Society for the Publication of Albanian Letters ( sq, Shoqëri e të Shtypuri Shkronja Shqip) ( Arvanitika: Σ̈oκ̇ε̰ρι ε τε̰ Σ̈τυπȣρι Σ̈κρoν̇α Σ̈κ̇ιπ) was a patriotic organization of

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 ...

intellectuals, promoting publications in

, especially school texts, which were extremely important for the younger generation's education. It was founded on 12 October 1879 in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire.

History

The society was founded by elite members of the

Central Committee for Defending Albanian Rights The Central Committee for Defending Albanian Rights was formed in the city of Istanbul, Turkey, then Ottoman Empire on December 18, 1877, by an influential group of Albanian intellectuals, patriots, and politicians, such as Hasan Tahsini, Abdyl Fras ...

, led by Sami Frashëri,

Abdyl Frashëri Abdyl Dume bey Frashëri ( tr, Fraşerli Abdül Bey; 1 June 1839 – 23 October 1892) was an Ottoman Albanian civil servant, politician during the First Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire, and one of the first Albanian political ideologues ...

, and other Rilindas as

Jani Vreto Jani Vreto (14 January 1822 – 9 July 1900) was an Albanian writer, printer, publisher and important figure of the Albanian National Awakening. He was responsible for setting up and overseeing the work of the first Albanian printing house in Buc ...

Pandeli Sotiri Pandeli Sotiri (1842–1892) was an Albanian activist that acted as director of the first Albanian school of modern times in Korçë. Sotiri was one of the most important Rilindas figures that contributed in the propagation of the Albanian languag ...

, Koto Hoxhi,

Pashko Vasa Pashko is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Gramoz Pashko (1955–2006), Albanian economist and politician * Josif Pashko (1918–1963), Albanian politician * Walter Pashko (1930–2006), American painter See also * Pasco (di ...

, etc. Its members represented all Albanian territories and all religions. Not much is known on the discussions that took place during the seances, due to lack of ''

Procès-verbal Procès-verbal ( French ''procès'', process, Late Latin ''verbalis'', from ''verbum'', word) is a legal term with a number of meanings: In law *in Francophone countries, such as France, the term "procès-verbal" is frequently mentioned as "P.V." ...

s'' or specific '' memoirs'' on this event. All is known is that Hasan Tahsini proposed his own alphabet, a ''

sui generis ''Sui generis'' ( , ) is a Latin phrase that means "of its/their own kind", "in a class by itself", therefore "unique". A number of disciplines use the term to refer to unique entities. These include: * Biology, for species that do not fit in ...

'' one derived out of geometrical lines and even printed later in few pages, while the final alphabet was accepted that of Sami Frashëri based on Latin script with some enrichment. The pamphlet "Etudes sur l’Albanie et les Albanais", originally written in French and published in Istanbul in 1879 was one of the initial publications. Following the re-publication in French in Paris, the pamphlet was also published in English in London and in German in Berlin thanks to the Ottoman consul in Paris. The volume was later on translated into Albanian, Ottoman Turkish and Greek and finally into Arabic (1884) and Italian (1916).
In the summer of 1881,

opened in Bucharest the Romanian branch of the society. The Egyptian branch was founded by Spiro Dine from the town of Vithkuq near Korçë, in Shibin Al Kawm, during 1881 as well.
After its activities were banned, the society transferred in Bucharest were many publications in

were to follow in so called ''Instambul Alphabet'' (see Albanian Alphabet). It was there where the textbooks of Sami Frashëri, like ''Abetarja e Shkronjëtoreja'' - Grammatical Work, 1886, and ''Abetare e gjuhësë shqip'', 1886, etc. would come to life.
The society gave huge contribute to education in Albanian back in the days, and emphasized the need for a unified Albanian alphabet.

Founders

The list of founders as appears in the statute printed in A. Zelici's print shop:

Istanbul Alphabet

The society came out with the so-called

Istanbul Alphabet Society for the Publication of Albanian Letters ( sq, Shoqëri e të Shtypuri Shkronja Shqip) (Arvanitika: Σ̈oκ̇ε̰ρι ε τε̰ Σ̈τυπȣρι Σ̈κρoν̇α Σ̈κ̇ιπ) was a patriotic organization of Albanian intellectuals, promotin ...

( sq, Alfabeti i Stambollit), or "Frashëri" Alphabet in reference to Sami Frashëri, which was widely used by most of the Albanians for almost 30 years. It was one of the three candidate alphabets at the

Congress of Monastir 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 ...

in 1908. The standard Albanian alphabet was based on it, with few modifications injected from the ''Bashkimi'' Alphabet of

Gjergj Fishta Gjergj Fishta (; 23 October 187130 December 1940) was an Albanian Franciscan friar, poet, educator, politician, rilindas, translator and writer. He is regarded as one of the most influential Albanian writers of the 20th century due to his epic ...

's Union Society, reaching the form it still preserves today.

References

{{Authority control Albanian writers' organizations Albanian language 1879 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Organizations of the Albanian National Awakening