Albanianspeaking

Albanianspeaking refers to people who use Albanian as their primary language. Albanian is an Indo-European language native to the Balkans and is spoken by ethnic Albanians in Albania, Kosovo, parts of North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Greece, as well as by diaspora communities in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, the United States, Canada, and beyond.

The language has two main dialect groups: Gheg, spoken in northern Albania and parts of Kosovo and North Macedonia, and Tosk, spoken in the south. Standard Albanian is based on the Tosk dialect, and the two varieties are largely mutually intelligible in everyday speech.

Albanian uses a Latin-based alphabet. The modern orthography comprises 36 letters and several digraphs that represent distinct sounds, including dh, gj, ll, nj, rr, sh, th, xh, and zh. It is written from left to right and features a relatively regular spelling system compared to many other languages in the region.

Official status varies by country. In Albania, Albanian is the official language. In Kosovo, Albanian is the majority language and one of the official languages used in government and education. In other countries, Albanian is typically recognized as a minority language and used in public life within communities, with varying degrees of official support in places such as North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.

Culturally, Albanian literature, media, and education are produced in Albanian, and the language is maintained through schools, broadcasting, and cultural organizations in both homeland regions and the global diaspora.