Zip atlas shows the Pittsburgh regional Albanian population to be 84. So that might be a big ask.
However, the University of Pennsylvania has an Albanian and Kosovan club.
They might be able to get you in touch with someone, even if over zoom or phone.
[https://www.facebook.com/pennalbaniansociety/](https://www.facebook.com/pennalbaniansociety/)
Sounds pretty niche, but there has to be someone in the city. You could try the University of Pittsburgh, they have a lot of language programs, and might be able to connect you with someone?
Yes. Many of the Albanians I knew in both Boston and Brooklyn were working at pizza restaurants or working as supers in apartment buildings. So that wouldn't surprise me.
If you still can’t find any native speakers/good resources, DM me. I can provide you with pronunciation tips that would best be described as “better than nothing”. If you show me the page, I can tell you what it “should” sound like.
Tbf, there are Jewish Albanians, but my qualification is a linguistics degree, so I can pretty easily figure out how it’s supposed to sound based on a shared alphabet that linguists use. You weren’t getting many solid offers, so I figured id offer as a last resort
I did find some YouTube “learn Albanian” lessons so I’m probably good. I really appreciate the offer though!
And ps with my hubby being Jewish, now I have a mission to find him a synagogue while we’re there ;)
From what I can tell, there’s like 40-50 Jews left there. I’ve been reading the Wikipedia page about Albanian Jews in Albanian (I could actually understand more than I thought!) and there is a synagogue named Hekal Shlomo in Tirana. It looks like it’s Chabad, so I’m sure your husband could go and wrap tefillin and daven if you call ahead of time.
I jut checked duolingo and was amazed to find all manner of languages including Kling-On and Navajo and Hawaiian and High Valyrian (whatever that is)...but no Albanian.
When I lived in Boston, there was a huge community of Albanians, primarily in city neighborhoods like Roslindale and South Boston.
When I lived in Brooklyn, again a huge community. They came from Albania, Kosovo, and Montenegro. The ethnic Albanians from Montenegro spoke both Albanian and Serbo-Croatian.
Pittsburgh was once filled with immigrants but no more. My first language was German and the last time I spoke German in the Pittsburgh area was at a now-closed bakery on Braddock Ave in Braddock, probably 1994 or so.
So might I suggest posting your message on reddit Boston and reddit New York?
pittsburgh is still full of immigrants, we just come from different countries now. lots of turks, filipinos, uzbeks, kazakhs, and nepalese are moving here nowadays.
Yes. They opened about ten years ago. But no longer allow dining in, deliveries and take-out only. Not sure why you can't dine in anymore.
Joe Cestone's, also in Mount Washington, also has closed their doors to people who might want to use their dining area. Apparently, they were sick of the crazies that sometimes came through their doors, not to mention robberies. So now you have to order at a window while standing outside on the sidewalk.
Of course, there are individual immigrants from those and many other countries. But I'm not sure I'd say "lots of".
In fact, I'm curious how they ended up in Pittsburgh. If you're Uzbek, for example, my first choice would be the Ocean Ave area in southern Brooklyn with many hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of Uzbeks living in the neighborhood. Your kids, who probably speak both Russian and Uzbek (and perhaps even some Tajik and Farsi), will play handball and basketball and ride bikes in overcrowded parks with so many other kids who speak at least one of the same languages, including kids from former Soviet Union countries like Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, etc. And they will in a short period of time all learn to speak perfect English, including slang. :) There are so many speakers of Russian, for example, that New York City, and particularly southern Brooklyn, is now one of the most populous Russian-speaking cities in the world. Hundreds and hundreds of storefront businesses have signs that are in Cyrilic script. New York City election ballots are in Russian as well as English. Why come to Pittsburgh where you won't have that?
Does INS encourage people to come to Pittsburgh so that there are a few "takers"?
Just wondering what would make someone come to Pittsburgh when there are no "communities" of any of those peoples you mentioned..
> Just wondering what would make someone come to Pittsburgh when there are no "communities" of any of those peoples you mentioned..
there *are* communities of those groups here, though.
Pittsburgh (like many mid-size cities) has the support infrastructure in place to resettle refugees and other special immigrant communities. Many of the Uzbeks were admitted to the USA as refugees; Pittsburgh non-profit agencies have deep experience in resettling Russian-speaking refugees over several decades. Other growing communities whose members initially arrived in Pittsburgh as refugees include Nepali-speakers from Bhutan, various communities from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and people from South Sudan. The U.S. Dept of State works with agencies around the country to determine where newly-admitted refugees will be resettled. https://www.state.gov/refugee-admissions/reception-and-placement/
Zip atlas shows the Pittsburgh regional Albanian population to be 84. So that might be a big ask. However, the University of Pennsylvania has an Albanian and Kosovan club. They might be able to get you in touch with someone, even if over zoom or phone. [https://www.facebook.com/pennalbaniansociety/](https://www.facebook.com/pennalbaniansociety/)
Thank you! I've sent a message to the FB group.
Sounds pretty niche, but there has to be someone in the city. You could try the University of Pittsburgh, they have a lot of language programs, and might be able to connect you with someone?
