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Albanisation (or Albanization, Albanianisation, Albanianization) is a term used to describe a linguistic or cultural assimilation to the Albanian language and Albanian culture.

In Kosovo

The term is used in reference to Kosovo.^[1] ^[2]^{[dubious – discuss]} During censuses in the former Yugoslavia, many Roma were registered as Albanian, as they identified with Muslim Albanian culture as opposed to the Christian Serbian culture.^[3] The term is also applied to the Torbashis, a Muslim Slavic minority in the Republic of Macedonia, and the Gorani people in southern Kosovo, who often have Albanised surnames.^[4]

Serbs

The term Arnauti or Arnautaši was coined by ethnographers for "Albanized Serbs"; Serbs who had converted to Islam and went through a process of Albanisation.^[5]^[6]

In the 19th century, writer Branislav Nušić recorded that the Serb poturice (converts to Islam) of Orahovac began speaking Albanian and marrying Albanian women. Hadzi-Vasiljevic visited Orahovac in World War I, he could not distinguish Orthodox from Islamicized and Albanized Serbs. They spoke Serbian, wore the same costumes but claimed Serbian, Albanian or Turk ethnicity. The Albanian starosedeoci (native) were Slavophone; spoke Serbian. In the 1921 census the majority of Muslim Albanians were Serbian speaking (naš govor, Our language).^[6] - - Marshall Tito further de-Serbianized the Kosovo region when the Yugoslav League of Communists invited 300,000^[7] Albanians from Albania to settle in Kosovo and forbid^[8] the Serbs that fled during the World War II to return to their homes in Kosovo.^[7]

In Orahovac

At the end of the 19th century, writer Branislav Nušić recorded that the Serb poturice (converts to Islam) of Orahovac began talking Albanian and marrying Albanian women.^[6]

When Dr Jovan Hadži Vasiljević (l. 1866-1948) visited Orahovac in World War I, he could not distinguish Orthodox from Islamicized and Albanized Serbs.^[6] They spoke Serbian, wore the same costumes, but claimed Serbian, Albanian or Turk ethnicity.^[6] The Albanian starosedeoci (old urban families) were Slavophone; they did not speak Albanian but a Slavic dialect (naš govor, Our language) at home.^[6]

In the 1921 census the majority of Muslim Albanians of Orahovac were registered under the category "Serbs and Croats".^[6]

Mark Krasniqi, the Kosovo Albanian ethnographer, recalled in 1957:^[6] "During my own research, some of them told me that their tongue is similar to Macedonian rather than Serbian (it is clear that they want to dissociate themselves from everything Serbian^[6]). It is likely they are the last remnants of what is now known in Serbian sources as 'Arnautaši', Islamicised and half-way Albanianised Slavs."^[6]

In the Republic of Macedonia

Riza Memedovski, chairman of a Muslim organisation for Macedonian Muslims in the Republic of Macedonia, accused the majority Albanian political party, the Party for Democratic Prosperity, of trying to assimilate people and create an "... Albanisation of western Macedonia."^[1]

In Albania

During the dictatorship of King Zogu and the communist regime, the government encouraged Albanisation of the Greeks of Southern Albania (the territory was also called "Northern Epirus", especially among the Greeks).^[9]

"Minority status was limited to those who lived in 99 villages in the southern border areas, thereby excluding important concentrations of Greek settlement in Vlora (perhaps 8,000 people in 1994) and in adjoining areas along the coast, ancestral Greek towns such as Himara, and ethnic Greeks living elsewhere throughout the country. Mixed villages outside this designated zone, even those with a clear majority of ethnic Greeks, were not considered minority areas and therefore were denied any Greek language cultural or educational provisions. In addition, many Greeks were forcibly removed from the minority zones to other parts of the country as a product of communist population policy, an important and constant element of which was to preempt ethnic sources of political dissent. Greek place-names were changed to Albanian names, while use of the Greek language, prohibited everywhere outside the minority zones, was prohibited for many official purposes within them as well."^[9]

