Aleksandër Xhuvani (14 March 1880 – 22 November 1961) was an

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 The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

philologist 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 ...

and educator. Xhuvani spent much of his career working for the improvement of Albanian schools; he also advocated the standardization 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, Europe ...

in the years following Albania's independence. Among his writings are grammars in Albanian, as well as a dictionary of the language. Xhuvani also served as a politician, sitting in both the Constituent Assembly of the Albanian Kingdom and as a member of the

Assembly of the Republic of Albania The Parliament of Albania ( sq, Kuvendi i Shqipërisë) or Kuvendi is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Albania; it is Albania's legislature. The Parliament is composed of no less than 140 members elected to ...

. In the latter he served as vice-president of the Presidium towards the end of his life. Elbasan's Aleksandër Xhuvani University is named after him.

Life

Aleksandër Xhuvani was born on March 14, 1880, 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 ...

, then

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) ...

. He completed elementary school in his hometown at ''"Normalja e Elbasanit"'', while the high school in

Tsotyli Tsotyli ( el, Τσοτύλι, also Τσοτίλι - ''Tsotili'') is a village and a former municipality, now part of the Voio municipality. Before the 2011 local government reform it was the seat of the municipality of Tsotyli. The municipal unit ...

, then part of the Manastir Vilayet. In 1902 he began his studies at the Faculty of Philology 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 graduated in 1906. In August of the same year he was invited by

Luigj Gurakuqi Luigj Gurakuqi (also called Louis Gurakuchi; 19 February 1879 – 2 March 1925) was an Albanian writer and politician. He was an important figure of the Albanian National Awakening and was honoured with the People's Hero of Albania medal. ...

to teach in Albanian at the

Arbëreshë Arbën/Arbër, from which derived Arbënesh/Arbëresh originally meant all Albanians, until the 18th century. Today it is used for different groups of Albanian origin, including: * Arbër (given name), an Albanian masculine given name * Arbëresh ...

College of

San Demetrio Corone San Demetrio Corone (Arbëreshë: ''Shën Mitri'') is a town and municipality in the Calabria region of Italy, at an altitude of 521 meters and with 3,387 inhabitants. The town is among the most important cultural centers of the Albanian communit ...

in the

province of Cosenza The province of Cosenza ( it, provincia di Cosenza) is a province in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Cosenza. It contains 150 ''comuni'', listed at list of communes of the Province of Cosenza. The province of ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

References

Shqiperia.com
1880s births 1961 deaths People from Elbasan People from Manastir vilayet Eastern Orthodox Christians from Albania Members of the Parliament of Albania Albanian educators Albanian philologists Albanian lexicographers National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni Albanian expatriates in Egypt Albanian educational theorists Xhuvani family 20th-century philologists 20th-century lexicographers {{Albania-bio-stub