Albanian Language Lessons PDF

November 2005 The Albanian Language/ Gjuha shqipe for Invitees Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 1 of 30  November 2005 Table of Contents 1. Information About Albanian p. 4 2. Albanian alphabet and soun...

November 2005 The Albanian Language/ Gjuha shqipe for Invitees Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 1 of 30  November 2005 Table of Contents 1. Information About Albanian p. 4 2. Albanian alphabet and sounds p. 5 3. Greetings p. 10 4. Useful phrases p. 11 5. Phrases containing adjectives p. 12 6. Other phrases p. 13 7. Phrases used in a restaurant p. 14 8. Directions p. 15 9. Drinks p. 16 10. Food p. 17 11. Fruits p. 18 12. Home items p. 19 13. Clothing p. 20 14. Colors p. 21 15. Places p. 22 16. Family relations p. 23 17. Numbers 1 - 20 p. 24 18. 10 – million p. 25 19. Months p. 26 20. Days of the Week p. 26 21. Saying welcome and responding p. 27 22. How are you? p. 27 23. Would you like a cigarette/coffee? p. 27 24. What’s your name? Where are you from? p. 27 25. Thanks for coming. Good bye. p. 27 26. Cheers! Bon appetite! p.28 27. Exercises p.29 Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 2 of 30  November 2005 The text accompanies the following audio tracks: AL_Albanian_Lesson_1.mp3 (Time: 1:53) (File Size: 1.73 MB) AL_Albanian_Lesson_2.mp3 (Time: 0:42) (File Size: 666 KB) AL_Albanian_Lesson_3.mp3 (Time: 1:38) (File Size: 1.49 MB) AL_Albanian_Lesson_4.mp3 (Time: 3:14) (File Size: 2.96 MB) AL_Albanian_Lesson_5.mp3 (Time: 2:02) (File Size: 1.86 MB) AL_Albanian_Lesson_6.mp3 (Time: 1:48) (File Size: 1.65 MB) AL_Albanian_Lesson_7.mp3 (Time: 1:47) (File Size: 1.64 MB) AL_Albanian_Lesson_8.mp3 (Time: 1:29) (File Size: 1.36 MB) AL_Albanian_Lesson_9.mp3 (Time: 1:28) (File Size: 1.35 MB) AL_Albanian_Lesson_10.mp3 (Time: 1:09) (File Size: 1.06 MB) AL_Albanian_Lesson_11.mp3 (Time: 1:00) (File Size: 938 KB) AL_Albanian_Lesson_12.mp3 (Time: 4:12) (File Size: 3.84 MB) AL_Albanian_Lesson_13.mp3 (Time: 1:34) (File Size: 1.44 MB) AL_Albanian_Lesson_14.mp3 (Time: 1:23) (File Size: 1.26 MB) AL_Albanian_Lesson_15.mp3 (Time: 1:53) (File Size: 1.73 MB) AL_Albanian_Lesson_16.mp3 (Time: 2:02) (File Size: 1.87 MB) AL_Albanian_Lesson_17.mp3 (Time: 2:24) (File Size: 2.20 MB) AL_Albanian_Lesson_18.mp3 (Time: 1:16) (File Size: 1.16 MB) AL_Albanian_Lesson_19.mp3 (Time: 1:29) (File Size: 1.36 MB) Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 3 of 30  November 2005 Information about Albanian The Albanian language belongs to the family of Indo-European languages. It is one of the oldest languages, yet different from the others. Albanian language seems to have kept its own features from very ancient times. The earliest text in Albanian known so far is the "Baptizing Formula", written in 1462. Historically, unified national literary Albanian can be traced to 1908, when the decision was made to accept the Latin alphabet. Since 1972, the unified literary language remains the only one used in Albania and Yugoslavia. Albanian language is spelled more or less phonetically. Each letter has a specific sound that doesn't change in the context, making its reading and writing rather easy. As a rule, Albanian spelling corresponds to the pronunciation of words quite directly. The alphabet has 36 letters, 29 consonants and 7 vowels. There are two main dialects, the Geg dialect in the North of Albania and the Tosk dialect in the South. In spite of the differences of the two main dialects, both spoken and written Albanian are understood by all Albanians. Education and mass media have facilitated this process. Today Albanian is spoken by about 10 million people around the world, 3.5 million in Albania, 3 million in Yugoslavia (Kosovo, Macedonian, Serb and Montenegro), over 1 million in Turkey, as well as large groups of Albanians in South Italy (known as Arbereshe), Greece, Europe, USA, Canada and Australia. Albanian is an