CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="de"> <head> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=EDGE"/> <meta charset="utf-8"/> <meta name="Generator" content="Xara HTML filter v.9.2.0.74"/> <meta name="XAR Files" content="index_htm_files/xr_files.txt"/> <title>The Albanian Language | Robert Elsie</title> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /> <meta name="description" content="Albanian is a language of the extensive Indo-European family and is thus related to a certain degree to almost all other languages of Europe. The Albanian language is divided into two basic dialect groups: Gheg in the north of the country and Tosk in the south."/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="index_htm_files/xr_fonts.css"/> <script></script> <script>document.documentElement.className="xr_bgh0";</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="index_htm_files/xr_main.css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="index_htm_files/custom_styles.css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="index_htm_files/xr_text.css"/> <script src="index_htm_files/roe.js"></script> <script src="index_htm_files/replaceMobileFonts.js"></script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="index_htm_files/ani.css"/> <style> #xr_xr {top:0px;} </style> <style type="text/css"> html, body { background-image: url(hg.jpg); background-attachment: fixed; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-position: center 50px; background-color: #FFFAED; } </style > </head> <body class="xr_bgb0"> <div class="xr_ap" id="xr_xr" style="width: 920px; height: 5164px; left:50%; margin-left: -460px; text-align: left; top:0px;"> <script>var xr_xr=document.getElementById("xr_xr")</script> <div id="xr_td" class="xr_td"> <div class="xr_ap xr_xri_" style="width: 920px; height: 5164px;"> <span class="xr_ar" style="left:185px;top:350px;width:735px;height:4814px; background-color: #FFFFFF;"></span> <span class="xr_ar" style="left:0px;top:350px;width:162px;height:4814px; background-color: #FFFFFF;"></span> <div class="xr_group"> <img class="xr_ap" src="index_htm_files/2520.jpg" alt="" title="" style="left:0px;top:50px;width:920px;height:300px;"/> </div> <div class="xr_group"> <div class="xr_txt xr_s0" style="position: absolute; left:460px; top:27px; width:604px; height:10px;"> <span class="xr_tc xr_s0" style="left: -333.61px; top: -14.26px; width: 667px;">| <a href="http://www.elsie.de" onclick="return(xr_nn());" onmousemove="xr_mo(this,0)" >Robert Elsie</a> | <a href="http://www.albanianart.net/" onclick="return(xr_nn());" onmousemove="xr_mo(this,0)" >AL Art</a> | <a href="http://www.albanianhistory.net/" onclick="return(xr_nn());" onmousemove="xr_mo(this,0)" >AL History</a> | <a href="http://www.albanianlanguage.net/" onclick="return(xr_nn());" onmousemove="xr_mo(this,0)" >AL Language</a> | <a href="http://www.albanianliterature.net/" onclick="return(xr_nn());" onmousemove="xr_mo(this,0)" >AL Literature</a> | <a href="http://www.albanianphotography.net/" onclick="return(xr_nn());" onmousemove="xr_mo(this,0)" >AL Photography</a> | <a href="http://www.elsie.de/en/contact.html" onclick="return(xr_nn());" onmousemove="xr_mo(this,0)" >Contact</a> |</span> </div> </div> <img class="xr_ap" src="index_htm_files/1794.png" alt="" title="" style="left:0px;top:5085px;width:920px;height:2px;"/> <div class="xr_txt xr_s1" style="position: absolute; left:235px; top:415px; width:635px; height:10px;"> <h2 class="xr_tl x--195-156berschrift_2 xr_s2" style="top: -24.95px;margin:0;">Geographical location</h2> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s3" style="left: 20px; top: 12.26px;"><span class="Normaler_Text xr_s4" style=""><a href="index_de.htm" onclick="return(xr_nn());" onmousemove="xr_mo(this,0)" > Deutsch </a></span><span class="Normaler_Text xr_s5" style=""> </span><span class="Normaler_Text xr_s6" style="">| </span><span class="Normaler_Text xr_s5" style=""> </span></span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s3" style="left: 139.95px; top: 12.26px;"><span class="Normaler_Text xr_s4" style=""> </span><span class="Normaler_Text xr_s4" style=""><a href="index_al.htm" onclick="return(xr_nn());" onmousemove="xr_mo(this,0)" >Shqip</a></span></span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 81.36px;">The Albanian language <span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">(shqip</span>) is spoken by over six million people in the </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 107.93px;">southwestern Balkans, primarily in the Republic of Albania and in the </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 134.51px;">neighbouring countries which once formed part of the Yugoslav federation </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 161.09px;">(Kosova, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia). In Albania itself, the language </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 187.67px;">is spoken by the entire population of 3,087,159 inhabitants (census of April </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 214.24px;">2001), including some bilingual ethnic minorities. </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 628.97px;">In Kosovo, where there are as yet no reliable population statistics, Albanian is </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 655.55px;">spoken by almost the entire population of about two million individuals, </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 682.13px;">including some bilingual minorities: Bosniaks, Turks, Croats and Roma. </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 708.71px;">Ethnic Serbs in Kosova (now about five percent of the population) have </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 735.28px;">traditionally refused to learn or speak Albanian, but attitudes may change once </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 761.86px;">traditional hostilities and ethnic tensions subside.</span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 815.02px;">The Republic of Macedonia is estimated to have at least half a million </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 841.59px;">Albanian speakers, equaling about twenty-five percent of the total population </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 868.17px;">of the republic, although there are no reliable statistics. The Albanian </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 894.75px;">population is to be found in and around Skopje (Alb. <span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">Shkup</span>), where it </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 921.33px;">constitutes a substantial minority, Kumanova (Maced. <span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">Kumanovo</span>) and, in </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 947.9px;">particular, in western Macedonia from Tetova (Maced. <span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">Tetovo</span>), Gostivar and </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 974.48px;">Dibra (Maced. <span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">Debar</span>) down to Struga, where it forms the majority.