Status and Proliferation of the Italian Language in Albania between the 15th and 18th Centuries - Some Elementary Considerations

Abstract

The Italian language has played a significant role in modern Albania. In particular during the period of isolation, Italian television was the main source of information and entertainment apart from the state-controlled media. However, even before the development of mass communication, Italian had an important influence in Albania, which is manifested in a large number of loanwords in Albanian. The following article attempts to answer the question of this influence and the proliferation of Italian in Albania in the early modern period. The main source are the visitation reports of the Catholic missionaries, which report on the mastery of Italian among the clergy in Albania. Language proficiency has always been very variable, although in the 18th century there was a decline in the level of proficiency among the Christian clergy, before in modern times, as mentioned above, Italian again became a language well mastered by the majority of the Albanian population.