Albanian language
Albanian (shqip [cip] or gjuha shqipe [uha cip],
meaning Albanian language) is an independent branch of
the Indo-European family of languages, spoken by over
ve million people,[2] primarily in Albania, Kosovo, the
Republic of Macedonia, and Greece,[1] but also in other
areas of Southeastern Europe in which there is an Alba-
nian population, including Montenegro and the Preevo
Valley of Serbia.[lower-alpha 1] Centuries-old communities
speaking Albanian-based dialects can be found scattered
in Greece, Southern Italy,[4] Sicily, and Ukraine.[5] Due
to the large Albanian diaspora, the total number of speak-
ers is much higher than the native speakers in Southeast
Europe.[6]
1 History
The rst written mention of the Albanian language was on
14 July 1284 in Dubrovnik (modern-day Croatia), when
a certain Matthew, witness of a crime, stated I heard
a voice shouting on the mountainside in the Albanian
tongue" (Latin: Audivi unam vocem, clamantem in mon-
te in lingua albanesca).[7][8] The rst audio recording of
Albanian was made by Norbert Jokl on 4 April 1914 in
Vienna.[9] During the ve-century period of the Ottoman
presence in Albania, the language was not ocially rec-
ognized until 1909, when the Congress of Dibra decided
that Albanian schools would nally be allowed.[10]
1.1 Linguistic anities
The Albanian language is part of the Indo-
European language group. It is considered to have
evolved from one of the Paleo-Balkan languages of
antiquity,[11][12][13][14][15] although there is a disagree-
ment which one language can be linked with Albanian
as well as what place in the Balkans this population
lived.[16] In general there is insucient evidence to
connect Albanian with one of those languages: whether
one of the Illyrian languages or Thracian and Dacian.[17]
Albanian is now considered an isolate within Indo-
European; no extant language shares the same branch.
The only other languages that are the sole surviving mem-
ber of a branch of Indo-European are Armenian and
Greek.
Although Albanian shares lexical isoglosses with Greek,
Balto-Slavic, and Germanic languages, the vocabulary
of Albanian is quite distinct. In 1995, Ann Taylor,
Donald Ringe and Tandy Warnow described as sur-
prising their nding, using quantitative linguistic tech-
niques, that Albanian appears to comprise a subgroup
with Germanic.[18] This theory is reinforced by subse-
quent research by the same authors.[19]
However, this hypothetical subgroup is no longer signif-
icant to the modern descendant languages, according to
Taylor, Ringe and Tarnow, because Albanian has lost
so much of its original vocabulary and morphology.[18]
Albanian also shares two features with Balto-Slavic lan-
guages: a lengthening of syllabic consonants before
voiced obstruents and a distinct treatment of long syl-
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
aorist. In another but uncommon hypothesis, Albanian
is grouped with both Balto-Slavic and Germanic based
on the merger of Proto-Indo-European * and * into *
in a supposed northern group.[21] However, this vowel
shift is now regarded as only part of a larger push chain
that aected all long vowels.[22]
1.2 Linguistic inuences
The earliest loanwords attested in Albanian come from
Doric Greek,[23] whereas the strongest inuence came
from Latin. According to Matthew C. Curtis, the loan-
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
to get an idea about the place of origin and the evolu-
tion of the Albanian language.[25][26] According to an-
other group of linguists, Albanian originates from an area
thats located east of its present geographic spread due to
the several common lexical items found between the Al-
banian and Romanian language.[27]
The period during which Proto-Albanian and Latin in-
teracted was protracted and drawn out roughly from the
2nd century BC to the 5th century AD.[28] This is borne
out into roughly three layers of borrowings, the largest
number belonging to the second layer. The rst, with the
fewest borrowings, was a time of less important interac-
tion. The nal period, probably preceding the Slavic or
Germanic invasions, also has a notably smaller number
of borrowings. Each layer is characterized by a dier-
ent treatment of most vowels, the rst layer having sev-
eral that follow the evolution of Early Proto-Albanian into
Albanian; later layers reect vowel changes endemic to
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
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)
