Gheg Albanian

Gheg Albanian, is an Albanian dialect spoken by the Ghegs in central and northern Albania, Kosovo, northwestern Macedonia and southeastern Montenegro. It is one of the two main Albanian dialects, the other being Tosk Albanian. It is considered to be the northern Albanian dialect, as opposed to Tosk. The dialects of Albanian are significantly different and are often not mutually intelligible. The Tosk dialect is spoken in the south of the country and has been significantly influenced by Greek and Italian, while Gheg is spoken in the north and has been influenced by Slavic languages. Gheg is also spoken in Kosovo, where it is the predominant Albanian dialect. Kosovo Albanians are predominantly Muslim, and the Gheg dialect is seen as the more "authentically" Albanian of the two dialects. The Albanian alphabet consists of 36 letters, including 6 vowels and 30 consonants. The writing system is based on the Latin alphabet but uses a number of additional letters, such as ç, ž, xh and q. Albanian is a fusional language, meaning that words are formed by combining root words and affixes. This can make Albanian difficult to learn for speakers of other languages, as there is often no one-to-one correspondence between Albanian words and words in other languages. Albanian is considered to be a difficult language for English speakers to learn, due in part to its complex grammar and unfamiliar sounds. However, with dedicated study, it is possible to learn Albanian and to become proficient in the language.