The Elifba alphabet ( sq, Elifbaja, from ota, الفبا, Elifbâ) was the main writing system for the

Albanian language Albanian ( endonym: or ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Europ ...

during the time of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

from 14th century to 1911. This Albanian variant of the

Abjad An abjad (, ar, أبجد; also abgad) is a writing system in which only consonants are represented, leaving vowel sounds to be inferred by the reader. This contrasts with other alphabets, which provide graphemes for both consonants and vowels ...

Ottoman was used to write the Albanian language. The last version of the ''Elifbaja shqip'' was invented by the

rilindas The Albanian National Awakening ( sq, Rilindja or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political and social movement in the Albanian history where th ...

Rexhep Voka Nuredin Rexhep Voka (1847 - 1917) was an Albanian alim, mufti, writer and a prominent activist of the Albanian National Awakening. Biography Rexhep Voka was born in 1847 in the village of Şipkovica, Tetovo. In 1868, Voka undertook religious stu ...

(1847-1917).

History

The Ottoman Turkish alphabet was mainly favored by Albanian

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, but also used by some

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

. After being especially used during the

Bejte The Bejtexhinj (in Albanian sing. ''bejtexhi'', pl. ''bejtexhinj''; from tr, beyte meaning "poem"), were popular bards of the Muslim tradition, literally meaning " couplet makers". It means the same in the Albanian literature, firstly muslim poe ...

poetry, a primer for the Albanian language in Arabic script was published in 1861 in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

by Mullah Daut Boriçi, a prominent member of the

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 ...

. During 1909 and 1910 there were movements by Albanian Young Turks supporters to adopt the Arabic alphabet, as they considered the Latin script to be un-Islamic. 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 ...

, Muslim clerics led a demonstration for the Arabic script, telling their congregations that using the Latin script would make them infidels. In 1911, the Young Turks dropped their opposition to the

Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and th ...

, and the current Latin alphabet for Albanian was adopted. In order to eliminate ambiguity in the pronunciation of the Arabic script,

developed a customized Arabic alphabet consisting of 44 consonants and vowels, which he published in 1911. However, it was hardly used anymore due to the

Congress of Manastir The Congress of Manastir ( sq, Kongresi i Manastirit) was an academic conference held in the city of Manastir (now Bitola) from November 14 to 22, 1908, with the goal of standardizing the Albanian alphabet. November 22 is now a commemorative da ...

. Tiranli Fazli then used this script to publish a thirty-two page grammar. Only one Albanian newspaper at the time ever appeared in Arabic script, and it lasted a brief period. Regardless of what script appeared, such material raised Albanian national consciousness.Robert Elsie: ''The Currents of Moslem and Bektash Writing in Albania (1850–1950).'' In: Albanian Catholic Bulletin. Band 15, 1994, S. 172–177, hier S. 176.

References

{{Arabic alphabets Ottoman Albania Writing systems Albanian scripts Arabic alphabets