Idriz Ajeti (26 June 1917 – 13 February 2019) was an Albanologist from

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

and one of the main researchers and authorities on the

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 ...

studies of post World War II. He was involved for a long period in the academic life of the

University of Pristina The University of Pristina () is a public university located in Pristina, Kosovo. It is the institution that emerged after the disestablishment of the University of Pristina (1969–1999) as a result of the Kosovo War. The inauguration ...

, and was a member of the

Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo The Kosova Academy of Sciences and Arts (, ) is the national academy of Kosovo. History and organization The Kosova Academy of Sciences and Arts is the highest institution of science and art in Kosova, with headquarters in Prishtina, establish ...

, serving as its chairman for seven years.Biography of Idriz Ajeti
ashak.org; accessed 22 September 2017.

Life

Ajeti was born on 26 June 1917 in the

Tupale Tupale ( sr-Cyrl, Тупале, ) is a village in Serbia. It is located in the Medveđa municipality, in the Jablanica District. According to the 2002 census, the town had a population of 725. Of these, 723 (99,72 %) were ethnic Albanians, and 2 ( ...

() village of the Upper Jablanica region in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

(modern

Medveđa Medveđa ( sr-Cyrl, Медвеђа, ; , ) is a town and municipality located in the Jablanica District of southern Serbia. As of the 2022 census, the municipality has a population of 6,360, while the town has a population of 2,993. Etymology The ...

municipality). He finished the

Serbian language Serbian (, ) is the standard language, standardized Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties, variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of ...

elementary school in the nearby Sijarinska Banja village which he finished by 1930, and high school studies in the Royal

Madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

in 1938. Ajeti registered in the

Romanistics Romance studies or Romance philology (; ; ; ; ; ; ) is an academic discipline that covers the study of the languages, literatures, and cultures of areas that speak Romance languages. Romance studies departments usually include the study of Span ...

branch of the Faculty of Philosophy of the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

, but finished his studies after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, precisely in 1949, graduating from the Faculty of Philosophy in the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

. From 1949–53 he taught

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

at a high school in

Pristina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...

; from 1953–60 he worked as

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

in the Albanology branch of the University of Belgrade. In 1958 he gave his dissertation thesis ''Zhvillimi historik i së folmes gege të shqiptarëve të Zarës së Dalmacisë'' (''Historical development of the

Gheg Gheg or Geg (Gheg Albanian: ''gegnisht'', Standard ) 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 its way through central Alba ...

dialect of the

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

''). In 1960 he received the academic title of

Docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...

, and in 1968 the

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

one, at the same time lecturing in Albanian Language and Literature in the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Pristina. He was one of the initiators of the '' Gjurmime Albanologjike'' ("Albanological Reconnaissance") scientific magazine. Another achievement was the establishment of the

Albanian culture Albanian culture or the culture of Albanians ( ) is a term that embodies the Albanian art, artistic, Albanian cuisine, culinary, Albanian literature, literary, Music of Albania, musical, Politics of Albania, political and Traditions of Albania, ...

seminary for the foreign albanologists. During 1969–71, Ajeti served as Director of the Albanological Institute, during 1971–73 as

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of Faculty of Philosophy in

, and during 1973–75 as rector of the University of Pristina. He was also Chairman of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo during 1979–81, and 1996–99. He participated in the Orthography Congress of 1972 in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, 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 ov ...

, where the standard orthographic rules of the Albanian language were defined, and was a signatory. He has received several acknowledgments and honors, between others "7 July" award of the

SR Serbia The Socialist Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Социјалистичка Република Србија, Socijalistička Republika Srbija), previously known as the People's Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / " ...

and the

AVNOJ The Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia,; ; commonly abbreviated as the AVNOJ, was a deliberative and legislative body that was established in Bihać, Yugoslavia, in November 1942. It was established by Josip Broz ...

one.

Work

Ajeti's work concentrated on the research on the Albanian language dialects from the

diachronic Synchrony and diachrony are two complementary viewpoints in linguistic analysis. A ''synchronic'' approach - from ,("together") + ,("time") - considers a language at a moment in time without taking its history into account. In contrast, a ''diac ...

point of view, old linguistic documents written in

Ottoman Alphabet The Ottoman Turkish alphabet () is a version of the Perso-Arabic script used to write Ottoman Turkish for over 600 years until 1928, when it was replaced by the Latin-based modern Turkish alphabet. Though Ottoman Turkish was primarily written ...

, and reciprocal Albania-Serbian relations. He also touched topics on nowadays Albanian language, being an initiator and contributor to many linguistic consults and symposiums. He also co-authored Albanian language and literature

textbooks A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions, but also of learners ( ...

for high school and college students.

