Panayotis Koupitoris ( el, Παναγιώτης Κουπιτώρης,

Arvanitika Arvanitika (; Arvanitika: , ; Greek: , ), also known as Arvanitic, is the variety of Albanian traditionally spoken by the Arvanites, a population group in Greece. Arvanitika is today endangered, as its speakers have been shifting to the use ...

: ''Panajot Kupitori'', 1821-1881) was a writer from the island of

Hydra Hydra generally refers to: * Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology * ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to: Astronomy * Hydra (constel ...

Biography

Koupitoris originated from the local

Arvanite Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a bilingual population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They traditionally speak Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded as settlers ...

population of

. He studied literature at the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

and was later principal of several secondary schools. He also organized a night school that taught in

. In 1879 Koupitoris purchased a printing press and, along with

Anastas Kullurioti Anastas Kullurioti or Anastasios Koulouriotis ( el, Αναστάσιος Κουλουριώτης; 1822–1887) was an Arvanite Albanian writer and nationalist figure in Greece. Biography Born in Salamis, Ottoman Greece of Arvanite descent, he s ...

, started the publication of the newspaper ''

The Voice of Albania ''The Voice of Albania'' is an Albanian television reality singing competition created by John de Mol and is part of ''The Voice'' franchise. It began airing on Top Channel on October 21, 2011 and ended after six seasons on May 19, 2017. Top C ...

'' ( sq, Zëri i Shqipërisë), Koupitoris is the author of the Greek-language ''Meletai peri tis glossis kai tou ethnous Alvanias'' ("Studies on the Albanian language and people"), published in Athens in 1879. He is also said to have published a

primer Primer may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Primer'' (film), a 2004 feature film written and directed by Shane Carruth * ''Primer'' (video), a documentary about the funk band Living Colour Literature * Primer (textbook), a t ...

of Albanian in 1879, and wrote an etymological Albanian dictionary, as yet unpublished.

His work and views

Panayotis Koupitoris was a lifelong researcher of the Albanian language and nation. In his book "''Αλβανικαί Μελέται ‐ Πραγματεία ιστορική και φιλολογική περί της γλώσσης και του έθνους των Αλβανών''" (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: Albanian Studies - An historical and literary essay about the Albanian nation and his language) in where he presents the core elements of his beliefs, after analyzing historically and literary the Albanian entity, concludes about the Albanian language that "''αναγκάζεται τις να κατατάξη αυτήν εις τον ελληνολατινικόν κλάδον και να ομολογήση ότι της αλβανικής γλώσσης το πλείστον μέρος εστίν ελληνικόν, πολύ δε και το λατινικόν, σμικρόν δε τι μέρος το γερμανικόν και ελάχιστον το κελτικόν''" (we have to classify it to the Greek-latin (linguistic) sector and to confess that the Albanian language is: mostly Greek, enough Latin, a little Germanic and at the minimum Celtic) p. 35. About the origin of the

Illyrians The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo ...

and their language which he believes they were a relative to the Albanian, nation, he concludes: "''Eκ των παρατεθειμένων συμπεραίνεται νομίζω ότι η ιλλυρική γλώσσα ην ουχί αλλότρια της ελληνικής, αλλά διάλεκτος αυτής απωτέρα των άλλων και οι Ιλλυριοί ελληνικόν φύλον''." (From the above-mentioned we can conclude that the Illyrian is not a foreign to the Greek language, but a dialect of this, farthest from others, and the Illyrians a Greek subgroup." (p.49). He also wrote a study about the pronouns of the Albanian dialect in Greece and an extended Latin-Greek lexicon.

Works

*Αλβανικαί μελέται: Πραγματεία ιστορική και φιλολογική περί της γλώσσης και του έθνους των Αλβανών. Υπό του Παναγιώτου Δ. Κουπιτώρη. Εν Αθήναις: Εκ του Τυπογραφείου του Μέλλοντος, 1879. (reprinted in 1979 by D. N. Karavioti) *Διατριβή περί της παρ' Αλβανοίς αντωνυμίας του τρίτου προσώπου: Κατά την διάλεκτον των εν Ελλάδι Αλβανών μάλιστα την των Υδραίων, υπό Παναγ. Δ. Κουπιτώρη. Εν Αθήναις: Τυπογραφείον "Ο Παλαμήδης", 1879. *Λεξικόν λατινοελληνικόν υπό Π. Κουπιτώρη. Αθήνησι: s. l., 1873. *Λόγοι επικήδειοι εκφωνηθέντες εν Σμύρνη και εν Χαλκίδι κατά την κηδείαν και την ανακομιδήν των λειψάνων του στρατηγού Νικολάου Κριεζώτου. Εν Αθήναις Αθ. Μαυρομμάτη, 1863. (contributor) *Λόγος πανηγυρικός περί της καθ' ημάς Εκκλησιαστικής Μουσικής: συνταχθείς κατ'εντολήν του Εν Αθήναις Εκκλησιαστικού Μουσικού συλλόγου και απαγγελθείς εν τη αιθούση αυτού τη Δ΄ Δεκεμβρίου 1874, πρώτη επετείω της συστάσεως αυτού υπό Π. Κουπιτώρη. 1876. *Πλάτωνος Κρίτων. Κείμενον, σχόλια και μετάφρασις χάριν των εις τα Γυμνάσια φοιτώντων νέων υπό Παναγ. Δ. Κουπιτώρη. Εν Αθήναις: Εκ του Τυπογραφείου της Φιλοκαλίας,1879.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koupitoris, Panayotis Arvanites 1821 births 1881 deaths 19th-century Albanian writers 19th-century male writers Albanian philologists Albanian writers People from Hydra (island)