Alternate Names: Arbëreshë
Dialects: Calabrian Albanian, Campo Marino Albanian, Central Mountain Albanian, Molise Albanian, Sicilian Albanian. Speakers say 4 Italian dialects not mutually inherently intelligible. Lexical similarity: 45% with Tosk Albanian ,. A member of macrolanguage Albanian ,.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 100,000 (Salminen 2007). Ethnic population: 260,000 (Stephens 1976).
Language Use: Strong position in some districts. Taught in some schools. No official status. Home. In some places there may be children learning the language but many stop using it at school age (Salminen 2007). Also use Italian [ita] and regional Italian varieties.
Language Development: Some literature. Bible portions: 1868–1869.
Writing System: Latin
Nation of Origin: Italy
Other Comments: Descendants of 15th century mercenaries and refugees from the Ottoman invasion. Christian.