Kostandin Nelko (22 May 1827 – 7 March 1895), known as Kostandin Kristoforidhi, was an Albanian translator and scholar. He is mostly known for having translated the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

into Albanian for the first time in the Gheg Albanian dialect in 1872. He also provided a translation in Tosk Albanian in 1879 thereby improving the 1823 tosk version of Vangjel Meksi. By providing translation in both dialects, he has the merit of founding the basis of the unification of both dialects into a national language.

Life

He was born in

Elbasan Elbasan ( ; sq-definite, Elbasani ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in central ...

and from 1847 studied at the Zosimea Greek college in Yanya (modern Ioannina), where he became friends with

Johann Georg von Hahn Johann Georg von Hahn (11 July 1811 – 23 September 1869) was an Austrian and later Austro-Hungarian diplomat, philologist and specialist in Albanian history, language and culture. Hahn was born in Frankfurt am Main. In 1847, he was named Aust ...

by helping him learn Albanian and write a German-Albanian dictionary. In 1856 or 1857 he joined a Protestant church in Izmir after his conversion to Protestantism, thus becoming the first known Albanian Protestant. He went to

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

in 1857, and drafted a ''Memorandum for the Albanian language''. He stayed in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

until 1860 in a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

, finishing the translation of ''

The New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

'' in the

Tosk Tosk ( sq-definite, toskërishtja) is the southern group of dialects of the Albanian language, spoken by the ethnographic group known as Tosks. The line of demarcation between Tosk and Gheg (the northern variety) is the Shkumbin River. Tosk is t ...

and

Gheg Gheg (also spelled Geg; Gheg Albanian: ''gegnishtja'', Standard sq, gegërishtja) is one of the two major varieties of Albanian, the other being Tosk. The geographic dividing line between the two varieties is the Shkumbin River, which winds ...

dialects. He was helped by Nikolla Serreqi from Shkodër with the

version of the Testament. Nikolla Serreqi was also the proponent for the use of the Latin alphabet, which had already been used by the early writers of the Albanian literature and Kristoforidhi embraced the idea of a Latin alphabet. He went to

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

, where he worked as a teacher until 1865, when a representative of the British and Foreign Bible Society contracted him to work for the company to produce

Bible translations into Albanian The history of Bible translations into Albanian can be divided into early and modern translations. Early Translations (Albanian Renaissance Translations) The Buzuku Translations, 1554-1555 Albanian priest Gjon Buzuku translated selected Scriptu ...

. He published in 1866 the first

translation of the four

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

s and the Acts of the Apostles; for the many years to come, he continued his work, publishing in the

and

dialects ''The

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

'' (1868, 1869); ''The New Testament'' (1879, 1869), '' Genesis and Exodus'' (Tosk, 1880); '' Deuteronomy'' (Tosk, 1882); ''The Proverbs and the Book of Isaiah'' (Tosk, 1884). 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. During the Great Eastern Crisis, Kristoforidhi criticized some

League of Prizren The League of Prizren ( sq, Besëlidhja e Prizrenit), officially the League for the Defense of the Rights of the Albanian Nation ( sq, Lidhja për mbrojtjen e të drejtave te kombit Shqiptar), was an Albanian political organization which was offi ...

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. 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. The result of those endeavours was his most important work, ''The Dictionary of the Albanian Language'' ( gr, Λεξικόν της Αλβανικής Γλώσσης) – ( sq, Fjalori i Gjuhës Shqipe), was published in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

, in 1904, 25 years after it had been drafted by Kristoforidhi and after his death. It was written in Greek.Lloshi p. 9. He knew Albanian (Tosk and Gheg dialects), Greek, Latin, Hebrew, English, Italian, Turkish, Bulgarian, Arabic, French and German.

Works

*''Istoria e shkronjësë shënjtëruarë.'' (1872) * ''Lexikon tēs albanikēs glōssēs'' (Greek-Albanian Dictionary) * ''Grammatikē tēs glossēs kata tēn toskikēn dialekton'' (1882) *''Abetare.'' (ABC-Primer,

1867,

1868)

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Akademia e Shkencave e Shqipërisë (2008) (in Albanian), Fjalor Enciklopedik Shqiptar 2 (Albanian encyclopedia),

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

, * 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. *

Life

Works

Notes

References

Bibliography

Further reading