Arvanites

Arvanites (Greek:Αρβανίτες, Arvanitika: Arbëreshë / Αρbε̰ρεσ̈ε̰ or Arbërorë) are a population group in Greece who traditionally speak Arvanitika, a dialect of the Albanian language. They settled in Greece during the late Middle Ages and were the dominant population element of some regions of the Peloponnese and Attica until the 19th century. Arvanites today self-identify as Greeks as the result of a process of assimilation, and do not consider themselves to belong to Albania or the Albanian nation. They call themselves Arvanites (in Greek) and Arbëror (in their language). The Arvanite communities in northwestern Greece call themselves Shqiptar (the same used by Albanians of Albania). Arvanitika is in a state of attrition due to language shift towards Greek and large-scale internal migration to the cities and subsequent intermingling of the population during the 20th century.