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
mountainous regions are entirely original, the names for
sh and for agricultural activities (such as ploughing) are
borrowed from other languages.[40] A deeper analysis of
the vocabulary, however, shows that this could be a conse-
quence of the prolonged Latin domination of the coastal
and plain areas of the country, rather than evidence of the
original environment where the Albanian language was
formed. For example, the word for 'sh' is borrowed from
Latin, but not the word for 'gills, which is native. Indige-
nous are also the words for 'ship', 'raft', 'navigation', 'sea
shelves and a few names of sh kinds, but not the words
for 'sail', 'row' and 'harbor'objects pertaining to naviga-
tion itself and a large part of sea fauna. This rather shows
that Proto-Albanians were pushed away from coastal ar-
eas in early times (probably after the Latin conquest of
the region) thus losing large parts (or the majority) of
sea environment lexicon. A similar phenomenon could
be observed with agricultural terms. While the words for
'arable land', 'corn', 'wheat', 'cereals, 'vineyard', 'yoke',
'harvesting', 'cattle breeding', etc. are native, the words
for 'ploughing', 'farm' and 'farmer', agricultural practices,
and some harvesting tools are foreign. This, again, points
to intense contact with other languages and people, rather
than providing evidence of a possible Urheimat.
The centre of Albanian settlement remained the Mat
river. In 1079, they were recorded farther south in the val-
ley of the Shkumbin river.[41] The Shkumbin, a seasonal
stream that lies near the old Via Egnatia, is approximately
3
October 1899 issue of the magazine Albania, the most important
Albanian periodical of the early 20th century
the boundary of the primary dialect division for Albanian,
Tosk-Gheg. The characteristics of Tosk and Gheg in the
treatment of the native and loanwords from other lan-
guages are evidence that the dialectal split preceded the
Slavic migration to the Balkans,[42][43][28] which means
that in that period (the 5th to 6th centuries AD), Alba-
nians were occupying nearly the same area around the
Shkumbin river, which straddled the Jireek Line.[44][39]
References to the existence of Albanian as a distinct
language survive from the 14th century, but they failed
to cite specic words. The oldest surviving documents
written in Albanian are the "formula e pagzimit" (Bap-
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,
and the Son, and the Holy Spirit") recorded by Pal Eng-
jelli, Bishop of Durrs in 1462 in the Gheg dialect, and
some New Testament verses from that period.
The oldest known Albanian printed book, Meshari, or
missal, was written in 1555 by Gjon Buzuku, a Roman
Catholic cleric. In 1635, Frang Bardhi wrote the rst
LatinAlbanian dictionary. The rst Albanian school is
believed to have been opened by Franciscans in 1638 in
Pdhan.
One of the earliest dictionaries of Albanian language
was written in 1693 which was an Italian language
manuscript authored by Montenegrin sea captain Julije
Balovi Pratichae Schrivaneschae and includes a multilin-
gual dictionary of hundreds of the most often used words
4 2
in everyday life in the Italian, Slavo-Illirico, Greek, Al-
banian and Turkish languages.[45]
2 Classication
Albanian was demonstrated to be an Indo-European lan-
guage in 1854 by the philologist Franz Bopp. The Al-
banian language constitutes its own branch of the Indo-
European language family.[46]
Albanian was formerly compared by some Indo-
Europeanists with Balto-Slavic and Germanic,[47] both
of which share a number of isoglosses with Albanian.
Moreover, Albanian has undergone a vowel shift in which
stressed, long o has fallen to a, much like in the for-
mer and opposite the latter. Likewise, Albanian has
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
of adjectives. Other linguists link Albanian with Greek
and Armenian, while placing Germanic and Balto-Slavic
in another branch of Indo-European.[48][49][50] Nakhleh,
Ringe, and Warnow argued that Albanian can be placed
at a variety of points within the Indo-European tree with
equally good t; determining its correct placement is
hampered by the loss of much of its former diagnostic
inectional morphology and vocabulary.[51]
2.1 Origin
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
and Thracian, however, may have formed a subgroup or
a Sprachbund; see Thraco-Illyrian.)
