Once you get past the basics of Albanian, it’s important to start attempting more difficult vocabulary like colors, shapes, and rooms. Your search is over. Here’s our free guide to Albanian rooms. Albanian rooms are named similarly to English rooms/spaces. For example, hallway is ‘Koridor,’ and balcony is ‘Ballkoni.’ Even the word for room ‘dhome’ has a similar sound.
Albanian Rooms In The House
English | Albanian |
Room | Dhome |
Living room | Dhoma e ndenjes |
Bedroom | Dhoma e gjumit |
Dining room | Dhoma e ngrenjes |
Kitchen | Kuzhina |
Bathroom | Banje |
Hallway | Koridor |
Laundry room | Lavanderi |
Attic | Papafingo |
Basement | Bodrumi |
Closet | Banja |
Balcony | Ballkoni |
Albanian Architecture (Arkitektura E Shqipërisë) A Quick History
As an English person, you have to come to terms with the fact that the architecture of your city isn’t as diverse as places such as Istanbul or Rome. The U.K. is an island nation and was last successfully invaded in 1066.
I find the architecture of places like Albania much more interesting because of the number of different influences that built the nation. It has been inhabited(in no particular order) by the Byzantines, Venetians, Ottomans, Italians, Illyrians, Greek, Byzantines, and Romans throughout history.
The most vaunted buildings in the country are the Roman examples left behind in Durres, Tirana, and Burint.
On the other hand, many people also comment on the beauty of the buildings from the Byzantine period when a lot of castles and churches were built.
The most significant thing to happen to Albanian architecture in the last 100 years is undoubtedly the introduction of communism and the unique architectural style that ideology brought with it. However, it is tough to make a positive argument in favor of communist architecture. One of its central tenets was that the country had to be purified, and as a result, many ancient buildings were destroyed and replaced by concrete towers.
Still today, modern architecture is trying to recover from the scars of communist designers. There is a certain level of chaos just under the surface with a lot of unpaved areas as well as a bad air pollution problem. There are plans to change that, including a tram line and a new boulevard along with the former Tirana railway station. Of course, as with many new democracies, whether that happens and how fast remains to be seen.
Although much has been achieved, critics argue there is no clear vision of Tirana’s future.
What Does An Albanian House Look Like?
Of course, it very much depends on where you are. Tirana is a modern European city with modern European city-like apartments. If you go to certain wealthy districts in Tirana, you could just as easily be in Paris or London.
But that isn’t very interesting to talk about, so instead, we’re going to look at traditional Albanian houses that you’d tend to only see in rural areas. The most famous of which is known as kulla.
A kulla is a fortified tower house arising out of practical purposes. (Albania has fought a lot of wars, as you can tell by how many empires have left their mark there). They look like the guard towers you might find at an English castle, and often an entire family will inhabit the various rooms. The most famous is Zekate House in Gjirokastë, a particularly spacious location on a beautiful site. If I was going to give this grade a property it would definitely be an A grade!
There are four categories of kulla:
- Houses with fireplace (more urban).
- Houses with porch (more agricultural).
- Houses with balcony (more stylish and found mainly in Berat).
- Civic houses seem to have elements of some of the others but remain in their own category.
As the name suggests, all these houses were built for defensive purposes and contained small windows to prevent attack while also having shooting holes.
Learn Albanian With Ling
That was just a little taster of what you can look forward to if you decide to sign up and learn Albanian with Ling.
My advice is to supplement any learning you do on the app with our Albanian blog. The blog’s topics are related to the contents of the lessons you will study. So far, some of our most popular blogs have been our Albanian dating guide and Albanian wedding traditions. If you’re looking for food ideas, check out our list of Albanian food.
The blog and the app should be the base from which you scaffold the rest of your learning. Although our chatbot is excellent, and you can practice speaking Albanian with our A.I., I’d also recommend getting at least 1hr of speaking practice per week with an Albanian teacher.
N.B. Ling is currently developing Ling Live for Thai learners and is looking to expand into other languages in the future.
Don’t forget to check out your position on the leaderboard as well. Although you shouldn’t fastidiously compare yourself to others, it does give you an indication of where you’re at with your learning and what you can do to progress.
Your feedback is vital for us over here at Simya Solutions. We want our apps to be as helpful and fluid as possible. And the way we do that here is by hearing what you think of our products. Please get in touch with us below and tell us what you like and don’t like about our blog and app.
Until the next time. Happy learning.