</span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1027.63px;">A minority of about 50,000 Albanian speakers is also to be found in </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1054.21px;">Montenegro, mostly along the Albanian border (Ulqin-Ulcinj, Tuz and </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1080.79px;">Gucia/Gusinje). There are also at least 70,000 to 100,000 Albanian speakers </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1107.37px;">scattered throughout southern Serbia, primarily in the Presheva Valley near the </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1133.94px;">borders of Macedonia and Kosova.</span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1187.1px;">To the south of Albania, in Greece, there are traditional settlements of </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1213.68px;">Çamërian dialect speakers, in particular around Parga and Igoumenitsa in </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1240.25px;">Epirus. Despite border changes and deportations to Albania, the Albanian </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1266.83px;">population here may be as high as 100,000, although they are highly </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1293.41px;">assimilated. In central Greece, the Albanian language, known in Albanian as </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s8" style="top: 1319.99px;"><span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">Arbërisht </span><span class="Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="">and in Greek as </span><span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">Arvanitika</span><span class="Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="">, languishes in about 320 villages, </span></span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1346.56px;">primarily those of Boeotia (especially around Levadhia), southern Euboea, </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1373.14px;">Attica, Corinth and northern Andros. These speakers are the descendants of </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1399.72px;">large-scale Albanian emigration to Greece during the late Middle Ages. No </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1426.29px;">official statistics exist as to their numbers. This exceptionally archaic form of </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1452.87px;">Albanian is dying out rapidly.</span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1506.03px;">In southern Italy, there is a small but well-established Albanian-speaking </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1532.6px;">minority, the so-called Arbëresh, or Italo-Albanians. These are the descendants </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1559.18px;">of refugees who fled Albania after the death of Scanderbeg in 1468. As a </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1585.76px;">linguistic group, the Arbëresh now consist of about 90,000 speakers, most of </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1612.34px;">whom live in the mountain villages of Cosenza in Calabria and in the vicinity </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1638.91px;">of Palermo in Sicily. The Arbëresh speak an archaic dialect of Albanian, which </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1665.49px;">differs substantially from the Albanian now spoken in the Balkans, to the </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1692.07px;">extent that communication is difficult if Arbëresh speakers are not familiar </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1718.65px;">with standard literary Albanian.</span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1771.8px;">Traditional Albanian settlements can be encountered sporadically elsewhere in </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1798.38px;">the Balkans: in Arbanasi, a suburb of Zadar on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia; </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1824.95px;">in some villages in the Sandjak in Serbia and in the Bulgarian-Greek-Turkish </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1851.53px;">border region, notably in the Bulgarian village of Mandrica. A few Albanian </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1878.11px;">speakers are also to be found in the Ukraine, notably in villages in the regions </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1904.69px;">of Melitopol’ and Odessa.</span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1957.84px;">Little remains of the once extensive colonies of Albanians scattered throughout </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 1984.42px;">the Ottoman Empire. The Albanian minority in Egypt has now dissipated, </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2011px;">though Albanian communities still exist in large numbers in Turkey (Istanbul, </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2037.57px;">Bursa and elsewhere) and to an extent in Syria, notably in Damascus.</span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2090.73px;">Since the late 1980s in Kosova and since the opening of Albania in 1990-1991, </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2117.31px;">there has been a substantial emigration of Albanian speakers from their </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2143.88px;">traditional areas of settlement to other countries, in particular to Greece and </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2170.46px;">Italy. There are also large numbers of Albanian emigrants to be found in </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2197.04px;">western Europe (esp. Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia and London) and in </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2223.61px;">North America (New York, Boston, Detroit, Toronto).