Gheg Albanian
| Gheg | |
|---|---|
| Region | Albania Kosovo[a] Republic of Macedonia Montenegro Preševo Valley, Serbia Turkey Western Europe USA Brazil[citation needed] |
Native speakers | 4,200,000 |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | aln |
| Linguasphere | to 55-AAA-aag 55-AAA-aaa to 55-AAA-aag |
Gheg (or Geg) is one of the two major varieties of Albanian. 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, Preševo Valley in Serbia, and Turkey[citation needed]. It is also spoken in parts of Sicily and southern Italy.[citation needed]
There are still some authors who write in the Gheg dialect. Gheg is used on television and in newspapers in Kosovo only.
Subdialects
Gheg has several subdialects, notably:
Southern Gheg
Northern Gheg
- Northwestern Gheg (Shkodër, Vermosh, Selcë, Vukël, Lëpushë, Nikç, Tamarë, Tuzi, Ulqin, Tivar, Plavë, Gucia, Pejë, Gjakovë, Prizren)[citation needed]
- Eastern Gheg (Peshkopi, Dibër, Tetovë, Gostivar, Velesi, Prilep)[citation needed]
- Northeastern Gheg (Shkupi, Kumanova, Kaçanik, Sharri, Gjilani, Preshevë, Bujanovc)[citation needed]
- Northern Gheg (Prishtinë, Mitrovicë), and former Albanian populated territories of Nish Sanjak (Nish, Vranjë, Toplicë).[citation needed]
Italian linguist Carlo Tagliavini puts the Gheg speech of Kosovo and Macedonia in "Eastern Geg".[2]
Phonology
Phonemic changes (assimilations), are frequent as dialectal features, but do not appear in the Albanian literary language which does only follow Tosk Albanian.[3]
Vowels
Oral
| IPA | Written as |
|---|---|
| [ə] | ë (nër) |
| [a] | a (dash) |
| [ɑ] | â (prâpë) |
| [ɒ] | ä (knäqët) |
| [e] | e (derë) |
| [ɛ] | ê (mênôj) |
| [i] | i (dritë) |
| [o] | o (kos) |
| [u] | u (kur) |
| [y] | y (shykyr) |
| [ɔ] | ô (dôrë) |
Nasalized
| IPA | Written as |
|---|---|
| [ĩ] | ĩ |
| [ɛ̃] | ẽ |
| [ɑ̃] | ã |
| [ɔ̃] | õ (some dialects) |
| [ỹ] | ỹ |
| [ũ] | ũ (hũna) |
Differences between dialects
| Standard | Toskësisht | Gegënisht | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shqipëri | Shqipëri | Shqypní | Albania |
| një | një | nji / njâ | one |
| nëntë | nëntë | nândë | nine |
| është | është | âsht / është | is |
| bëj | bëj | bâj | I do |
| emër | emër | êmën | name |
| pjekuri | pjekuri | pjekuri | mellowness |
| gjendje | gjëndje | gjëndje | state, condition |
| zog | zok | zog | bird |
| mbret | mbret | mbret/regj | king |
| për të punuar | për të punuar | për të punuë | to work |
| rërë | rërë | rânë | sand |
| qenë | qënë | qenë / kânë | to be |
| dëllinjë | enjë | bërshê | juniper |
| baltë | llum | lloq | mud |
| cimbidh | mashë | danë | fire-iron |
| mundem | mundem | mûj / mundem | I can |
| vend | vënd | ven / vend | place |
| dhelpër | dhelpër | skile/dhelpën | fox |
Annotations
References
- ^ a b Hinrichs, Uwe; Buttner, Uwe (1999). Handbuch der Sudosteuropa-Linguistik. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 285. ISBN 9783447039390. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
- ^ Carlo Tagliavini (1942), Le parlate albanesi di tipo Ghego orientale: Dardania e Macedonia nord-occidentale,
- ^ Camaj 1984, p. 4
Sources
- Martin Camaj (1984), Albanian grammar, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag
- Carlo Tagliavini (1942), Le parlate albanesi di tipo Ghego orientale: Dardania e Macedonia nord-occidentale,
