Çezar Kurti
LEARN ALBANIAN
To my parents and my sister Bardha
MËSIMI I PARË - LESSON 1
THE LETTERS OF THE ALBANIAN ALPHABET AND THEIR PRONUNCIATION
The Albanian language uses the Latin alphabet. There are 36
letters that correspond to the 36 sounds (7 vowels and 29 consonants).
Unlike many European languages, Albanian words have no silent
letters and letters are only pronounced one way. The correct
pronunciation of the letters, therefore, provides the right
pronunciation of the words.
THE LETTERS OF THE ALBANIAN ALPHABET ARE:
a, b, c, ç, d, dh, e, ë, f, g, gj, h, i, j, k,
l, ll, m, n, nj, o, p, q, r, rr, s, sh, t, th, u, v, x, xh,
y, z, zh.
l. THE PRONUNCIATION OF VOWELS
The vowels a, e, ë, i, o, u, y are pronounced like their
English equivalents in the following words:
a - babà (father) - like a in father,
e - metàl (metal) - like e in metal,
ë - nënë (mother) - like u in nurse,
i - mirë (good)- like i in image,
o - opera (opera)- like o in north,
u - frut (fruit) - like oo in food,
y - i dytë (second) - like u in excuse (french pronunciation)
2. THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE CONSONANTS
The consonants b, c, ç, d, dh, f, g, gj, h, j, k, l,
ll, m, n, nj, p, q, r,
rr, s, sh, t, th, v, x, xh, z , zh in most cases are pronounced
like their English equivalents in these words:
b - babà (father) - like b in ballad,
c - cigàre (cigarette) - like ts in tsar,
ç - çaj (tea) - like ch in much,
d - dàjë (uncle) - like d in detail,
dh - dhòmë (room) - like th in their,
f - fabrìkë (factory) - like f in false,
g - gur (stone), - like g in game,
gj - gjùhë (language) - there is no sound like
this in English, but you can pronounce it like gi in give.
h - hàrtë (map) - like h in hard,
j - jètë (life) - like y in yacht,
k - karvàn (convoy) - like c in camera,
l - legjèndë (legend) - like l in liver,
ll - llotarì (lottery) - like ll in hill,
m - mamà (mother) - like m in match,
n - normàl (normaly) - like n in nurse,
nj - njerì (men) - like ni- or ny- in onion or canyon,
p - partì (party) - like p in partner,
q - qàrtë (clearly) - there is no sound like this
in English, but you can pronounce it like cky (kj) in stockyard
or ch in chair.
r - reaksiòn (reaction) - like r in robot,
rr - rròtë ( wheel) - like rr in "hurrah,"
s - sandàle (sandal) - like s in side,
sh - shkòllë (school) - like sh in shop,
t - titull (title) - like t in time,
th - thùa (nail) - like th in thief,
v - vèrë (summer) - like v in vague,
z - zèmër (heart) - like z in zenith,
zh - zhùrmë (noise) - like s in vision,
x - nxënës (pupil) - like z in zebra ,
xh - xhakètë (jacket) - like j in jolly.
Usually the accent falls on the next-to-the-last syllable and
remains unchangeable, for example: shkòllë (school),
zèmër (heart), jètë (life), tìtull
(title), vèrë (summer).
B. PËRSHËNDETJET - THE GREETINGS
We will begin with useful Albanian greetings and their English
equivalents. The most common greeting expression is Tungjatjeta
— Hello (literally, long life to you).
Here are other greetings:
Mirëmëngjes - Good morning!
Mirëdita - Good afternoon!
Ditën e mirë - Have a nice day!
Mirëmbrëma - Good evening!
Natën e mirë - Good night!
Mirupafshim - Good bye!
Lamtumirë - Farewell!
Si jeni? - How are you? How do you do?
Shumë mirë - Very well!
Falemnderit - Thank you!
Exercise 1.
Repeat these greetings: Tungjatjeta, Mirëdita etc.
Exercise 2.
Try to read this dialogue:
In the morning:
Zana Kodra - Mirëmëngjes, zoti Smith (Mr. Smith)
Xhon Smithi - Mirëmëngjes, zonjusha Kodra (Miss Kodra).
During the day:
Zana Kodra- Mirëdita, zoti Smith.
Xhon Smithi - Mirëdita, zonjusha Kodra.
Zana Kodra- Si jeni?
Xhon Smithi - Falemnderit, shumë mirë. Po ju si jeni?
Zana Kodra - Shumë mirë. Ditën e mirë,
zoti Smith.
Xhon Smithi - Ditën e mirë, zonjusha Kodra.
In the evening:
Zana Kodra - Mirëmbrëma, zoti Smith.
Xhon Smithi - Mirëmbrëma, zonjusha Kodra.
Zana Kodra - Si jeni, zoti Smith?
Xhon Smithi - Shumë mirë, falemnderit. Po ju si jeni?
Zana Kodra - Shumë mirë. Natën e mirë,
zoti Smith.
Xhon Smithi - Natën e mirë, zonjusha Kodra.
You can use these greetings any time of the day:
Zana Kodra - Tungjatjeta, zoti Smith.
Xhon Smithi - Tungjatjeta, zonjusha Kodra.
Zana Kodra - Mirupafshim, zoti Smith.
Xhon Smithi - Mirupafshim, zonjusha Kodra.
"Tungjatjeta" may be used instead of "Mirupafshim!"
(See you again!).
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