2.2 (Old) Albanian
According to the central hypothesis of a project under-
taken by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, Old Albanian
had a signicant inuence on the development of many
Balkan languages. Intensive research now aims to con-
rm this theory. This little-known language is being re-
searched using all available texts before a comparison
with other Balkan languages is carried out. The outcome
of this work will include the compilation of a lexicon pro-
viding an overview of all Old Albanian verbs.[54]
As project leader Dr. Schumacher ex-
plains, the research is already bearing fruit: So
far, our work has shown that Old Albanian
contained numerous modal levels that allowed
the speaker to express a particular stance to
what was being said. Compared to the existing
knowledge and literature, these modal levels
are actually more extensive and more nuanced
CLASSIFICATION
than previously thought. We have also discov-
ered a great many verbal forms that are now
obsolete or have been lost through restructur-
ing until now, these forms have barely even
been recognized or, at best, have been classi-
ed incorrectly. These verbal forms are cru-
cial to explaining the linguistic history of Al-
banian and its internal usage. However, they
can also shed light on the reciprocal relation-
ship between Albanian and its neighbouring
languages. The researchers are following vari-
ous leads which suggest that Albanian played a
key role in the Balkan Sprachbund. For exam-
ple, it is likely that Albanian is the source of the
suxed denite article in Romanian, Bulgar-
ian and Macedonian, as this has been a feature
of Albanian since ancient times.[54]
2.3 Proto-IE features
Although sometimes Albanian has been referred to as the
weird sister for several words that do not correspond to
IE cognates, it has retained many proto-IE features: for
example, the demonstrative pronoun **o- is ancestral to
Albanian ky/kjo and English he but not to English this or
to Russian etot.
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-
ter rather than mother or the Latin loans gjelbr and
verdh having become switched in meaning).
AlbanianPIE phonological corre-
spondences
Phonologically Albanian is not so conservative. Like
many IE stocks it has merged the two series of voiced
stops (e.g. both *d and *d became d). In addition
the voiced stops tend to disappear in between vowels.
There is almost complete loss of nal syllables and very
widespread loss of other unstressed syllables (e.g. mik,
friend from Lat. amicus). PIE *o appears as a (also
as e if a high front vowel i follows), while * and * be-
come o, and PIE * appears as e. The palatals, velars,
and labiovelars all remain distinct before front vowels, a
conservation found otherwise in Luvian and related Ana-
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-
tion is the preservation of initial *h4 as Alb. h (all other
laryngeals disappear completely).[55]
[1] Between vowels or after r
[1] Before u /u or i/i
[2] Before sonorant
4.2 Tosk standard
[3] Archaic relic
[4] Syllable-initial and followed by sibilant
[1] Initial
[2] Between vowels
[3] Between vowels and after u /i/r/k (ruki law)
[4] Cluster -sd-
[5] Cluster -s-
[6] Cluster -sp-
[7] Cluster -st-
[8] Dissimilation with following vowel
[1] Before i, e, a
[2] Before back vowels
[3] After front vowels
[4] After all other vowels
3 Dialects
Main article: Albanian dialects
Albanian is divided into two major dialects: Gheg, Tosk,
and a transitional dialect zone between them.[56] The
Shkumbin river is roughly the dividing line, with Gheg
spoken north of the Shkumbin and Tosk south of it.[57]
There are also other dialects like Arbresh and Arvan-
itika, which are mixtures between Gheg and Tosk with
some archaic features of Albanian. They are spoken in
some areas of Italy and Greece.
4 Standard Albanian
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]
4.1 Elbasan-based standard
Until the early 20th century, Albanian writing devel-
oped in three main literary traditions: Gheg, Tosk, and
Arbresh. Throughout this time, an intermediate sub-
dialect spoken around Elbasan served as lingua franca
among the Albanians, but was less prevalent in writing.
