Learn Albanian
with Ling

According to the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), Albanian is classified as a category III language, along with Hungarian, Polish, Ukrainian, Hindi, Tagalog, and Malay. Many Albanian language learners compare the language to learning Russian, Bosnian, or even Spanish due to its grammar rules on endings.

So, is Albanian hard to learn? It depends on who you ask. If you’re a native English speaker, Albanian might be more difficult, particularly because of how words are pronounced. But, no language is impossible to learn.

Here are some tips to help guide you along your Albanian language learning journey.

• Grammar: Albanian grammar is similar to its Balkan relatives. However, Albanian has noun and gender-specific endings equivalent to Romance languages. Make sure to learn the conjugation of verbs and the singular and plural forms of nouns.
• Vocabulary: Albanian uses several loan words from Latin and Romance languages. If you’re already familiar with Croatian, Serbian, or even Turkish, Albanian words will sound familiar to you.
• Speaking/Listening: Since Albanian has two main dialects, you need to know the difference in pronunciation. To help you out, take note of the differences in the vowels and consonants.
• Reading/Writing: The Albanian sentence structure is Subject-Verb-Object, similar to English, but some cases can also be Verb-Object-Subject.

Using immersive language learning apps like Ling can help you build the foundation you need to succeed. Within the very first lesson, you’ll learn Albanian vocabulary that you can use with locals.

For some, it’s the pronunciation, but for others, it’s the alphabet and sentence structure. Similar to Spanish, German, and Italian, Albanian has several different conjugations. It has five declensions and 6 cases: Nominative, Genetive, Accusative, Dative, Ablative, and Vocative.

If you’re already familiar with conjugating verbs and gendered endings, then Albanian grammar might not be such a challenge. But, for native English speakers, all the Albanian grammar rules can be overwhelming.

That’s why we’ve created a table to help you understand the similarities and differences between English and Albanian.

If you’re new to Albanian, don’t worry! As long as you make a consistent effort to practice the language, you’ll be able to learn specific plural endings of nouns and all the other grammar rules.

At least 7.5 million people speak Albanian worldwide, 6 million of which are native speakers in the Balkan areas. Given its millions of speakers, Albanian has such a rich background and history. The language is technically part of the Indo-European language family, but, interestingly, it has a separate branch all to itself. If you look closely, you’ll even notice that Albanian history has connections to Illyrians, Thracians, and Dacians.

The Albanian language has two principal dialects: Gheg and Tosk. Standard Albanian is based on Gheg and used in northern Albania. On the other hand, Tosk is a southern Albanian dialect with a history that dates back to Turkish Trace and Bulgarian.

Other countries that speak Albanian include Bosnia, Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Slovakia, Serbia, Croatia, and western Macedonia.

Albanian is a category III lanuguage, according to the FSI, which means that it will take the average learner at least 1100 hours to reach proficiency.

Of course, you can always enroll in an Albanian language class or intensive courses to help you master the language quicker, but there’s nothing better than being surrounded by and learning from native speakers.

If you can, traveling to Albania is the best way to learn the language, culture, and people. In a classroom, you can always revert to your native language if you get confused, but, in Albania, you’ll have to learn the dialects, the 19 vowels in Gheg, the 29 consonants in Tosk, and so much more.

Should you decide to self-learn, there are countless online courses and materials available nowadays, like the Ling app. If you’re looking for an app to learn Albanian, Ling provides comprehensive and interactive lessons to help you develop your speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills. All you have to do is download the app from the Play Store or App Store to get started!