It is common knowledge that Albanians are good at languages, mostly because out of necessity they have always committed serious efforts to learning some languages which they thought would promote their education and career chances in the future. Hence it is common for members of the young generation to be complimented on their fluent English, Italian or German with a slight difference from the old generation who devoted perhaps the same attention to Russian and French. The children of immigrants as well were noticed in the foreign schools because they were quite fast to adopt the language of their new country and even excel in their education, winning prizes and distinctions. With the new era of technology establishing English as the new universal modus of communication, the Albanian Ministry of Education has made it compulsory for all students to be instructed in it, hoping to make them more capable entries in the potential labor market. On the other side, Albania’s integration efforts mean that the aspiring EU employees will have to learn also some of the main languages of the EU such as French, German, Spanish or Italian. Scholarships and exchange opportunities in diverse countries have made even the most exotic languages appealing for young people.
However, if Albanians learned foreign languages the opposite virtually never happened. The rare foreigners that learned Albanian could be counted on one hand and they were mostly located in language departments abroad. That has changed gradually with the country opening up to the world. Now people who want to invest in Albania start taking language classes in between business meetings. Ibrahim Aktoz, manager of oil company Alpet was even judged as one of the three best speakers of Albanian from the international community by the magazine Klan. No wonder given his excellent diction and smooth vocabulary. Nevertheless, besides people who do it for work related purposes or to facilitate their lives in Tirana there is a small group of people with very different reasons, young students at the Faculty of Languages in the University of Tirana who take classes every morning in the difficult ‘language of the eagles.’ One of them, Anne Marte Fonkalsrud from Norway talked to Tirana Times about how this “peculiar die’ came to her on the first place and on the plans to make use of the language she are painstakingly trying to acquire:
How did you come up with the idea of learning Albanian?
I got to know the languages and cultures of the Balkans through Nansen Dialogue Network, which is an NGO working with peaceful dialogue and conflict resolution among the different ethnic groups of ex-Yugoslavia. Seminars are being held in Lillehammer, my hometown, and the project manager happens to be the father of my best friend. Throughout time, I have met with the seminar participants, and made friends with many, among them Albanians. After having traveled quite much to Macedonia and Kosovo, a desire to learn Albanian started to grow in me. Finally, this September, I could bark upon the travel through the unfamiliar and unpredictable landscape of the peculiar Albanian language!
How will Albanian language help you in the future? What plans do you have in regard to using it?
Whatever choices I make in regard to education, are based solely on my interests and desires. I am truly a nerd when it comes to languages, in the sense that I love studying their world; I can read a dictionary just for fun. What I am trying to say is that I started studying languages primarily because it is fun, not because it might be sensible. But it is of course doubtless that a person will benefit from holding a broad competence in language skills. In my regard, short term speaking, possibilities can probably be found in business and tourist sectors in Albania, translating between Norwegian and Albanian. My long term plan is to become a teacher of Norwegian as a Second Language, and I am very convinced that my knowledge of a second language’s structure and nature (Albanian) will make me a better teacher for those foreigners wanting to learn Norwegian.
What Albanian dish do you like best?
My favorites from the Albanian kitchen are fasule and byrek, made by the mother in my Albanian host family!
What are your impressions from Tirana?
The most striking about Tirana are the strong contrasts. You have fancy, shiny, fashionable shopping centers which communicate welfare, modernism, capitalism and money flow. Then you have the crippled beggar sitting outside asking for some fifty leke. You have big, black SUVs with shady windows roaming through the streets, and after them a poor guy riding his donkey. Tirana can be beautiful, and has a lot of potential, but it appears most of all as a noisy, polluted place with garbage floating everywhere.
How challenging is Albanian language?
Albanian language is quite a nut to crack! The extensive grammar is sometimes frustrating, sometimes fascinating. It is difficult to understand why those tribes in the olden times found it necessary to have 80 – something possessive pronouns! Why couldn’t they just say my sheep, your cow and her chicken in whatever case? Working with cases is challenging to me, as I barely have it in my mother tongue. When I write I manage, because then I have the time to think about what is direct object, what is indirect object etc, but speaking is a whole other matter, I guess it just demands a lot of practice! And please feel free to throw away this article ‘t맬 it is traumatizing me.
Are you having a good time in Albania?
It was quite hard in the beginning, when I didn’t know neither the city nor any people. And I have to admit, the older I get, the more problems I have to adapt. I am 25 years now, and starting to get quite comfortable and spoiled with being a Norwegian. Unfamiliar things don’t seem so exotic and fascinating as they did when I was 18. So, it was challenging to come to Albania knowing that I am going to live there for a year or so, when the living standards and people’s mentality differs so much from what I am used to. But now everything is going smoother. I hardly pay attention to lack of water or electricity cuts anymore. And I have got to know the city, I have found places that I like, and last, but not least, I have got to know many lovely people!
Could you share some impressions from the countries you have visited where Albanians live (Kosovo, Macedonia) and mention some of the differences that you have noticed between them and Albania?
I could mention many differences, both on the countries and on the people living there. Compared to Macedonia, I believe Albania has a longer distance to walk before reaching EU integration. Macedonia has fought corruption more successfully, and has in general a higher living standard; asphalted roads and constant water and electricity supply. Skopje also seems more clean and fresh than Tirana. I find it contradictory though, because Albania is richer in natural resources, and has a higher potential when it comes to tourism, since it has the coastline. Macedonia has even experienced turmoil and war-like situations, with conflict and tension between ethnic groups; factors that usually obstruct development. So you can’t help thinking the thought that it must be lack of political will that has left Albania with 17 years of so-called transition period. When it comes to Kosovo, I will only mention what I noticed from my last visit there, one month ago. I was sitting in a cafe, by the window, so I could see all the people passing by. And in one hour, all kinds of people could be seen; hip-hoppers, Rastafarians, rockers, posh people etc. It seems as if, at least Prishtina, has more subcultures, more diversity, a more liberal atmosphere than Tirana, where almost everyone seem mainstream to me.
Any suggestions for your faculty on how to improve the instruction in Albanian for other future students that will come?
I do understand that the conditions (lack of electricity) the university is working under give certain limitations, but for the moment speaking, Tirana University does not even have a web-site which mentions the course in Albanian for foreigners, which I am taking. There is no information whatsoever on this course, nowhere. Firstly, if an educational institution wants to act seriously, and attract more foreigners, the least that should be established is a well-functioning web-site. Secondly, there has to be an administration which works according to the necessary regulations, regulations that leave no doubt of what has to be done, and by whom it should be done. It is the university’s responsibility and plight to provide the students with whatever help of formal, practical character.