In 1967 the Albanian Party of Labour began the campaign of eradicating organised religion. Their forces damaged or destroyed many churches and mosques during this period; they banned many Greek-language books because of their religious themes or orientation. Yet, it is often impossible to distinguish between the government's ideological and ethno-cultural motivations for repression. Nonetheless, relationships between Albanian ethnics and Greek ethnics remained very good. The last defense minister of the communist regime was Simon Stefani, part of the Greek minority. Albania’s anti-religion campaign was merely one element in Hoxha's broader “Ideological and Cultural Revolution” begun in 1966. He had outlined its main features at the PLA’s Fourth Congress in 1961. "Under communism, pupils were taught only Albanian history and culture, even in Greek-language classes at the primary level."^[9] The Bulgarians in Albania were also gradually Albanised.^[10]^{[full citation needed]}

References

^ B. Allen, "Why Kosovo? The Anatomy of a Needless War", in Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 1999
^ Ruža Petrović, Marina Blagoǰević, & Miloš Macura, The migration of Serbs and Montenegrins from Kosovo and Metohija: results of the survey conducted in 1985-1986, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, 1992, accessed 4 Sep 2010
^ N. Sigona, "How Can a ‘Nomad’ be a ‘Refugee’? Kosovo Roma and Labelling Policy in Italy", in Sociology, Vol. 37, 2003, pp. 69–79
^ G. Lederer, "Contemporary Islam in East Europe", in Central Asian Survey, NATO International Academy, 2000
^ Dietmar Müller, Staatsbürger aus Widerruf: Juden und Muslime als Alteritätspartner im rumänischen und serbischen Nationscode: ethnonationale Staatsbürgerschaftskonzepte 1878-1941, p. 183-208. ISBN 3447052481, 9783447052481
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Religion and the politics of identity in Kosovo, p. 73: see footnotes
^ ^a ^b The wreckage reconsidered: five oxymorons from Balkan deconstruction
^ War of words: Washington tackles the Yugoslav conflict
^ ^a ^b ^c G97 T.J. Winnifrith (2003), Badlands-Borderland: A History of Southern Albania/Northern Epirus, ISBN 0-7156-3201-9, p. 138. Quote: "Under King Zog, the Greek villages suffered considerable repression, including the forcible closure of Greek-language schools in 1933-1934 and the ordering of Greek Orthodox monasteries to accept mentally sick individuals as inmates." and "On the other hand under Hoxha there were draconian measures to keep Greek-speakers loyal to Albania. Albanian rather than Greek history was taught in schools."
^ Таня Мангалакова. "Нашенците в Косово и Албания", НИБА Консулт, 2009 (Russian)

^ Greek Helsinki Monitor (2001), Minorities in Southeastern Europe - Albanians of Macedonia (available online here)

