Gheg Albanian

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"Geg" redirects here. For Spokane International Airport (IATA: GEG), see Spokane International Airport.
Gheg
Region Albania, Kosovo,[a] Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia
Native speakers 4,200,000  (date missing)
Language family
Language codes
ISO 639-3 aln
Linguasphere 55-AAA-aaa to 55-AAA-aag
This page contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.
A map showing Gheg speakers in green

Gheg (or Geg) is one of the two major varieties of Albanian language. The other one is Tosk, on which standard Albanian is based. The dividing line between these two varieties is the Shkumbin River, which winds its way through central Albania.

Gheg is spoken in Northern Albania, Kosovo[a], northwestern Republic of Macedonia, southern Montenegro and Serbia. It is also spoken in parts of Sicily and southern Italy.[citation needed]

There are still some authors who write in Gheg.

Gheg does not have any official status as a written language in any country. Publications in Kosovo and Macedonia are in standard Albanian, which is based on Tosk.

Contents

Dialects [edit]

Gheg has several dialects, notably:

Southern Gheg [edit]

Main article: Southern Gheg

Northern Gheg [edit]

Italian linguist Carlo Tagliavini puts the Gheg speech of Kosovo and Macedonia in "Eastern Geg".[2]

Phonology [edit]

Assimilations are common in Gheg, but are not part of the Albanian literary language which only follows Tosk Albanian.[3]

Vowels [edit]

Oral [edit]

IPA Written as
[ə] ë (nër)
[a] a (dash)
[ɑ] â (prâpë)
[ɒ] ä (knaçët)
[e] e (dêre)
[ɛ] ê (mênôj)
[i] i (dritë)
[o] o (kos)
[u] u (kur)
[y] y (shyçyr)
[ɔ] ô (dôrë)

Nasalized [edit]

IPA Written as
[ĩ] ĩ
[ɛ̃] ẽ
[ɑ̃] ã
[ɔ̃] õ (some dialects)
[ỹ] ỹ
[ũ] ũ (hũna)

Differences between varieties [edit]

Standard Toskësisht Gegënisht (west, east) English
Shqipëri Shqipëri Shqypní / Shqipni Albania
një një nji / njâ one
nëntë nëntë nândë / nânt, nõnt nine
është është âsht / â, osht / o is
bëj bëj bâj I do
emër emër êmën name
pjekuri pjekuri pjekuni mellowness
gjendje gjëndje gjêndje / gjênje state, condition
zog zok zog, zëq / zëç / zëg bird
mbret mbret mret / regj king
për të punuar për të punuar me punue / me punu, për t'punũ to work
rërë rërë rânë, ron sand
qenë qënë kjênë / kênë, çên to be
dëllinjë enjë bërshê juniper
baltë llum lloq, llok mud
cimbidh mashë danë fire-iron
mundem mundem mûj / mûnem, munëm / mûnëm I can
vend vënd ven, vend / vent place
dhelpër dhelpër skile / dhelpën fox

See also [edit]

Annotations [edit]

  1. ^ a b Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. Kosovo's independence has been recognised by 99 out of 193 United Nations member states.

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b Hinrichs, Uwe; Buttner, Uwe (1999). Handbuch der Sudosteuropa-Linguistik. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 285. ISBN 978-3-447-03939-0. Retrieved 5 April 2011. 
  2. ^ Carlo Tagliavini (1942), Le parlate albanesi di tipo Ghego orientale: Dardania e Macedonia nord-occidentale,
  3. ^ Camaj 1984, p. 4

Sources [edit]

  • Martin Camaj (1984), Albanian grammar, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag
  • Carlo Tagliavini (1942), Le parlate albanesi di tipo Ghego orientale: Dardania e Macedonia nord-occidentale,

External links [edit]

Gheg Albanian test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator
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