“Harsh, rough, like the powerful people who speak it, but also full of taste and charm, like the fruits and flowers of the mountain where it is spoken, the Albanian language – although impoverished by many centuries of immobility – is capable of expressing, with a wonderful sense, the nuances, the subtlest and keenest conceptions of human thought.”
This is the description of the prominent Albanian intellectual and writer for the Albanian language, Faik Konica, who, among other things, highlights the small number of words, but the possibility that through them, the concepts of human thoughts can be expressed.
Language is essential to the expression of culture. As a means of communicating values, beliefs and customs, it has an important social function and fosters feelings of identity and group solidarity. It is the means by which culture and its shared traditions and values can be transmitted and preserved.
“My son’s Albanian is much more advanced and it is a pleasure to explore the Albanian culture together with him,” Shpresa, whose son learns the Albanian language on the “Meso Shqip” platform, is quoted as saying.
But how much are the Albanians who live in the United States of America preserving the Albanian language?
In an interview for Atlantiku, from the Albanian school in Boston “Besa” they told about the dedication of the Albanians to learning the Albanian language and culture.
There are currently 60 students in this school, who continue their education in two places with the largest concentration of the Albanian community, Quincy and Peabody.
Therefore, from the management of this school, they told Atlantiku that the large participation of students in the learning process of the Albanian language proves that Albanians are preserving their identity.
“The large number of students we have in the Albanian school shows the desire of the parents for their children to learn and possess the native language and to be proud of the values and traditions offered by the Albanian culture,” they say to Atlantiku.
All students attending this school were born in America. Therefore, continuing education in Albanian schools is seen as a necessity to preserve the language.
According to them, Albanian parents are very interested in continuing the traditions.
“Albanian parents are very interested in the continuation of the Albanian language, traditions and culture in the new generation of their children, most of whom were born in America,” they say to Atlantiku.
The students are aged 4-12 years old, who, in addition to the language, also learn the Albanian dance.
In addition to this school, there are dozens of other educational institutions in America where the Albanian language is taught. The Albanian school “Alba Life”, the school “Meso Shqip”, the school in Texas – which opened for the first time this year, are just some of them.
