Kostandin Kristoforidhi
Kostandin Kristoforidhi NK | |
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Born | 22 May 1827 Elbasan, Ottoman Empire (now Albania) |
Died | 7 March 1895 (aged 67) |
Occupation | Translator, writer |
Citizenship | Ottoman |
Education | Zosimaia School, Malta Protestant College |
Period | 1846–1895 |
Notable works | Translation of the New Testament |
Signature | |
Kostandin Nelko (22 May 1827 – 7 March 1895), known as Kostandin Kristoforidhi,
Life
He was born in
He went to
He went to
Kristoforidhi became a member of the Central Committee for Defending Albanian Rights (founded 1877) which was a group of Albanian intelligentsia based in Istanbul advocating for the territorial integrity and unity of Albanian inhabited areas in the Ottoman Empire.[8] During the Great Eastern Crisis, Kristoforidhi criticized some League of Prizren notables and viewed their actions as being based on self interest, preservation of the sultan's power and "Muslim dominance" instead of the national interest.[9]
He viewed the development of the Albanian language as important for the preservation of the Albanian people and devoted much of his lifetime toward studying and recording the language by traveling throughout Albania to collect material.[7] The result of those endeavours was his most important work, The Dictionary of the Albanian Language (Greek: Λεξικόν της Αλβανικής Γλώσσης) – (Albanian: Fjalori i Gjuhës Shqipe), was published[6][10] in Athens, Greece, in 1904, 25 years after it had been drafted by Kristoforidhi and after his death. It was written in Greek.[11]
He knew Albanian (Tosk and Gheg dialects), Greek, Latin, Hebrew, English, Italian, Turkish, Bulgarian, Arabic, French and German.[citation needed]
Works
- Historia e shkronjësë shënjtëruarë. (1872)
- Λεξικὸν τῆς ἀλβανικῆς γλώσσης Lexikon tēs albanikēs glōssēs (Greek-Albanian Dictionary)
- Γραμματική τῆς γλώσσης κατὰ τὴν τοσκικὴν διάλεκτον Grammatikē tēs glossēs kata tēn toskikēn dialekton (1882)
- Abetare. (ABC-Primer, Tosk1868)
Notes
- ^ The form Constantine Christophorides was used in the English language during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
References
- ^ Albanian literature in Greek script Archived 20 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Gawrych 2006, pp. 20–21.
- ISBN 978-1-78076-431-3. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
- ^ "Smyrna Station". The Gospel in Turkey: Being the Third Annual Report of the Turkish Missions-Aid Society: 20–21. 1857.
- ^ Lloshi pp.14–15
- ^ ISBN 9781400847761.
- ^ a b Gawrych 2006, p. 20.
- ^ Gawrych 2006, p. 44.
- ^ Gawrych 2006, p. 69.
- ISBN 9781845112875.
- ^ Lloshi p. 9.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-99956-10-28-9
- Mann, Stuart: Albanian Literature: An Outline of Prose, Poetry, and Drama, London 1955.
- Gawrych, George W.: The Crescent and the Eagle: Ottoman Rule, Islam and the Albanians, 1874–1913, New York 2006.
- Lloshi, Xhevat (2008). Rreth Alfabetit te Shqipes. Logos. ISBN 9789989582684.
Further reading
- The New Testament of Kristoforidhi (1872 publication in gheg Albanian)
- The New Testament of Kristoforidhi (1872 publication in tosk Albanian)
- Genesis, translation of Kristoforidhi (1889 publication in tosk Albanian)
- Kostandin Kristoforidhi e la biblia Albanese. In: Besa. Nr. 193, Jg. 2007. S. 2–7.