File:Oldest_Surviving_Albanian_Text.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Oldest_Surviving_
Albanian_Text.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Bellifortis Manuscript Original artist: Konrad Kyeser (1366-1405)
File:Wiki_letter_w.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6c/Wiki_letter_w.svg License: Cc-by-sa-3.0 Contributors:
? Original artist: ?
File:Wikibooks-logo-en-noslogan.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Wikibooks-logo-en-noslogan.
svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: User:Bastique, User:Ramac et al.
File:Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/80/Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: File:Wikipedia-logo.svg as of 2010-05-14T23:16:42 Original artist: version 1 by Nohat (concept by Paullusmagnus); Wiki-
media.
File:Wikiquote-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: Own work Original artist: Rei-artur
File:Wikiversity-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Wikiversity-logo.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: Snorky (optimized and cleaned up by verdy_p) Original artist: Snorky (optimized and cleaned up by verdy_p)
File:Wikivoyage-Logo-v3-icon.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Wikivoyage-Logo-v3-icon.svg Li-
cense: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: AleXXw
File:Wiktionary-logo-v2.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Wiktionary-logo-v2.svg License: CC BY-
SA 4.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Dan Polansky based on work currently attributed to Wikimedia Foundation but originally
created by Smurrayinchester
File:Wiktionary-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Wiktionary-logo.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?

16.3 Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0