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 <ref name=Petrovic>[http://balkania.tripod.com/resources/history/migrations/ Ruža Petrović, Marina Blagoǰević, & Miloš Macura, ''The migration of Serbs and Montenegrins from Kosovo and Metohija: results of the survey conducted in 1985-1986''], Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, 1992, accessed 4 Sep 2010</ref>{{Dubious|date=August 2010}} During [[census]]es in the [[former Yugoslavia]], many [[Roma (Romani subgroup)|Roma]] were registered as ''Albanian'', as they identified with Muslim [[Albanian people|Albanian]] culture as opposed to the Christian [[Serbs|Serbian]] culture.<ref name=Sigona>[http://club.fom.ru/books/sigona.pdf N. Sigona, "How Can a ‘Nomad’ be a ‘Refugee’? Kosovo Roma and Labelling Policy in Italy"], in ''Sociology'', Vol. 37, 2003, pp. 69–79</ref> The term is also applied to the [[Torbashi]]s, a [[Muslim]] [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] minority in the [[Republic of Macedonia]], and the [[Gorani people]] in southern Kosovo, who often have Albanised surnames.<ref name=Lederer>[http://www.nato.int/acad/fellow/97-99/lederer.pdf G. Lederer, "Contemporary Islam in East Europe"], in ''Central Asian Survey'', NATO International Academy, 2000</ref>
+===Serbs===
+The term ''Arnauti'' or ''Arnautaši'' was coined by ethnographers for "''Albanized Serbs''"; [[Serbs]] who had converted to [[Islam]] and went through a process of [[Albanisation]].<ref>Dietmar Müller, ''Staatsbürger aus Widerruf: Juden und Muslime als Alteritätspartner im rumänischen und serbischen Nationscode: ethnonationale Staatsbürgerschaftskonzepte 1878-1941'', [http://books.google.com/?id=0UckOb6n71cC&pg=PA183 p. 183-208]. ISBN 3447052481, 9783447052481</ref><ref name=RK>''Religion and the politics of identity in Kosovo'', [http://books.google.com/books?id=aJRYkzl5YC4C&q=arnautasi p. 73]: see footnotes</ref>
+In the 19th century, writer [[Branislav Nušić]] recorded that the [[Serb]] ''poturice'' (converts to Islam) of [[Orahovac]] began speaking Albanian and marrying Albanian women. Hadzi-Vasiljevic visited Orahovac in World War I, he could not distinguish Orthodox from Islamicized and Albanized Serbs. They spoke Serbian, wore the same costumes but claimed [[Serbs|Serbian]], [[Albanians|Albanian]] or [[Turkish people|Turk]] ethnicity. The Albanian ''starosedeoci'' (''native'') were Slavophone; spoke Serbian. In the 1921 census the majority of Muslim Albanians were Serbian speaking (naš govor, ''Our language'').<ref name=RK/>
+-
+-	Marshall Tito further de-Serbianized the Kosovo region when the Yugoslav League of Communists invited 300,000<ref name=TWR/> Albanians from Albania to settle in Kosovo and forbid<ref name=WOW>[http://books.google.se/books?id=IGeJzd6BLU4C&pg=PA43 War of words: Washington tackles the Yugoslav conflict]</ref> the Serbs that fled during the World War II to return to their homes in Kosovo.<ref name=TWR>[http://books.google.se/?id=U8SzuC4p8J4C&pg=PA101 The wreckage reconsidered: five oxymorons from Balkan deconstruction]</ref>
+===In Orahovac===
+At the end of the 19th century, writer [[Branislav Nušić]] recorded that the [[Serb]] ''poturice'' (converts to Islam) of [[Orahovac]] began talking Albanian and marrying Albanian women.<ref name=RK/>
+When Dr [[Jovan Hadži Vasiljević]] (l. 1866-1948) visited Orahovac in [[World War I]], he could not distinguish [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Orthodox]] from [[Islamisation|Islamicized]] and Albanized Serbs.<ref name=RK/> They spoke [[Serbian language|Serbian]], wore the same costumes, but claimed [[Serbs|Serbian]], [[Albanians|Albanian]] or [[Turkish people|Turk]] ethnicity.<ref name=RK/> The Albanian ''starosedeoci'' (old urban families) were [[Slavic languages|Slavophone]]; they did not speak Albanian but a Slavic dialect (naš govor, ''Our language'') at home.<ref name=RK/>
+In the 1921 census the majority of Muslim Albanians of Orahovac were registered under the category "Serbs and Croats".<ref name=RK/>
+[[Mark Krasniqi]], the Kosovo Albanian [[ethnographer]], recalled in 1957:<ref name=RK/> ''"During my own research, some of them told me that their tongue is similar to [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]] rather than Serbian (it is clear that they want to dissociate themselves from everything Serbian<ref name=RK/>). It is likely they are the last remnants of what is now known in Serbian sources as 'Arnautaši', Islamicised and half-way Albanianised Slavs."''<ref name=RK/>
 == In the Republic of Macedonia ==