Gheg Albanian

Gheg
Spoken in	Albania, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia (Preševo Valley), Turkey, Western Europe, USA and Brazil
Native speakers	4,200,000  (date missing)
Language family	Indo-European Albanian Gheg
Language codes
ISO 639-3	aln
Linguasphere	55-AAA-aaa to 55-AAA-aag
This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.

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, parts of the Republic of Macedonia, Turkey and Montenegro (Albanian: Mali i Zi), and by the Albanians of southern Serbia (mostly the cities of Preševo, Bujanovac, and Medveđa), (Albanian: Preshevë, Bujanovc, Medvegjë). It is also spoken in parts of Sicily and southern Italy.

Contents 1 Subdialects 2 Phonology 2.1 Vowels 2.1.1 Oral 2.1.2 Nasalized 3 Differences between dialects 4 Gheg today 5 References 6 External links

Subdialects

Gheg has several subdialects, notably:

• Southern Geg spoken in Albania (Durrës, Elbasan, Tiranë) and western Macedonia^[1]
  • Central Gheg, a subdialect of southern Geg (Tiranë, Krujë, Burrel)
• Northwestern Gheg (Shkodër, Vermosh, Selcë, Vukël, Lëpushë, Nikç, Tamarë, Tuzi, Ulqin, Tivar, Plavë, Gucia, Pejë, Gjakovë, Prizren)
• Eastern Gheg (Peshkopi, Dibër, Tetovë, Gostivar, Velesi, Prilep)
• Northeastern Gheg (Shkupi, Kumanova, Kaçanik, Sharri, Gjilani, Preshevë, Bujanovc)
• Northern Gheg (Prishtinë, Mitrovicë), and former Albanian populated territories of Nish Sanjak (Nish, Vranjë, Toplicë).
• Preshevan Albanian (Preshevë, Bujanoc)

Phonology

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	Gegërisht	English
Shqipëri	Shqipëri	Shqypní	Albania
një	një	nji / njâ	one
nëntë	nëntë	nândë	nine
është	është	âsht / â	is
bëj	bëj	bâj	I do
emër	emër	êmën	name
pjekuri	pjekuri	pjekuni	mellowness
gjendje	gjëndje	gjêndje	state, condition
zog	zok	zog	bird
mbret	mbret	mret/regj	king
për të punuar	për të punuar	me punue	to work
rërë	rërë	rânë	sand
qenë	qënë	kjênë / kânë	to be
dëllinjë	enjë	bërshê	juniper
baltë	llum	lloq	mud
cimbidh	mashë	danë	fire-iron
mundem	mundem	mûj	I can
vend	vënd	ven	place
dhelpër	dhelpër	skile/dhelpën	fox

Gheg today

There are still some authors who write in the Gheg dialect. Gheg is used on television and in newspapers in Kosovo only.

References

External links

• ISO Documentation
• Albanian Etymology
• Old Latin
• Gheg Repartition