Albanian (Shqip) is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 5.5 million speakers in Albania and Kosovo, with recognized minority status in Montenegro, Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia and Romania.
Albanian is a language isolate, belonging to its own linguistic branch and sharing the common characteristics of Indo-European and Balkan Sprachbund languages.
The language is divided into two major dialects, Gheg spoken in northern Albania and Tosk spoken in the south. The standard language is based on the Tosk dialect.