The Congress of Manastir of Albanian writers held in
1908 recommended the use of the Elbasan subdialect for
literary purposes and as a basis of a unied national lan-
guage. While technically classied as a southern Gheg
5
variety, the Elbasan speech is closer to Tosk in phonology
and practically a hybrid between other Gheg subdialects
and literary Tosk.[58]
Between 1916 and 1918, the Albanian Literary Commis-
sion met in Shkodr under the leadership of Luigj Gu-
rakuqi with the purpose of establishing a unied orthog-
raphy for the language. The Commission, made up of
representatives from the north and south of Albania, reaf-
rmed the Elbasan subdialect as the basis of a national
tongue. The rules published in 1917 dened spelling for
the Elbasan variety for ocial purposes. The Commis-
sion did not, however, discourage publications in one of
the dialects, but rather laid a foundation for Gheg and
Tosk to gradually converge into one.[58]
When the Congress of Lushnje met in the aftermath of
World War I to form a new Albanian government, the
1917 decisions of the Literary Commission were upheld.
The Elbasan subdialect remained in use for administra-
tive purposes and many new writers embraced for cre-
ative writing. Gheg and Tosk continued to develop freely
and interaction between the two dialects increased.
4.2 Tosk standard
At the end of World War II, however, the new communist
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]
Standardization was directed by the Albanian Institute of
Linguistics and Literature of the Academy of Sciences
of Albania.[59] Two dictionaries were published in 1954:
an Albanian language dictionary and a RussianAlbanian
dictionary. New orthography rules were eventually pub-
lished in 1967[59] and 1973 Drejtshkrimi i gjuhs shqipe
(Orthography of the Albanian Language).[60]
More recent dictionaries from the Albanian government
are Fjalori Drejtshkrimor i Gjuhs Shqipe (1976) (Or-
thographic Dictionary of the Albanian Language)[61]
and Dictionary of Todays Albanian language (Fjalori
Gjuhs s Sotme Shqipe) (1980).[59][62] Prior to World
1904),[63] Fjalori i Bashkimit (1908),[63] and Fjalori i
Gazullit (1941).[64]
4.3 Calls for reform
Further information: Albanian Orthography Congress
Since the fall of the communist regime, Albanian orthog-
raphy has stirred heated debate among scholars, writers,
and public opinion in Albania and Kosovo, with hardlin-
ers opposed to any changes in the orthography, moderates
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-
served in Albanian, in some cases it was lost, possibly
when a stressed syllable preceded it.[67] Until the stan-
dardization of the modern Albanian alphabet, in which
the schwa is spelled as , as in the work of Gjon Buzuku in
the 16th century, various vowels and gliding vowels were
employed, including ae by Lek Matrnga and by Pjetr
Bogdani in the late 16th and early 17th century.[68][69]
The schwa in Albanian has a great degree of variabil-
ity from extreme back to extreme front articulation.[70]
Within the borders of Albania, the phoneme is pro-
nounced about the same in both the Tosk and the Gheg
dialect due to the inuence of standard Albanian. How-
ever, in the Gheg dialects spoken in the neighbouring
Albanian-speaking areas of Kosovo and Macedonia, the
phoneme is still pronounced as back and rounded.[70]
7 Grammar
Feminine nouns take the sux -(i/j)a:
vetur (car) / vetura (the car);
shtpi (house) / shtpia (the house);
lule (ower) / lulja (the ower).
Neuter nouns take -t.
Albanian has developed an analytical verbal structure
in place of the earlier synthetic system, inherited from
Proto-Indo-European. Its complex system of moods (six
types) and tenses (three simple and ve complex con-
structions) is distinctive among Balkan languages. There
are two general types of conjugations.
Albanian verbs, like those of other Balkan languages,
have an "admirative" mood (mnyra habitore) that is used
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
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!".
SVO: Agimi i hngri t gjith portokallt.