inflected language, which means that grammatical endings play an indispensable role in the language grammatical system. Nouns can have either a feminine or masculine gender (the neutral gender isn’t very common) Depending on their role in the sentence (such as subject or object, nouns change their endings. The different roles they play are called cases. Albanian has five cases: Nominative (subject), Accusative (direct object), Dative (indirect object), Genitive (possession) and Ablative (nouns following prepositions). Nouns can be either definite or indefinite. This is marked by their ending rather than an article like the English the. Even names of people and places can be definite. The capital Tirana could then be literally translated as the Tiranë. Adjectives change depending on the gender, number, definiteness and case of the noun they follow. Instead of the pronouns (I work, you work, he she/it works, we work, you work, they work), verbs use endings (punoj, punon, punon, punojmë, punoni, punojnë). The pronouns exist (unë, ti, ai/ajo, ne, ju, ata/ato) but are used only for emphasis. Compared to the English 14, Albanian only has 8 tenses whose use is very similar to their English equivalents. Another prominent feature or Albanian is its clitics e/i and their forms which have many different functions. One of the language’s functions is the direct object pronoun: Unë e shoh. (I see it.) What may be confusing is that it is used even when the full object is there: Unë e shoh librin. (I see [it] the book.) Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 4 of 30  November 2005  Lesson 1: Albanian alphabet and sounds Albanian language has 36 letters, each presenting a different sound from the other. Nine letters are digraphs, which means they are written as a combination of two consonants but are considered to be a single letter. Sh, th, and others and are considered letters. Words beginning with them are listed separately in the dictionary. Letter Sound Similar English Example Meaning: sound Aa a father anije (ship) Bb b boy babai (father) Cc ts cats copë (piece) Çç t∫ charm çantë (bag) Dd d door derë (door) DH dh ð they dhomë (room) Ee ε estuary era (wind) Ëë ə around hëna (moon) Ff ƒ foot flamur (flag) Gg g ground goca (girl) GJ gj - -------- mëngjes (morning) Hh h hotel hotel (hotel) Ii i interest interesi (interest) Jj j yesterday jeta (life) Kk k come këmba (foot, leg) Ll l little lule (flower) LL ll L fall, call llampa (lamp) Mm m morning motër (sister) Nn n noon nëna (mother) NJ nj η new një (one) Oo o all, or ora (hour) Pp p party punë (work) Qq c ------- qeni (dog) Rr r remember radio (radio) RR rr R -------- kurrë (never) Ss s sister seminari (seminar) SH sh ∫ shall shumë (many) Tt t table tavolina (table) Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 5 of 30  November 2005 TH th θ thank you thoni (speak) Uu u cook, foot ura (bridge) Vv v very vera (wine) Xx dz -------- xixë (spark) XH xh d joke xhaxha (uncle) Yy y ------- ylli (star) Zz z zoo, zero zogu (bird) ZH zh pleasure zhurmë (noise)  Lesson 2: Difficult sounds in Albanian These pairs of sounds are particularly difficult and often wrongly interchangeably when used: r rr l ll kur (when) kurrë (never) pula (hen) pulla (stamp) xh gj q ç xhaxha (uncle) gjellë (soup) qen (dog) çelës (key) Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 6 of 30  November 2005 Sounds in Albanian Language (No Audio) Vowels Each of the vowels can be either short or long Case Name Phonetic Note symbol It is similar to the first vowel in English around when Ëë Ë short, and to the vowel of burn when long. [ə] për [pər] for hënë [hə: n] It is similar to the English sound in cut when it is Aa A short, or cart when it is long. [a] mal [mal] mountain zanë [za :n] fairy It is very similar to the English sound as in get, Ee e dead, set etc. In Albanian it also has a long [ε] counterpart. vesh [vε ∫] ear bletë [blε: