Youngsters in Albania have forgotten handwriting. Using social media and cellphones is the main reason. The phenomenon is mostly visible in schools.

“Social media influences, but also the usage of slangs. The vowel ‘ë’ has been forgotten. Children have difficulties with orthography and are problematic when it comes to understanding texts,” says literature teacher Marsida Jarani to Euronews Albania.

Another concerning element is the usage of foreign languages. Many Albanian words have been replaced with their English counterparts.

“Technology is good but it also has negative impacts, such as abbreviations or borrowing of foreign words. Whether we like it or not, children know English very well, but this is also influencing on the Albanian language. These are visible elements we see when they write essays,” the teacher further explains.

Below is a list of some of the most used abbreviations by the younger generation:

TKXH – TË KAM XHAN (I love you)

KLM – KALOFSH MIRË (Have a good time)

TLM – TË LUTEM (Please)

SHM – SHUMË (Very/ much)

FLM – FALEMINDERIT (Thank you)

CPB – ÇFARË PO BËN? (What are you doing?)

However, these abbreviations make no sense to older generations. Education experts request that more importance should be given to language learning in the entire educational system, in order to avoid the deformation of the Albanian language.