SOV: Agimi t gjith portokallt i hngri.
OVS: T gjith portokallt i hngri Agimi.
9.1 Earliest undisputed texts
See also: Formula e pagzimit and Meshari
The earliest known texts in Albanian:

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-
ian or Greek and sometimes in Arabic characters. Orig-
inally, the Tosk dialect was written in the Greek alpha-
bet and the Gheg dialect was written in the Latin script.
Both dialects had also been written in the Ottoman Turk-
ish version of the Arabic script, Cyrillic, and some local
alphabets (Elbasan, Bthakukye/Vithkuqi, Todhri, Veso
Bey, Jan Vellara and others, see original Albanian alpha-
bets). More specically, the writers from northern Alba-
nia and under the inuence of the Catholic Church used
Latin letters, those in southern Albania and under the in-
uence of the Greek Orthodox church used Greek letters,
while others throughout Albania and under the inuence
of Islam used Arabic letters. There were initial attempts
to create an original Albanian alphabet during the 1750
1850 period. These attempts intensied after the League
of Prizren and culminated with the Congress of Manastir
held by Albanian intellectuals from 14 to 22 November
1908, in Manastir (present day Bitola), which decided on
which alphabet to use, and what the standardized spelling
would be for standard Albanian. This is how the literary
language remains. The alphabet is the Latin alphabet with
the addition of the letters <>, <>, and nine digraphs.
a 208-page parchment written by Theodor of Shko-
dra discovered in the secret archives of Vatican.[73]
The work is a manuscript decorated with golden
miniatures and colored initials, divided in three
parts. Pages 197 deal with theology, 98146 with
philosophy, and pages 147208 with a history of the
known world from AD 153 to 1209. On the nal
page of the manuscript we nd a note by the author
With the assistance and great love of the blessed
Lord, I nished this in the year 1210 on the 9th day
of March.
the "formula e pagzimit" (Baptismal Formula),
which dates back to 1462 and was authored by Pal
Engjlli (or Paulus Angelus) (c. 1417 1470),
Archbishop of Durrs. Engjlli was a close friend
and counsellor of Skanderbeg.[74] It was written in a
pastoral letter for a synod at the Holy Trinity in Mat
and read in Latin characters as follows: Unte pagh-
esont premenit Atit et Birit et Spertit Senit (standard
Albanian: Un t pagzoj n emr t Atit, t Birit
e t Shpirtit t Shenjt"; English: I baptize you in
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

shkulk; boundary marker for pastures made of
branches < Late Latin sculca < Goth skulka
guardian
shkum; foam < Late Latin < Goth skma
tirq; trousers < Late Latin tubrucus < Goth *io-
brok knee-britches"; cf. OHG dioh-bruoh, Eng
thigh, breeches
10.2.3 Other loans
It is assumed that Greek and Balkan Latin (which was
the ancestor of Romanian and other Balkan Romance lan-
guages) had exerted a great inuence on Albanian. Exam-
ples of words borrowed from Latin: qytet < civitas (city),
qiell < caelum (sky), mik < amicus (friend).
After the Slavs arrived in the Balkans, the Slavic lan-
guages became an additional source of loanwords. The
rise of the Ottoman Empire meant an inux of Turkish
words; this also entailed the borrowing of Persian and
Arabic words through Turkish. Many Albanian names
(such as Enver Hoxha) are of Turkish origin. Some loan-
words from Modern Greek also exist especially in the
south of Albania. A lot of the borrowed words have been
re-substituted from Albanian rooted words or modern La-
tinized (international) words.
11 See also
Arbresh language
Arvanitika
Dacian language
Gheg Albanian
Illyrian languages
IPA for Albanian
List of Romanian words of possible Dacian origin
occasional correspondence in Albanian
Thraco-Illyrian
Tosk Albanian
12 Notes
[1] Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the
Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Re-
public of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on
17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part
of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began
to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the Brussels
Agreement. Kosovo has received formal recognition as
an independent state from 111 out of 193 United Nations
member states.
