Albanian Orthography Congress
 | |
| Native name | Kongresi i Drejtshkrimit të Gjuhës Shqipe |
|---|---|
| Date | November 20–25, 1972 |
| Location | Tirana, People's Socialist Republic of Albania |
| Theme | One Nation, One Language |
| Cause | To establish a unified standard of written Albanian |
| Organised by | Institute of Linguistics and Literature |
| Participants | 87 |
| Outcome | The establishment of the Standardized Albanian language |
The Albanian Orthography Congress (
Background
The efforts of establishing unified orthographic rules for the Albanian language had started in 1916 with the
Event
The congress took place in Tirana from 20 to 25 November 1972. Its moto was "One nation, one language".
The standard established by the congress is still in place today with very few changes by other recent Albanian language-related conferences.[9]
Notable participants
The following list of notable participants were signatories of the decision adopted by the congress of the new orthographic standards:[6]
- Minister of Education and Culture of Albania.
- Androkli Kostallari, director of the Institute of Linguistics and Literature of Albania.
- Mahir Domi, linguist and pedagogue, head of the grammar and dialectologysections of the Institute of Linguistics and Literature.
- Eqerem Çabej, linguist and albanologist.
- Idriz Ajeti, dean of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Pristina.
- Albanian League of Writers and Artists.
- Aleks Buda, historian.
- Rexhep Qosja, director of the Albanological Institute of Pristina.
- Shaban Demiraj, member of the organizing commission, director of the Linguistics Catedra of the University of Tirana.
- Emil Lafe, linguist.
- Ali Abdihoxha, writer and director of the Naim Frashëri Publishing House
- Giuseppe Ferrari, theologian and priest of the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, pedagogue of the Albanian language in the University of Bari.
- Bedri Dedja, deputy Minister of Education and Culture of Albania.
- Dritëro Agolli, writer.
- Dhimitër (Miço) Samara, linguist of the Institute of Linguistics and Literature of Albania.
- Fatmir Gjata, writer.
- Isa Bajcinca, pedagogue of the Albanian language in the Faculty of Philosophy in Pristina.
- Ismail Kadare, writer.
- Jakov Xoxa, writer.
- Jorgo Bulo, historian of the Albanian literature from the Institute of Linguistics and Literature of Albania.
- Koço Bihiku, deputy Director of the Institute of Linguistics and Literature of Albania.
- Lasgush Poradeci, poet.
- Llazar Siliqi, poet.
- Osman Myderrizi, linguist and veteran teacher.
- University of Skopje, former editor-in-chiefof the Flaka e vëllazërimit (Flame of Brotherhood) newspaper, and editor-in-chief of the Jehona (Echo) newspaper in Skopje.
- Sterjo Spasse, writer.
- Shevqet Musaraj, writer.
- Xhevat Lloshi, linguist of the Institute of Linguistics and Literature of Albania.
- Zihni Sako, Director of the Institute of Folklore of Albania.
- Besim Bokshi, Director of the High Pedagogical Institute in Gjakova, Kosovo.[10]
Importance
The congress was a milestone event in the history of the Albanian language.[11] The unification of orthography was crucial for the identity of the Albanian language. It was considered a big success the encompassing of the Yugoslavia-based literature and press under the umbrella of the linguistic authorities of Tirana,[12] thus contributing in a stronger unified Albanian identity.
Criticism
Many other researchers and albanologists have reacted in favor of the congress's decisions, sending petitions to Prime Minister Edi Rama that the standard should not be revised.[13] Kristo Frashëri, Albania's main personality in the field of history, rejected any criticism. According to Frashëri, "the language is not a monopoly of the linguists, it belongs to all those who speak the language, the standard has incorporated many aspects of the Gheg dialect as well, and that two orthography standards would lead to two separate nations, just like Croats and Serbs".[14]
See also
References
- OCLC 22785544
- ^ OCLC 682895095
- ^ Rregullat e drejtshkrimit të shqipes : projekt
- ^ OCLC 8417661
- ]
- ^ a b c Kastriot Myftaraj (30 July 2012), Biografia e fshehur e delegatëve të Kongresit të Drejtshkrimit të vitit 1972 [The hidden biography of the delegates of the Congress of Orthography of 1972] (in Albanian), Telegraf, pp. 10–11, archived from the original on 12 July 2013
- OCLC 5436004
- ^ WorldCat - Drejtshkrimi i gjuhës shqipe
- ^ Seit Mancaku: Gjuha standarde i ka qëndruar kohës [Seit Mancaku: The standard language has resisted through time] (in Albanian), Koha TV, 2013-04-16,
...prof. Seit Mancakut, i cili mendon se "gjuha standarde e vendosur në Kongresin e Drejtshkrimit (më 1972), i ka qëndruar kohës"...41 vjet më pas, historianët dhe akademikët e gjuhës, janë përfshirë shpesh mbi debate, të cilat në thelb kanë në duhet të preket apo jo standardi i vendosur më 1972-in.
translated
[Prof. Seit Mancaku, who thinks that "the standard language established in the Orthography Congress resisted through time"...41 years later, historians and linguistics academics have been involved in debates, which in a nutshell deal with the decision if the standard established in 1972 should be touched or not.] - ^ Ndërron jetë akademik Besim Bokshi, varrimi të dielën në orën 17 [The academic Besim Bokshi died, the funeral on Sunday] (in Albanian), Koha, 2014-08-16, archived from the original on 2016-02-06, retrieved 2016-01-28
- ^ OCLC 6687185
- ISBN 9780810861886
- ^ Akademia e Shkencave: Nuk prekim bazat e shqipes standarte [Academy of Sciences: We won't touch the basis of the Albanian language standard] (in Albanian), Gazeta Panorama, 2014-05-06
- ^ Kristo Frashëri: Dy standarde na çojnë në 2 kombe, si serbët e kroatët [Kristo Frashëri: Two standards lead us to two nations, like Serbs and Croats] (in Albanian), Koha TV, 2014-05-05