t] bee It is similar to the English sound as in hit, or as in Ii i meet if it is long. [i] mik [mik] friend pikë [pi:k] point It is similar to the English hot when it is short, and Oo o thought when it is long. [o] sot [sot] today botë[bo: t] world It is similar to the English bush when short, and Uu u moon when long. [u] mbush[mbush] fill fushë[fu: ∫] field Consonants 1.The following consonants: b[b], ç[t∫], f[f], g[g], j[j], m[m], n[n], s[s], sh[∫], v[v], xh[d ], z[z], zh [ ] are like the initial English sounds in the following words: book, church, foot, goal, jet, moon, note, sheep, vowel, judgement, zipe and pleasure: bukë [bu:k] bread sa [sa] how ? çfarë [t∫ far] what? shikoj [∫ ikoj] to see Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 7 of 30  November 2005 fik [fik] fig vit [vit] year gisht [gi∫t] finger xhep [d εp] pocket jam [jam] to be zi [zi] black me [mε] with zhurmë [ u:rm] noise nesër [nεsər] tomorrow 2. p[p], t[t], d[d], k[k] are pronounced like their English counterparts but are not aspirated even when they are in an initial position. They are similar to p, t, d and k in pen, top, door and skin. penë [pεn] pen derë [dεr] door tani [tani] now kokë [ko:k] head 3. nj[η] is pronounced like the initial sounds in the English word new. njeri [ηεri] person 4. h[h]is very similar to the English as in head, heat, etc. humb [humb] lose 5. th[θ]and dh[ð]are similar to English in think and they, but in Albanian these two sounds tend to be more interdentally, that is, you put the tip of your tongue between teeth. thumb [θumb] sting dhe [ðε] and 6. c [ts] is pronounce by trying to produce at the same time the sound [t] and [s], whereas x [dz] is pronounced by trying to produce at the same time the sound [d]and[z] ca [tsa] some xixë [dzi:dz] spark 7. q [c] and gj [gj] are two consonants that do not exist in English. qaj [caj] cry gju [gju] knee 8. r[r] is a single trill, whereas rr [R] involves more than one trill. risk [risk] risk rregull [ReguL] order 9. l[l]is pronounced similarly to l in leaf or long, whereas ll[L]is more like the final sound in bill, hall, etc. lojë [lo:j] game lloj [Loj] kind Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 8 of 30  November 2005 Syllables and word stress According to the number of vowels, Albanian words may consist of one, two, three or more syllables. In the Albanian language the position of the word stress is not fixed. In some words the stress falls on the first syllable: Ti=you. In others, it falls on the last syllable: Parti- a = party. There are words with the stress falling on the middle syllable: Punë-a = work. It is advisable to pay attention to the stress when memorizing Albanian words. Word stress in Albanian is more emphatic than in English; the stressed syllable is articulated with much greater force than the unstressed one, therefore lengthened. In general, in Albanian the main stress falls on the last word of a phrase, on the last stem of a compound word, and on the last syllable of a polysyllabic word. Although this holds for the vast majority of words in Albanian, some of them do not obey this general principle. Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 9 of 30  November 2005  Lesson 3: Greetings Përshendetje Welcome! Mirë se vini! Hello! Përshëndetje Good morning! Mirëmëngjes! Good afternoon! Mirëdita! Good evening ! Mirëmbrëma! Good bye! Mirupafshim! Please! Ju lutem! Excuse me. Më falni Thank you (very much)! Faleminderit (shumë)! Yes Po No Jo Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 10 of 30  November 2005  Lesson 4: Useful phrases Shprehje të përdorshme Where are you from? Nga jeni ju? I am from the United States. Unë jam nga Amerika. I am American. Unë jam amerikan. Where do you live? Ku banoni ju? I live in... Unë banoj në… How are you? Si jeni ju? Fine, thanks! Mirë, faleminderit! What do you do? Cfarë pune bëni ju? I am a volunteer. Unë jam vullnetar. I speak only English. Unë flas vetëm anglisht. I don't speak Albanian. Unë nuk flas shqip. What time is it? Sa është ora? Please, speak more slowly. Flisni më ngadalë, ju lutem, Please, speak more loudly. Flisni me zë më të lartë,ju lutem. I understand… Unë kuptoj… I don't understand. Unë nuk kuptoj… Repeat it, please. Përsëriteni, ju lutem. Write it down, please. Shkruajeni, ju lutem. Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 11 of 30  November 2005  Lesson 5: Phrases containing Shprehje mbiemrore adjectives I am... Unë jam... hungry i/e uritur full i/e ngopur thirsty i/e etur busy i/e zënë free i/e lirë tired i/e lodhur sick i/e sëmurë thirsty i/e etur happy i/e lumtur sad i/e trishtuar glad i/e gëzuar, angry i/e zemëruar The prefix i is used when the speaker is a man and e is used for women. Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 12 of 30  November 2005  Lesson 6: Other phrases Shprehje të tjera I need help. (Unë) Dua ndihmë. Look out! Kujdes! Listen! Dëgjoni! Can you help me? Mund të më ndihmoni? Can you tell me? Mund të më tregoni? I am looking for... Po kërkoj... I want to go… Unë dua të shkoj… I know (Unë) E di. I don't know (Unë) Nuk e di. I think so. (Unë) Mendoj kështu. I don't think so. (Unë) Nuk mendoj kështu. I believe, yes. (Unë) Besoj se po. I don’t believe. (Unë) Nuk besoj. Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 13 of 30  November 2005  Lesson 7: Phrases used in a Shprehje të përdorura në restorant restaurant I want a coffee (Unë) Dua një kafe. I don't want... (Unë) Nuk dua... I want to eat. (Unë) Dua të ha. I want to drink (Unë) Dua të pi. I don't want to eat/drink (Unë) Nuk dua të ha/pi. I like it. Më pëlqen. I don’t like it. Nuk më pëlqen. This is good. Ky/kjo është e mirë. This is not good. Ky/kjo nuk është e mirë. How much is this? Sa kushton kjo? Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 14 of 30  November 2005  Lesson 8: Directions Drejtime Where is the…? Ku është…? On the left Në të majtë On the right Në të djathë Straight-ahead Drejt Near by Këtu afër Not far from here Jo larg nga këtu Above Sipër Down the village Poshtë fshatit Behind Prapa Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 15 of 30  November 2005  Lesson 9: Drinks Pije water ujë coffee kafe tea çaj milk qumësht juice, lemonade limonatë mineral water ujë mineral wine verë beer birrë raki raki Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 16 of 30  November 2005  Lesson 10: Food Ushqim sugar sheqer salt kripë bread bukë salad sallatë meat mish cheese djathë butter gjalpë egg vezë Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 17 of 30  November 2005  Lesson 11: Fruits Fruta grape rrush fig fik watermelon shalqi melon pjepër peach pjeshkë pear dardhë Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 18 of 30  November 2005  Lesson 12: Home items Artikuj shtëpiak glass gotë cup filxhan spoon lugë fork pirun knife thikë plate pjatë table tavolinë chair karrige door derë window dritare bed krevat bed sheet çarçaf blanket batanije pillow jastëk home shtëpi hotel hotel floor kat room dhomë bathroom banjë toilet banjë toilet paper letër higjenike soap sapun towel peshqir shampoo shampo kitchen guzhinë bedroom dhomë gjumi dining room / sitting room dhomë ngrënje / dhomë ndenje Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 19 of 30  November 2005  Lesson 13: Clothing Veshje pants pantallona blouse bluzë shirt këmishë dress fustan skirt fund shoes këpucë sandals sandale slippers shapka boots çizme jacket xhaketë coat pallto Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 20 of 30  November 2005  Lesson 14: Colors Ngjyra red i/e kuqe white i/e bardhë black i/e zezë yellow i/e verdhë green i/e gjelbër dark blue blu sky blue i/e kaltër grey gri brown kafe Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 21 of 30  November 2005  Lesson 15: Places Vende village fshat town qytet shop dyqan street rrugë building