An Indo-European language, generally regarded as the sole survivor of the Illyrian branch, today spoken by c. 5 million people, chiefly in Albania, where it is the official language, as well as in the Kosovo province in Yugoslavia, and parts of Greece, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Italy, and Bulgaria.
The earliest written remains date from the 15th century, and the modern standard language is based on the Tosk dialect (spoken mainly in the south). Albanian is spelt in the Latin alphabet consisting of 36 characters.
CLASSIFICATION = Indo-European family, SCRIPT = Latin
