Arvanitika | |
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αρbε̰ρίσ̈τ arbërisht | |
Pronunciation | [aɾbəˈɾiʃt] |
Native to | Greece |
Region | Attica, Boeotia, South Euboea, Saronic Islands; Western Thrace; Peloponnese; some villages in NW of Greece; N of island of Andros; more than 500 villages in total[1] |
Ethnicity | 150,000 Arvanites (2000)[2] |
Native speakers | 50,000 (2007)[3] (may be republished older data) |
Dialects |
|
Greek (Arvanitic alphabet) Latin | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | aat |
Glottolog | arva1236 |
ELP | Arvanitika |
Linguasphere | 55-AAA-ae |
![]() Distribution of Albanian language dialects. | |
![]() Arvanitika is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Arvanitika (/ˌɑːrvəˈnɪtɪkə/;[4] Arvanitika: αρbε̰ρίσ̈τ, romanized: arbërisht; Greek: αρβανίτικα, romanized: arvanítika), also known as Arvanitic, is the variety of Albanian traditionally spoken by the Arvanites, a population group in Greece. Arvanitika was brought to southern Greece during the late Middle Ages by Albanian settlers who moved south from their homeland in present-day Albania in several waves. The dialect preserves elements of medieval Albanian, while also being significantly influenced by the Greek language.[5][6] Arvanitika is today endangered, as its speakers have been shifting to the use of Greek and most younger members of the community no longer speak it.[7]