Study aims to trace early Albanian language

A new research project is aiming to trace how the Albanian language was spoken in antiquity.

The study, funded by Switzerland’s national science foundation, brings together researchers working on the early history of Albanian.

The four-year project focuses on reconstructing what is known as proto-Albanian — the earlier form of the language before written records.

Researchers are using comparative methods, including analysis of old dialects and linguistic links with Greek, Latin and Romanian.

Albanian is considered a unique branch of the Indo-European language family, with limited early written evidence.

The project is expected to conclude later this year, with findings published in academic studies and a new linguistic database.