Are you thinking of visiting Albania but you’re not sure if you’ll even be able to communicate? Do Albanians speak English? Don’t worry, we’ll examine exactly that in today’s post.
What language is spoken in Albania?
Albania is quite homogenous and so you won’t find too much variety in languages here, like you could in other Balkan countries. In fact, Albania is the nation with the fourth highest count of monolingual citizens. The official language of Albania is Albanian and nearly 99% of the population declare it their mother tongue.
There are two main dialects that you may encounter: Tosk, used in the south, and Gheg, for the north. As for other languages, almost 40% of the population (25-64 yo) can speak a foreign language of some kind – this is usually Italian, Greek, French, German and English. The largest three are English, Italian and Greek.
English in Albania
As for English, about 40% of the total population can speak it, though this percentage is, of course, higher in younger people. In 2006, a study showed that over 65% of the children could speak fluent/semi-fluent English. Interestingly, English was first taught in Albania around 1921 (as an initiative from the American Red Cross). After communists took over, though, English was pushed out in favour of Russian.
Beyond the statistics, will you be able to communicate with a waiter in English in Albania? Yes, most of the time you’ll be just fine. Service sectors usually focus on hiring English-speaking waiters and other staff, especially in the most popular establishments.
Can you get along in rural Albania in English? This might not be so easy, as older generations especially may not know English at all. As such, if you want to visit the countryside of Albania, you’ll have to put in a bit of effort to get to know the basics.
Italian in Albania
Interestingly, Italian is the best known foreign language in Albania, including older generations. And the interesting part comes from the fact that these Albanians didn’t learn Italian at school or from books, but rather through television. Albanians received Italian TV during the communist regime, and so many learned the language quite well. Though, to be fair, the older generations may have learnt it from school, as King Zog I issued a treatise on learning Italian in 1933.
If you don’t know anything in Albanian, we’d recommend you still learn at least the basic phrases, the local people will appreciate it and it won’t take you long at all to get a hang of it.
See also:
