Xhuxhmaxhuxhat...???

Last weekend I was visiting a dear friend in Prishtina, Kosova, she was my first Albanian teacher in Prishtina in 2008.  Her daughter, Lidia, asked me to read her a book....Snow White and the Seven 
Dwarfs.  Of course the book was in Albanian and it was a challenge for me to read to her. I love to read books to children changing your voice to make it more exciting.  I was having trouble getting through some of the unfamiliar words....words like, xhuxhmaxhuxhat.   The thing that made me laugh is that Lidia...3 years old...was correcting my Albanian pronunciation of the words in the story.  I tried to skip a few words, my tongue was in knots already, and she corrected me. She knew the story very well.  Towards the end of the book, Agnesa, Lidia's mother came into the living room, and Lidia asked her to finish reading the book.  To be honest...I was relieved...I didn't think I could say, "xhuxhmaxhuxhat" one more time. 

So...are you curious how to pronounce it...???

"xhuxhmaxhuxhat"

xh=j in jaw
u=u in put
m=m in make
a=a in father
t=t in toy

stress the second syllable.  Good Luck!

oh yes...the word means "dwarfs" in this case.

Always an adventure, to have your Albanian pronunciation corrected by a 3 year old.  Still learning...