The origin of the Albanians has long been a matter of dispute among historians. Little is known about the ancient Balkan people, and they blended into one another in Thraco-Illyrian and Daco-Thracian contact zones even in antiquity. read more
Albanian underwent a very important period of Latin influence (2nd Century bC-5th Century AD), divided in three layers; another of South Slavic influence (7th to 9th Centuries): notable is the fact that many Slavic loanwords have a weaker meaning in Albanian than they have in Slavic languages (gropë(a), meaning hole in Albanian and grave in Slavic languages; trup(i), Al. read more
1 502,546 Albanian citizens, an additional 43,751 Kosovo Albanians and 260,000 Arbëreshë people. 2 Albanians are not recognized as a minority in Turkey. However approximately 500,000 people are reported to profess an Albanian identity. read more