ALBANIAN, GHEG: a language of Yugoslavia

The following is the entry for this language as it appeared in the 14th edition (2000).
It was superseded by the corresponding entry in the 15th edition (2005). See also the corresponding entry in the current edition of Ethnologue.

SIL code: ALS

ISO 639-1: sq

ISO 639-2(B): alb

ISO 639-2(T): sqi

Population	1,372,750 to 1,800,000 in Yugoslavia (1992). Ethnic Albanians are 90% of Kosovo's 2,000,000 people (1998 Los Angeles Times). Population total all countries 2,000,000 (1980 UBS).
Region	Kossovo-Metohija (Kosmet). Also spoken in Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, USA.
Alternate names	GEG
Classification	Indo-European, Albanian, Gheg.
Comments	Books are published in Gheg in Yugoslavia. Restrictions on Albanian at Kossovo's university since 1990. Not endangered. Speakers are called 'Kossovar' in Yugoslavia. Official language. Newspapers. Shiptars: Muslim. NT 1869-1990.

Also spoken in:

Albania

Language name	ALBANIAN, GHEG
Population	300,000 in Albania.
Alternate names	GEG, GHEG, SHOPNI, GUEGUE
Dialects	MANDRICA, SHIP (KOSOVE), SCUTARI, ELBASAN-TIRANA.
Comments	Speakers may be bilingual in Standard Albanian. Predominantly Muslim except in the northwest around Scutari and the Mirdita, which are RC. NT 1869-1990. See main entry under Yugoslavia.

Bulgaria

Language name	ALBANIAN, GHEG
Population	1,000 in Bulgaria (Newmark).
Comments	Not intelligible with Tosk Albanian. NT 1869-1990. See main entry under Yugoslavia.

Macedonia

Language name	ALBANIAN, GHEG
Population	242,250 in Macedonia (1992).
Alternate names	GEG
Comments	Shiptars: Sunni and Bektashi Muslim. NT 1869-1990. See main entry under Yugoslavia.