Gegërishte
The northern Albanian dialect group, spoken across northern Albania, Kosovo, and parts of North Macedonia and Montenegro. Distinguished by nasal vowels and the retention of older Albanian features.
Tosk Albanian
Also known as: Toskërishte, Standard Albanian basis
The southern Albanian dialect group, centred on Tirana and the south. The basis of the modern Albanian literary standard codified in 1972.
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Frequently asked questions
What language is Tosk Albanian?
Tosk Albanian is a dialect of the Albanian language.
Where is Tosk Albanian spoken?
Tosk Albanian is primarily spoken in Albania.
Which region is Tosk Albanian associated with?
Tosk Albanian is part of the Europe region on DialectAtlas.
Is Tosk Albanian known by other names?
Yes — Tosk Albanian is also referred to as Toskërishte, Standard Albanian basis.
What are the other dialects of Albanian?
Albanian also includes Gheg Albanian, Arbëresh. Each variety has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.
Other Albanian dialects
See on the atlas →Italo-Albanian
The Albanian variety of the Arbëreshë communities of southern Italy, descended from 15th-century settlers fleeing the Ottoman conquest. A medieval Tosk Albanian preserved through five centuries of relative isolation.
Nearby dialects
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The Western Macedonian dialect group around Lake Ohrid and Prespa. Provided much of the structural basis for the modern literary standard, especially in stress placement and verb morphology.
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The most recently codified BCMS national standard, declared official in Montenegro in 2007. Distinguished from Serbian by the recognition of two additional Montenegrin-specific letters and a number of lexical preferences.
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The Skopje-based standard of Macedonian, codified after the Second World War. Closely related to Bulgarian; written in Cyrillic with several letters unique to Macedonian.
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A Balkan Romani variety spoken widely across North Macedonia, Kosovo, southern Serbia, and Bulgaria.
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The Greek of southern Italy, spoken in two enclaves in Salento and Calabria. A direct descendant of the Magna Graecia varieties; one of the oldest continuously-spoken Greek varieties outside Greece.
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The northern Albanian dialect group, spoken across northern Albania, Kosovo, and parts of North Macedonia and Montenegro. Distinguished by nasal vowels and the retention of older Albanian features.