Gjergj Pekmezi (23 April 1872 – 24 February 1938) was an Albanian

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

, philosopher, folklorist and diplomat. In 1916, he became a member of the Literary Commission of Shkodër, which established the first standard form of 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 ...

Early life

Pekmezi was born in

Tushemisht Tushemisht is a settlement in the Korçë County, in southeastern Albania, located on the shores of Lake Ohrid. It was part of the former Buçimas municipality. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Pogradec. The v ...

Pogradec Pogradec () is the eleventh most populous city in Albania and the capital of the eponymous municipality. It is located on a narrow plain between two mountain chains along the southwestern banks of the Lake of Ohrid. Its climate is profoundly in ...

(modern day

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

). He began his initial studies in

Ohrid Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...

and Monastir, moving on to Belgrade from 1890 to 1894. He later graduated from the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

in philosophy and

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

in 1898. After his graduation, Pekmezi returned to Albania.

Career

In 1903, Pekmezi was elected to direct the Albanian language cathedra at the Oriental University of Vienna. He founded the cultural-patriotic society Dija (Knowledge) in 1904 with Hile Mosi, Kolë Rrota and other Albanian intellectuals. In the late Ottoman period,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

subsidized two of Pekmezi's works: ''Albanesische Bibliographie'' and ''Albanianische Grammatik''. During the autumn of 1913, Pekmezi worked for the border commission in southern Albania and in March 1914 was appointed ''dragoman'' (interpreter/secretary) at the new Austro–Hungarian mission in

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...

. In 1916, he was a leading member of the Albanian Literary Commission in Shkodër under the auspices of Austro–Hungary. In April 1917 he accompanied and facilitated the delegation of Albanian chieftains and leaders who visited Vienna and met with the Imperial authorities with an invitation by Ignaz Freiherr Trollmann. From 1920 to 1924 and 1926 to 1928, he served as Albanian consul in Austria. In 1924 he published a new edition of Thimi Mitko's ''Bleta Shqipëtare'' using the modern Albanian alphabet. Pekmezi's work became at that time the best-known edition of ''Bleta Shqipëtare''. From 1928 until his death, he taught Albanian at the

. The

Albanology Albanology, also known as Albanian studies, is an interdisciplinary branch of the humanities that addresses the language, costume, literature, art, culture and history of Albanians. Within the studies the scientific methods of literature, ling ...

branch of the University of Vienna bears his name. A high school located in Rruga Driloni, Pogradec, Albania is named Gjergj Pekmezi High School.

Work

Gjergj Pekmezi was the author of: *''Vorläufiger Bericht über das Studium des albanesischen Dialekts von Elbasan (Preliminary Report on the Study of the Albanian Dialect of Elbasan)'',

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, 1901 *''Grammatik der albanesischen Sprache (Grammar of the Albanian Language)'', Vienna, 1908 *''Bleta shqypëtare e Thimi Mitkos (The Albanian Bee of Thimi Mitko)'', Vienna, 1924 *''Bibliographija shqype/Albanesische Bibliographie (Albanian Bibliography)'', as coauthor, Vienna, 1909 *''Sprachführer zur schnellen Erlernung der albanischen Sprache (Manual for Learning the Albanian Language Quickly)'', Vienna, 1913 *''Lehr und Lesebuch des Albanischen (Manual and Reader of Albanian)'', as coauthor with Maximilian Lambertz, Vienna, 1913

Sources

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pekmezi, Gjergj 1872 births 1938 deaths University of Vienna alumni Linguists from Albania Albanian folklorists People from Pogradec Ambassadors of Albania to Austria Albanologists Activists of the Albanian National Awakening People from Manastir vilayet