</span> <h2 class="xr_tl x--195-156berschrift_2 xr_s2" style="top: 2276.77px;margin:0;">Origin and development of Albanian</h2> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2340.55px;">Albanian is a language of the extensive Indo-European family and is thus </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2367.13px;">related to a certain degree to almost all other languages of Europe. The Indo-</span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2393.71px;">European character of the language was first recognized in 1854 by the </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2420.29px;">German linguist Franz Bopp (1791-1867). At the same time, Albanian shows </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2446.86px;">no particularly close historical affinity to any other language or language group </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2473.44px;">within the Indo-European family, i.e. it forms a language group of its own.</span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2526.59px;">Despite Albania’s geographical proximity to Greece, linguistic contacts with </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2553.17px;">ancient Greek seem to have been sporadic. Roman trading settlements on the </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2579.75px;">Illyrian coast and Albania’s absorption into the Roman Empire, however, left </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2606.33px;">noticeable traces in the language. Borrowings from Latin, which took place </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2632.9px;">over a period of several centuries, were so massive as to threaten the very </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2659.48px;">structure of the language. Cultural contacts with the Slavs (Bulgarians and </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2686.06px;">Serbs), Turks and Italians have also left substantial strata of vocabulary in </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2712.64px;">Albanian.</span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2765.79px;">Not only in its vocabulary, but also in its morphology and syntax, Albanian </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2792.37px;">shows many traits in common with other Balkan languages, due both to extinct </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2818.95px;">substrata languages (Illyrian, Thracian, Dacian) and to centuries of parallel </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2845.52px;">development. Among these traits are: a postpositive definite article; the fusion </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2872.1px;">of the genitive and dative case endings; the formation of the numbers 11-19 by </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2898.68px;">“one on ten”; the absence of a grammatical infinitive; and the formation of the </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2925.25px;">future tense with the verb “to want.”</span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 2978.41px;">Whether or not Albanian is a direct successor of the language of the ancient </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3004.99px;">Illyrians, as is broadly assumed nowadays, is difficult to determine since very </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3031.56px;">few records of the Illyrian language have been preserved.</span> <h2 class="xr_tl x--195-156berschrift_2 xr_s2" style="top: 3084.72px;margin:0;">Synchronic description of Albanian</h2> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3148.5px;">The Albanian language is divided into two basic dialect groups: Gheg in the </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3175.08px;">north of the country and Tosk in the south. The Shkumbin River in central </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3201.66px;">Albania, flowing past Elbasan into the Adriatic, forms the approximate </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3228.23px;">boundary between the two dialect regions. Here, in a zone ten to twenty </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3254.81px;">kilometers wide, intermediate dialects are also found.</span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3307.97px;">The Gheg dialect group, characterized by the presence of nasal vowels, by the </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3334.54px;">retention of the older n for Tosk r (e.g., <span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">venë</span> “wine” for Tosk <span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">verë</span>; <span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">Shqypnia</span> </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3361.12px;">“Albania” for Tosk <span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">Shqipëria</span>) and by several distinct morphological features, </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3387.7px;">can be further classified into a northwestern (Shkodra and surrounding region), </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3414.28px;">a northeastern (northeastern Albania and Kosova), a central (between the </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3440.85px;">Ishëm and Mat Rivers and eastwards into Macedonia, including Dibra and </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3467.43px;">Tetova) and a southern (Durrës, Tirana) Gheg dialect.</span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3520.59px;">The Tosk dialect group is in general more homogenous, though it can be </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3547.16px;">subdivided into a northern (from Fier to Vlora on the coast and all of inland </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3573.74px;">southern Albania north of the Vjosa River), a Labërian or Lab (south of the </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3600.32px;">Vjosa to Saranda), and a Çamërian or Çam (the southern tip of Albania and </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3626.89px;">into Greece) dialect.</span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3680.05px;">The modern literary language (<span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">gjuha letrare</span>), agreed upon at the Orthography </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3706.63px;">Congress of 20 to 25 November 1972, is a combination of the two dialect </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3733.2px;">groups, though based about eighty percent on Tosk. It is now a widely </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3759.78px;">accepted standard both in Albania and elsewhere, though there have been </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3786.36px;">increasing tendencies in recent years to revive literary Gheg.