11
^* This designation is without prejudice to
positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR
1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Dec-
laration of Independence.
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14
[16] Curtis, Matthew Cowan. Slavic-Albanian Language
Contact, Convergence, and Coexistence. ProQuest LLC.
p. 16. Retrieved 31 March 2017. It is generally accepted
that Albanians continue one of the ancient languages of
the Balkans, although scholars disagree on which language
they spoke and what area of the Balkans they occupied be-
fore the Slavs migration to the Balkans.. line feed char-
acter in |quote= at position 6 (help)
[17] Curtis, Matthew Cowan. Slavic-Albanian Language
Contact, Convergence, and Coexistence. ProQuest LLC.
p. 18. Retrieved 31 March 2017. So while linguists
may debate about the ties between Albanian and older
languages of the Balkans, and while most Albanians may
take the genealogical connection to Illyrian as incontro-
vertible, the fact remains that there is simply insucient
evidence to connect Illyrian, Thracian, or Dacian with any
language, including Albanian
[18] Ann Taylor, Donald Ringe and Tandy Warnow, 2000,
Character Based Reconstruction of a Linguistic Clado-
gram, in (eds) John Charles Smith, Delia Bentley Histor-
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400.
[19] CPHL: Computational Phylogenetics In Historical Lin-
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[20] Hamp 1994, pp. 6667.
[21] Watkins 1998, p. 38.
[22] Labov 1994, p. 42.
[23] Huld, Martin E. (1986). Accentual Stratication of An-
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[24] Curtis, Matthew Cowan. Slavic-Albanian Language
Contact, Convergence, and Coexistence. ProQuest LLC.
p. 16. The number of loanwords is not necessarily a
compelling argument for geographical placement, as loan-
words may be replaced in subsequent developments of the
language (especially considering the copious borrowing
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[25] Douglas Q. Adams (January 1997). Encyclopedia of Indo-
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[26] Vladimir Orel (2000). A concise historical grammar of
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[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.
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[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
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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-
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
of Proto-Albanian *melita honey (mod. mjalt).
15 External links
Albanian Lessons (free online through the
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
in Languages and Linguistics Authors Henrik Birnbaum,
Jaan Puhvel, University of California, Los Angeles. Cen-
ter for Research in Languages and Linguistics Editors
Henrik Birnbaum, Jaan Puhvel Publisher University of
California Press, 1966 p.102
[100] A concise historical grammar of the Albanian language:
reconstruction of Proto-Albanian Author Vladimir .
Orel Publisher BRILL, 2000 ISBN 90-04-11647-8, ISBN
978-90-04-11647-4 p.23
Albanian Dictionary
Albanian Swadesh list of basic vocabulary words
(from Wiktionarys Swadesh-list appendix)
Albanian basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatisti-
cal Database
Doctor John Bassett Trumper discussing the clas-
sication of Albanian within Indo-European on
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

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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,
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GranitAlbana, Korrawit, Frietjes, Tizde88, Widr, Helpful Pixie Bot, Infotun, King Of The Moas, Zyztem2000, BG19bot, Evilism, Jon-
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senses, Floating Boat, Glevum, Durresaryl1, Scarmeganolinious, , Word dewd544, Peacemaker67, Neptuni, Nado158,
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Wrdstck, Allcoast14, Jo-Jo Eumerus, JustAMuggle, DerekWinters, Lemnaminor, Honda531, Davy55, Lfdder, Tentinator, Abrahamic
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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,
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tain, StewdioMACK, Oranges Juicy, Leutrimg, Johan0112000, Ortonww, , Igaalbania, 123bimix123, KasparBot, Taekhosong,
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Luan Z. 4, AksheKumar, ACleaningPerson, Boikenboletini, PurpleRatBirds, Iaof2017, B A T O, Pokerst and Anonymous: 928

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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
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<a href='//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:MaGa' title='User:MaGa'>Ma</a><a href='//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:
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20 16 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

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