Albanian
Albanian, known to native speakers as Shqip or Shqip'ri, is spoken by about
6,400,000 people along the eastern Adriatic coast, primarily in Albania, but
also in neighboring Kosova and Macedonia. Although Albanian belongs to the Indo-European
family, it constitutes a major branch of its own, with no near relatives. The
Albanians are divided into two major groups, the Gheg and the Tosk, according
to which Albanian dialect they speak. The Gheg live north of the Shkumbin River,
while the Tosk live south of the river. The two dialects have been diverging
for at least a millennium, but their less extreme forms are still mutually intelligible.
In the 1950's it was decided that the Tosk dialect would be used in all Albanian
publications, since it was the one most widely spoken in Albania. Albanian does
not possess a very long or strong literary tradition. Until recent times there
were different literary standards based on Gheg and Tosk. A unified standard
has only been established since the seventies. This new standard incorporates
elements from both Gheg and Tosk, though the latter predominates.
The origins of the general name 'Albanian', which traditionally referred to
a restricted area in central Albania, is disputed, however the name has been
found in records since the time of Ptolemy.
Sources:
Albanian
World Wide Web
Bethany World Prayer
Center
Information on writing system:
Independent Study Courses Available at UCSD:
Other Local Resources:
UCSD International Center
SD cultural events
Mingei museum of folk art