ndërtesë flat pallat library biblotekë restaurant restorant school shkollë student nxënës cultural palace pallati i kulturës municipality bashki commune komunë office zyrë Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 22 of 30  November 2005  Lesson 16: Family relations Lidhjet familjare mother nënë father baba sister motër brother vëlla daughter e bija son i biri grandmother gjyshja grandfather gjyshi niece mbesa nephew nipi mother-in-law vjehrra father-in-law vjehrri sister-in-law kunata brother-in-law kunati Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 23 of 30  November 2005  Lesson 17: Numbers 1 - 20 Numrat 1-20 0 zero 1 një 2 dy 3 tre 4 katër 5 pesë 6 gjashtë 7 shtatë 8 tetë 9 nëntë 10 dhjetë 11 njëmbëdhjetë 12 dymbëdhjetë 13 trembëdhjetë 14 katërmbëdhjetë 15 pesëmbëdhjetë 16 gjashtëmbëdhjetë 17 shtatëmbëdhjetë 18 tetëmbëdhjetë 19 nëntëmbëdhjetë 20 njëzetë Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 24 of 30  November 2005  Lesson 18: 10 - million 10 - million 10 dhjetë 20 njëzetë 30 tridhjetë 40 dyzetë 50 pesëdhjetë 60 gjashtdhjetë 70 shtatëdhjetë 80 tetëdjetë 90 nëntëdhjetë 100 një qind 1000 një mijë 1,000,000 milion Learning how to count in thousands is especially important because most people still give prices in the so called 'old Lekë' by adding one extra zero. Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 25 of 30  November 2005  Lesson 19: Months Muajt January Janar February Shkurt March Mars April Prill May Maj June Qershor July Korrik August Gusht September Shtator October Tetor November Nëntor December Dhjetor (No Audio) Days of the week Ditët e javës Monday E hënë Tuesday E martë Wednesday E mërkurë Thursday E enjte Friday E premte Saturday E shtunë Sunday E diel Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 26 of 30  November 2005 Dialogs (no audio) Saying welcome and responding Mira: Mirë se vini! Beni: Mirë se ju gjeta! How are you? Mira: Si jeni? Beni: Mirë ,faleminderit! Po ju? Mira: Mirë,faleminderit! Would you like a cigarette/coffee? Mira: Doni një cigare? Beni: Jo, faleminderit. Mira: Doni një kafe? Beni: Po, faleminderit. What’s your name? Where are you from? Beni: Unë quhem Mira: Nga jeni ju? Arben Marashi. Beni: Unë jam nga Lezha. Po ju si quheni? Po ju? Mira : Unë quhem Mira Mira: Unë jam nga Luca. Tirana,unë banoj në Tiranë. Thanks for coming. Good bye. Mira: Faleminderit që erdhët. Shpresoj të shihemi së shpejti. Beni: Mirupafshim! Mira: Mirupafshim! Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 27 of 30  November 2005 Cheers! Bon appetite! Gëzuar! Të bëftë mirë! Ju bëftë mirë! Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 28 of 30  November 2005 Exercises Choose the correct answer. 1. When someone greets you saying ‘Mirë se vini” what is the correct reply? a. Faleminderit b. Mirë se ju gjeta c. Mirupafshim 2. “Unë jam nga Amerika” is the correct reply to: a. Si jeni? b. Nga jeni ju? c. Doni nje kafe? 3. What would you like to drink? a. Rrush b. Gotë c. Ujë 4. Si jeni? a. Jo shumë mirë b. Mirë c. C'ka 5. What do you use to greet someone? a. Mirëmëngjes b. Mirëdita c. Mirëmbrëma Fill in the blanks. Phrases from the dialogue 1. Unë ________ John Smith. 2. Doni _____ kafe? 3. Unë_____ _____ Tirana. 4. ______, faleminderit! 5. Unë ______ në Tiranë. 6. ___________ që erdhët. 7. Të bëftë _____ ! 8. ___________ të shihemi së shpejti. Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 29 of 30  November 2005 Other important Phrases 1. Unë nuk _______ shqip. 2. Kjo ________ e mirë. 3. ____ kushton kjo? 4. Unë ______ vullnetar. 5. Flisni më ngadalë, ju ______. 6. Cfarë pune ______ ju? 7. Jo _____ nga këtu 8. Unë _____ të pi. Find the word that does not belong to the group: 1. Drinks a. Verë b. Qumësht c. Vezë 2. Clothes a. Fustan b. Fshat c. Këpucë 3. Fruits a. Shalqi b. Pjeshkë c. Gjalpë 4. Weekdays a. E hënë b. E enjte c. E kuqe Albanian for Invitees, Peace Corps/Albania Page 30 of 30