On the history of standard Albanian in the United States

By Victor A. Friedman* Without question, the two most important symbolic linguistic events in the twentieth century connected with the creation of the modern Albanian standard were the Congress of Manastir in 1908 and the Orthographic Congress of 1972. Both events marked significant moments in the unification of Albanian linguistic practice, and both had their repercussions outside of the Balkans in general, and in the United States in particular.  As is well known among Albanologists (but not the general public in the U.S.), the oldest continuously published Albanian-language newspaper is “Dielli” (ÔThe SunÕ) of Boston, which celebrated its ninetieth anniversary…