</span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3839.51px;">In its structure, Albanian is a synthetic language similar to most other Indo-</span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3866.09px;">European languages. Nouns are marked for gender, number, case and also have </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3892.67px;">definite and indefinite forms. The vast majority of nouns are masculine or </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3919.25px;">feminine, though there are rare examples of neuter nouns, which now function </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3945.82px;">increasingly as masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural. As to </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3972.4px;">number, nouns appear in the singular and plural, as in most other European </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 3998.98px;">languages. There are approximately 100 plural formations, including suffixes, </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 4025.55px;">umlauts, final consonant changes, and combinations thereof.</span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 4078.71px;">The nominal system distinguishes five cases: nominative, genitive, dative, </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 4105.29px;">accusative and ablative. The genitive and dative endings are always the same. </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 4131.86px;">Attributive genitives are in addition linked to the nouns that they qualify by a </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 4158.44px;">complicated system of connective particles: <span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">i</span>, <span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">e</span>, <span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">të</span> and <span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">së</span>, often reflecting the </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 4185.02px;">ending of the preceding word, e.g., <span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">bulevardi i qytetit</span> “the city boulevard,” </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s8" style="top: 4211.6px;"><span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">bukuria e bulevardit të qytetit</span><span class="Normaler_Text xr_s4" style=""> “the beauty of the city boulevard.” The definite </span></span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 4238.17px;">and indefinite forms of the noun are shown by the presence or absence of a </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 4264.75px;">postpositive definite article. The noun declension thus shows two sets of </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 4291.33px;">endings: definite and indefinite. Most adjectives follow the noun either directly </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 4317.91px;">or are preceded by a connective particle, e.g., <span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">djali nervoz</span> “the irritable boy,” </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s8" style="top: 4344.48px;"><span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">djali i vogël</span><span class="Normaler_Text xr_s4" style=""> “the little boy.”</span></span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 4397.64px;">The Albanian verb system has the following categories: three persons, two </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 4424.21px;">numbers, ten tenses, two voices and six moods. Unusual among the moods is </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 4450.79px;">the admirative, which is used to express astonishment on the part of the </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 4477.37px;">speaker, e.g. <span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">bie shi</span> “it’s raining,” <span class="Normaler_Text xr_s7" style="">rënka shi</span> “why, it’s raining!” </span> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s4" style="top: 4530.52px;">Robert Elsie </span> </div> <div class="xr_group"> <img class="xr_ap" src="index_htm_files/2521.jpg" alt="" title="" style="left:235px;top:682px;width:450px;height:335px;"/> </div> <div class="xr_group"> <div class="xr_group"> <img class="xr_ap" src="index_htm_files/2577.jpg" alt="" title="" style="left:235px;top:443px;width:20px;height:13px;"/> </div> </div> <img class="xr_ap" src="index_htm_files/2386.png" alt="Robert Elsie The Albanian Language" title="" style="left:213px;top:174px;width:500px;height:111px;"/> <div class="xr_group"> <div class="xr_txt xr_s9" style="position: absolute; left:8px; top:448px; width:139px; height:10px;"> <h2 class="xr_tl x--195-156berschrift_2 xr_s10" style="top: -21.39px;margin:0;"><a href="javascript:;" onclick="return(xr_nn());" onmousemove="xr_mo(this,0)" >AL Language</a></h2> <h2 class="xr_tl x--195-156berschrift_2 xr_s11" style="top: 37.08px;margin:0;"><a href="voices.htm" onclick="return(xr_nn());" onmousemove="xr_mo(this,0)" >AL Voices</a></h2> <h2 class="xr_tl x--195-156berschrift_2 xr_s11" style="top: 92.9px;margin:0;"><a href="http://dialects.albanianlanguage.net/" onclick="return(xr_nn());" onmousemove="xr_mo(this,0)" >AL Dialects</a></h2> <span class="xr_tl Normaler_Text xr_s11" style="top: 148.71px;"><a href="http://books.elsie.de/b111_albanian_alphabets/" target="_blank" onclick="return(xr_nn());" onmousemove="xr_mo(this,0)" >AL Alphabets</a></span> </div> </div> <div class="xr_group"> <img class="xr_ap" src="index_htm_files/2578.jpg" alt="" title="" style="left:355px;top:443px;width:20px;height:13px;"/> </div> <div class="xr_group"> <img class="xr_ap" src="index_htm_files/2489.png" alt="" title="" style="left:5px;top:458px;width:175px;height:1px;"/> </div> <div class="xr_group"> <div class="xr_txt xr_s0" style="position: absolute; left:234px; top:5110px; width:222px; height:10px;"> <span class="xr_tl xr_s0" style="top: -14.26px;"><a href="http://www.elsie.de/impressum.htm" onclick="return(xr_nn());" onmousemove="xr_mo(this,0)" >Impressum</a> | <a href="http://www.elsie.de/datenschutz.htm" onclick="return(xr_nn());" onmousemove="xr_mo(this,0)" >Datenschutzerklärung</a></span> </div> </div> <div id="xr_xo0" class="xr_ap" style="left:0; top:0; width:920px; height:100px; visibility:hidden; z-index:3;"> <a href="" onclick="return(false);" onmousedown="xr_ppir(this);"> </a> </div> <div id="xr_xd0"></div> </div> </div> </div>  <script>xr_htm();repMobFonts();window.addEventListener('load', xr_aeh, false);</script> </body> </html>