Albanian language

Albanian is an Indo-European language that is spoken by Albanians native to the Balkans as well as by members of the Albanian diaspora, who are most often found throughout the Americas, Europe, and Oceania. It is not closely connected to any other current Indo-European language and constitutes a distinct branch within the Indo-European language family. There are around 7.5 million people who speak it.

The first known use of the Albanian language dates back to the 15th century. It is a descendent of one of the Paleo-Balkan languages that were used in antiquity. Some modern historians and linguists believe that the Albanian language may have descended from a southern Illyrian dialect that was spoken in much of the same region in classical times. The reasons for this belief are more historical and geographical in nature as opposed to specifically linguistic in nature. Other possibilities suggest that Albanian may have originated from other ancient languages that were spoken farther east than Illyrian. These languages include Thracian and Daco-Moesian. There is insufficient information available on these languages to definitively verify or deny the different possibilities.

Gheg and Tosk, the two most prominent dialect groups (or varieties) of Albanian, are primarily differentiated from one another by phonological differences and are mutually intelligible in their standard varieties. Gheg is spoken to the north of the Shkumbin river, whereas Tosk is spoken to the south of the river. Their idiosyncrasies in the treatment of both native words and loanwords provide evidence that the split into the northern and the southern dialects occurred after the Christianization of the region (4th century AD), and most likely not later than the 5th–6th centuries AD. As a result, it is possible that they have been residing in roughly their present area divided by the Shkumbin river since the Post-Roman and Pre-Slavic period, straddling the Jirek Line.

Albanian dialects are spoken by groups that have existed for hundreds of years in Greece, Croatia (the Arbanasi), Italy (the Arbresh), as well as in Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine. Arvanitika, which is spoken in Greece, and Arbresh, which is spoken in southern Italy, are two variations of the Tosk dialect that have kept ancient aspects of the language. Ethnic Albanians make up a sizable diaspora, with many of them having long since integrated themselves into the culture and community of their new homes. Because of this, the number of people who are able to speak Albanian does not match to the total number of people who are of Albanian ethnicity. Many people of Albanian ethnicity may consider themselves to be Albanian, but they may not be able to speak the language.

Standard Albanian is a type of spoken Albanian that has been standardised and is based on Tosk. It is an official language in Albania and Kosovo, a co-official language in North Macedonia and Montenegro, and a minority language in Italy, Croatia, Romania, and Serbia. Kosovo is the only country in which Albanian is not an official language.