Shaban Demiraj (1 January 1920 – 30 August 2014) was an Albanian albanologist, linguist, professor at the University of Tirana from 1972–1990, and chairman of the Academy of Sciences of Albania during the period of 1993–1997.

Life

Demiraj was born on 1 January 1920 in

Vlorë Vlorë ( ; ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, third most populous city of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surr ...

. Despite financial difficulties and the lack of academic institutions in Albania, he managed to study and learn

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

, and the major European languages. After completing his studies at the Madrasa of Tirana in 1939, he studied

Albanian language Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...

in the two-year curriculum Pedagogical Institute, branch of Albanian language and literature (1946–1948), and later in the High Pedagogical Institute (1954–1955). From 1948 to 1954, Demiraj worked as language and literature teacher in various high schools in

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in Southern Albania, southern Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë moun ...

and Tirana. In 1954, he started working as a lector in the same High Pedagogical Institute from where he graduated, and later in the University of Tirana (UT), holding that position until 1990. From 1962 to 1989, he was in charge of the Albanian language chair, and from 1962 to 1966, he served as deputy dean of the Faculty of History and

Philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

of the UT. Demiraj's areas of expertise were: the morphology of modern Albanian, Albanian historical

grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...

, the history of the Albanian writing (18th–19th centuries), and a special course on Balkan linguistics. In 1989, he became member of the Albanian Academy of Sciences, and was its chairman during 1993–97.Chairmen of the Academy of Sciences through the years (in Albanian)
Apart from his research publications, Demiraj also published many scientific articles inside Albania and abroad on topics as history of the Albanian language, grammar and

phonetics Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds or, in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians ...

, and Balkanology. He transcribed and adapted the work of Gabriele Dara ''Kënga e sprasme e Balës'' (The last song of Bala) in 1994. He also worked as a translator, having produced the Albanian edition of '' Martin Eden,'' a novel by

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

, in 1959.Biography of Shaban Demiraj
Albanian Academy of Sciences (in Albanian) Demiraj was part of the committee that organized the Orthography Congress of 1972, , where the orthographic rules of the Albanian language were standardized, and he was also a signatory to the orthography. He is the father of linguist Bardhyl Demiraj.

Work

Some of his main works include: * *''Çështje të sistemit emëror të gjuhës shqipe'' uestions of the noun system of the Albanian language Pristina: Pristina University Press, 1972. *''Gramatikë historike e gjuhës shqipe''. Tirana: Tirana University Press, 1986. ** German translation: Austrian Academy of Sciences. ''Historische Grammatik der albanischen Sprache''. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1993. *''Gjuha shqipe dhe historia e saj'' lbanian language and its history Tirana: Tirana University Press, 1988 ** Italian translation: ''La lingua albanese – origine, storia, strutture''. Rende: Centro Editoriale e Librario, Università degli Studi della Calabria, 1997. *''Gjuhësi ballkanike'' alkanic linguistics Skopje: Logos-A 1994 (in Albanian and Macedonian), republished in Tirana in 2004 *''Fonologjia historike e gjuhës shqipe'' (Historical phonology of the Albanian language), 1996 *''Prejardhja e Shqiptarëve në dritën e dëshmive të gjuhës shqipe'' (Origin of the Albanians in the light of the Albanian language testimonies), 1999, a second edition in English as ''The Origin of the Albanians (linguistically investigated)'', 2006 *''Eqrem Çabej'' (Eqrem Çabej), 1990 *''Epiri, Pellazgët, Etruskët dhe Shqiptarët'' (

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

, the Pelasgians, the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...

, and the Albanians), 2008. *''Gramatikë e gjuhës shqipe, vëll. I Morfologjia'' (Grammar of Albanian language, vol. I Morphology), 1976, other editions 1995, 2002, as editor and co-author.

Awards

*"Mësues i Popullit" (People's Teacher). *"Çmimi i Republikës i shkallës së parë" (First Grade Republic's Prize). *"Çmimi i Republikës i shkallës së dytë" (Second Grade Republic's Prize), twice. *"Mjeshtër i Madh i Punës" (Great Work Master) Order. * "Honorary Citizenship" from

municipality

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demiraj, Shaban 1920 births 2014 deaths Linguists from Albania Academic staff of the University of Tirana Albanian schoolteachers Albanian albanologists People from Vlorë Members of the Academy of Sciences of Albania English–Albanian translators Albanian lexicographers Albanian philologists 20th-century Albanian educators 20th-century Albanian translators Linguists of Indo-European languages

Life

Work

Awards

See also

References