Main publications

Books * ''Pamje historike e ligjërimit shqip të Gjakovës në fillim të shekullit XIX'' ("Historical view of the Albanian speaking in

Gjakova Gjakova or Đakovica, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the sixth largest city of Kosovo and seat of the Gjakova Municipality and the District of Gjakova, Gjakova District. According to the 2024 census, the municipality of Gjakov ...

at beginning of the 19th century"), Pristina: "Rilindja", 1960. * ''Istorijski razvitak gegijskog govora Arbanasa kod Zadar'' ("Historical development of the

dialect of the Albanians of

"), Sarajevo: Balkanološki institut Naučnog društva BiH, 1961. * ''Hymje në historinë e gjuhës shqipe'' ("Introduction to the history of the Albanian language"), Pristina: Fakulteti Filozofik i Prishtinës, Katedra albanologjike, 1963. * ''Ortografia e gjuhës shqipe'' ("Orthography of the Albanian language"), as co-author with Sulejman Drini, Hasan Vokshi, Mehdi Bardhi, and Latif Mulaku,

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

: Entity of textbooks publishing of the SR Serbia, 1964. * ''Hymje në historinë e gjuhës shqipe'' ("Introduction to the history of the Albanian language"), II edition, Pristina: Fakulteti Filozofik i Prishtinës, Katedra Albanologjike, 1965. * ''Historia e gjuhës shqipe (Morfologjia historike)'' ("The history of the Albanian language

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

]"), Pristina, 1969. * ''Probleme të historisë së gjuhës shqipe'' ("Issues on the history of the Albanian language"), as editor, Pristina: "Rilindja", 1971. * ''Studije iz istorije albanskog jezika I'' ("Linguistic studies on the Albanian language I"), Pristina: ASHAK, 1982. * ''Historia e gjuhës shqipe (morfologjia historike)'' ("The history of the Albanian language istorical morphology), II edition, Pristina: Enti i Teksteve dhe i Mjeteve Mësimore, 1983. * ''Studime gjuhësore në fushë të shqipes II'' ("Linguistic studies on the Albanian language II"), Pristina: "Rilindja", 1985. * ''Studime gjuhësore në fushë të shqipes III'' ("Linguistic studies on the Albanian language III"), Pristina: "Rilindja", 1985. * ''Studime gjuhësore në fushë të shqipes IV'' ("Linguistic studies on the Albanian language IV"), Pristina: "Rilindja", 1989. * ''Shqiptarët dhe gjuha e tyre'' ("Albanians and their language"), Pristina:A SHAK – special editions, 1994. * ''Për të vërtetën shkencore'' ("For the scientific truth"), Pristina: ASHAK, 2006. * ''Pararendësi'' ("The precursor"), Pristina: "Botimet Koha", 2011. His work was recently collected in 5 volumes and published by the Academy of Sciences of Kosovo (ASHAK) in Pristina: * ''Vepra 1'' (Work 1), 1997, of 175 pages. * ''Vepra 2'' (Work 2), 1998, of 303 pages. * ''Vepra 3'' (Work 3), 1998, of 301 pages. * ''Vepra 4'' (Work 4), 2001, of 294 pages. * ''Vepra 5'' (Work 5), 2002, of 288 pages. Textbooks and translations * ''Letërsia jugosllave'' ("Yugoslav literature"), dispense, Pristina 1947. * ''Libër leximi për klasën IV të shkollave fillore'' ("Reading textbook for the 4th grade of the elementary school"), as co-author with Stathi Kostari and Jani Gjinon, Pristina, 1948. * ''Nga letërsia shqipe'' ("From the Albanian literature"), as co-author with Hasan Vokshi and Mustafa Bakija, Pristina 1951. * ''Arkadije Gajdar, Timuri dhe çeta e tij'' ("

Arkady Gaidar Arkady Petrovich Gaidar (, born Golikov, ; – 26 October 1941) was a Russian literature, Russian Soviet writer, whose stories were very popular among Soviet children, and a Red Army commander.Arkady Gaidar. Biography. Timeline. Works by Arkady ...

, Timur, and his ''cheta''"), translation from

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...

together with Mustafa Bakija, Pristina 1951. * ''Nga proza jugosllave'' ("From the Yugoslav

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

"), co-author with Tajar Hatipi, Nebil Dino, Vehap Shita, and Mustafa Bakija, Pristina 1952. * ''Libër leximi për klasën V të shkollës tetëvjeçare'' ("Reading textbook for the 5th grade of the elementary school"), as co-author with Anton Çeta and Mustafa Bakija, Pristina 1954. * ''Libër për klasën V të shkollës tetëvjeçare'' ("Book for 5th grade of elementary school"), II edition, as co-author with Anton Çeta and Mustafa Bakija, Pristina 1955. * ''Ndodhinat e Nikoletin Bursaçit'' ("Adventures of Nikoletina Bursać") of

Branko Ćopić Branko Ćopić ( sr-Cyrl, Бранко Ћопић, ; 1 January 1915 – 26 March 1984) was a Yugoslav writer. He wrote poetry, short stories, and novels, and became famous for his stories for children and young adults, often set during World War ...

, translation from Serbo-Croatian, Pristina: "Milladin Popoviq", 1957. * ''Šiptarski u 30 lekcija za srpskohrvatskog čitaoca'' ("Albanian language in 30 lessons for the Serbo-Croatian readers"), as co-author with Dragutin Mićović, Pristina: "Jedinstvo", 1959. Ajeti has also written a vast number of scientific articles and

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ajeti, Idriz 1917 births 2019 deaths People from Medveđa Academic staff of the University of Pristina Kosovan albanologists Linguists from Kosovo Linguists from Yugoslavia Serbian–Albanian translators Yugoslav schoolteachers Yugoslav translators University of Belgrade alumni Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb alumni Serbian men centenarians Yugoslav Albanians Kosovo Albanians 20th-century Albanian translators Albanians in Serbia Kosovan translators Rectors of the University of Prishtina Albanian-language writers Participants in the Prishtina Albanological Seminar

Life

Work

Main publications

See also

References