shqipja

Shqipja is the Albanian term for the Albanian language, referring to the tongue spoken by Albanians. In everyday use, Shqip and Shqipja denote the language itself, while Shqipëria is the country, Albania. The form Shqipja emphasizes the definite sense of “the Albanian language.”

Linguistically, Albanian is an Indo-European language belonging to its own branch, with two primary dialect groups: Gheg in the north and Tosk in the south. The dialects differ in phonology, some vocabulary, and certain grammatical features, but they share a common core grammar and standard vocabulary. Modern standard Albanian is largely based on the Tosk dialect, a choice reflected in education, media, and official use in many Albanian-speaking communities.

The Albanian writing system is Latin-based, consisting of 36 letters including several digraphs such as dh, gj, ll, nj, rr, sh, th, xh, and zh, as well as letters like ç and ë. The orthography was progressively codified in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the Congress of Monastir in 1908 marking a pivotal moment and subsequent reforms shaping modern usage. This standardized form is widely used in Albania, Kosovo, parts of North Macedonia and Montenegro, and among the diaspora.

Shqipja is used in education, government, media, and literature, reflecting its status as the official or de facto language in Albanian-speaking regions. The language has a rich literary heritage across both major dialects and continues to evolve through contemporary writing, scholarship, and regional language policy.