Editing Arvanites (section)

==Language use and language perception==
{{Main|Arvanitika}}
[[File:Apollon1.JPG|thumb|363x363px|Opening verses of a poem composed in Arvanitika, with Greek translation, honoring the marriage between [[Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna of Russia|Alexandra]] and Archduke Paul of Russia; 1889.]]

Arvanitika is a dialect of the [[Albanian language|Albanian]] language, sharing similar features primarily with other [[Tosk Albanian|Tosk]] varieties. The name ''Arvanítika'' and its native equivalent Arbërisht<ref>Misspelled as ''Arberichte'' in the ''Ethnologue'' report, and in some other sources based on that.</ref> are derived from the ethnonym ''Arvanites'', which in turn comes from the toponym Arbëna (Greek: Άρβανα), which in the [[Middle Ages]] referred to a region in what is today [[Albania]].<ref>Babiniotis 1998</ref> Its native equivalents (''Arbërorë, Arbëreshë'' and others) used to be the self-designation of Albanians in general.

While Arvanitika was commonly called ''Albanian'' in Greece until the 20th century, the wish of Arvanites to express their ethnic identification as Greeks has led to a stance of rejecting the identification of the language with [[Albanian language|Albanian]] as well.<ref name="greekhelsinki.gr">{{cite web|url=http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/english/reports/arvanites.html |publisher=greekhelsinki.gr |title=GHM 1995 |access-date=2017-03-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003100942/http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/english/reports/arvanites.html |archive-date=2016-10-03 }}</ref> In recent times, Arvanites had only very imprecise notions about how related or unrelated their language was to Albanian.<ref>Breu (1985: 424) and Tsitsipis (1983).</ref> Since Arvanitika is almost exclusively a spoken language, Arvanites also have no practical affiliation with the Standard Albanian language used in Albania, as they do not use this form in writing or in media. The question of linguistic closeness or distance between Arvanitika and Albanian has come to the forefront especially since the early 1990s, when a large number of Albanian immigrants began to enter Greece and came into contact with local Arvanitic communities.<ref>Botsi (2003), Athanassopoulou (2005).</ref>

Since the 1980s, there have been some organized efforts to preserve the cultural and linguistic heritage of Arvanites. The largest organisation promoting Arvanitika is the "Arvanitic League of Greece" ({{Lang|el|Αρβανίτικος Σύλλογος Ελλάδος}}).<ref name="arvasynel">{{cite web|url=http://www.arvasynel.gr |publisher=arvasynel.gr |title=Arvanitic League of Greece |access-date=2017-03-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415122214/http://www.arvasynel.gr/ |archive-date=2012-04-15 }}</ref>

Arvanitika is currently considered in danger of extinction due to it having no legal status in Greece. The language is also not available at any level of the educational system in Greece. Social changes, government policies, and public indifference have also contributed to the decline of the language.<ref name="books.google.com" />