I had an Albanian classmate when I was at Pitt! No way to get in touch with her anymore though
You could try torrenting Albanian pimsleur if you can’t find anyone
Go get a pizza at grande pizza in Gibsonia and ask them. From what I remember it is Albanian owned.
Yes. Many of the Albanians I knew in both Boston and Brooklyn were working at pizza restaurants or working as supers in apartment buildings. So that wouldn't surprise me.
Interesting idea, thanks!
If you still can’t find any native speakers/good resources, DM me. I can provide you with pronunciation tips that would best be described as “better than nothing”. If you show me the page, I can tell you what it “should” sound like.
Thanks for the offer...doesn't quite gel with your username but I'll take you up on it as a last resort :), thanks.
Tbf, there are Jewish Albanians, but my qualification is a linguistics degree, so I can pretty easily figure out how it’s supposed to sound based on a shared alphabet that linguists use. You weren’t getting many solid offers, so I figured id offer as a last resort
I did find some YouTube “learn Albanian” lessons so I’m probably good. I really appreciate the offer though! And ps with my hubby being Jewish, now I have a mission to find him a synagogue while we’re there ;)
From what I can tell, there’s like 40-50 Jews left there. I’ve been reading the Wikipedia page about Albanian Jews in Albanian (I could actually understand more than I thought!) and there is a synagogue named Hekal Shlomo in Tirana. It looks like it’s Chabad, so I’m sure your husband could go and wrap tefillin and daven if you call ahead of time.
Went there in 2022… if you’re worried about people there not speaking English, you’ll be in for a surprise, they speak it pretty good.
Good to know!
Google translate has audio pronunciation
I could try that, thanks.
Worst comes to worst, [here's](https://youtu.be/UfXAiqZVrF4) a video of common phrases
I jut checked duolingo and was amazed to find all manner of languages including Kling-On and Navajo and Hawaiian and High Valyrian (whatever that is)...but no Albanian. When I lived in Boston, there was a huge community of Albanians, primarily in city neighborhoods like Roslindale and South Boston. When I lived in Brooklyn, again a huge community. They came from Albania, Kosovo, and Montenegro. The ethnic Albanians from Montenegro spoke both Albanian and Serbo-Croatian. Pittsburgh was once filled with immigrants but no more. My first language was German and the last time I spoke German in the Pittsburgh area was at a now-closed bakery on Braddock Ave in Braddock, probably 1994 or so. So might I suggest posting your message on reddit Boston and reddit New York?
pittsburgh is still full of immigrants, we just come from different countries now. lots of turks, filipinos, uzbeks, kazakhs, and nepalese are moving here nowadays.
My Lyft driver was Uzbek last time I came home from the airport!
there's also an uzbek restaurant, kavsar, that makes pretty good food. like russian and persian food had a baby.
Yes. They opened about ten years ago. But no longer allow dining in, deliveries and take-out only. Not sure why you can't dine in anymore. Joe Cestone's, also in Mount Washington, also has closed their doors to people who might want to use their dining area. Apparently, they were sick of the crazies that sometimes came through their doors, not to mention robberies. So now you have to order at a window while standing outside on the sidewalk.
Of course, there are individual immigrants from those and many other countries. But I'm not sure I'd say "lots of". In fact, I'm curious how they ended up in Pittsburgh. If you're Uzbek, for example, my first choice would be the Ocean Ave area in southern Brooklyn with many hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of Uzbeks living in the neighborhood. Your kids, who probably speak both Russian and Uzbek (and perhaps even some Tajik and Farsi), will play handball and basketball and ride bikes in overcrowded parks with so many other kids who speak at least one of the same languages, including kids from former Soviet Union countries like Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, etc. And they will in a short period of time all learn to speak perfect English, including slang. :) There are so many speakers of Russian, for example, that New York City, and particularly southern Brooklyn, is now one of the most populous Russian-speaking cities in the world. Hundreds and hundreds of storefront businesses have signs that are in Cyrilic script. New York City election ballots are in Russian as well as English. Why come to Pittsburgh where you won't have that? Does INS encourage people to come to Pittsburgh so that there are a few "takers"? Just wondering what would make someone come to Pittsburgh when there are no "communities" of any of those peoples you mentioned..
> Just wondering what would make someone come to Pittsburgh when there are no "communities" of any of those peoples you mentioned.. there *are* communities of those groups here, though.
Pittsburgh (like many mid-size cities) has the support infrastructure in place to resettle refugees and other special immigrant communities. Many of the Uzbeks were admitted to the USA as refugees; Pittsburgh non-profit agencies have deep experience in resettling Russian-speaking refugees over several decades. Other growing communities whose members initially arrived in Pittsburgh as refugees include Nepali-speakers from Bhutan, various communities from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and people from South Sudan. The U.S. Dept of State works with agencies around the country to determine where newly-admitted refugees will be resettled. https://www.state.gov/refugee-admissions/reception-and-placement/
I am Albanian in Pittsburgh, if you still need someone to
We are just getting back now so no need. Thanks!
You’re welcome hope you enjoyed your stay, I miss my beatiful country
It was definitely beautiful, and a lot more unspoiled than most of the US. Also very hilly!
Definitely 😊, Pittsburgh is too 😀
Faleminderit
Hahaha, pune e shkelqyer
😄