Language Pearls
The 17 Most Beautiful Words in My Mother Tongue, Albanian
Gems from the language of my soul
Read for free here.
I’ve always been fascinated by my mother tongue, Albanian. It’s like a puzzle that no one seems to be able to fully solve.
Our language is different. Unlike most of our neighbours, Albanian doesn’t fit neatly into any language family. Scholars propose that it descends from the ancient Illyrian language, once spoken in the Balkan region.
Unlike its Indo-European neighbours, Albanian has defied easy categorization. While it undoubtedly belongs to the Indo-European language family, uses the Latin alphabet, its unique characteristics set it apart.
Every time I am asked, “But to which language is it most similar to?” I show this picture of the Indo-European Family of Languages, where we are visibly on our own, at the very bottom of the tree.
Over the centuries, our language has been through a lot. We were ruled by the Romans, the Byzantines, the Ottomans, and even the Italians. Each of them left their mark on our words. You can hear…
