Albanian in a nutshell

The official language of Albania is Albanian. It is a language spoken by well over 6 million people, mostly in Albania and Serbia (Kosovo), but also elsewhere on the Balkans in parts where there is an Albanian population, as well as along the eastern coast of Italy and in Sicily, as well as by significant expatriate communities in Greece, Germany, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Australia, the United States, and others.

The Albanian language forms its own distinct branch of the Indo-European language family with no living close relatives. It uses the Latin alphabet as a writing system with the addition of the letters ç, ë, and several digraphs.

Tips on how to learn Albanian

Setting out to study Albanian may evoke memories of past attempts at learning a foreign language, be it in high school or college, with all the ensuing tedious memorization of words, and phrases, and grammar rules. For many, it appears that the results are not worth all the effort, and they soon abandon their dream of becoming more proficient in the language of their choice.

It is very important to know how to go about learn ing a foreign language, especially one that is quite different form English, such as Albanian. Every student has a different way of learning just as different proffesors have different ways of teaching. Nevertheless, there are a few rules of thumb one has to keep in mind:

Create a routine. Spend some time on the web at a set hour of the day (lunchtime, for instance), and review one of the language activities at Funky Albanian.

Set yourself a long-term goal, and also a short-term goal. If you have Albanian friends, then a short-term goal would be to think of visiting them this week and exchange a few phrases in Albanian. The long-term goal might be to learn the whole study material included in FunkyAlbanian and visit the country - there's so much to be explored. Without strong, well-defined goal, you will hardly have much motivation to study day in, day out.

You shouldn't worry too much about making mistakes. The ones who never make mistakes, never try to do anything, and that in itself is quite a mistake. It's normal to make mistakes while you are practising your growing knowledge of the language. Always have in mind that Albanians will be very pleased with your attempts to speak their language, and you will get closer to them, more so than other foreigners who do not try to learn at least a few phrases.

It is of utmost importance to read about the Albanian people, culture and history. The more you get to know the culture, the more your interest will be aroused, and the more motivation you will have to proceed with the Funky Albanian activities.

It is better to study for brief periods of time and more frequently than long and not often. Persistence pays off.

Studying lists of words and phrases is usually not the most favourite language activity. However, there is no learn ing without memorization. You have to learn those phrases by heart. There is a wonderful method you can employ in order to facilitate the memorization process. For every new Albanian phrase that you want to learn think of a ridiculous image that would make you recall the phrases. The trick is to always think of funny images. Emotions will help you more than pure logic when it comes to learn ing words and phrases.

Practice mentally. Think of the Albanian words for naming common objects you encounter in your daily life. Just put the words and phrases you're studying to mental practice, even if you are not in a Albanian-speaking environment; this will enormously help you to learn faster.