Eqrem Çabej (; 6 August 1908 – 13 August 1980) was an
Albanian historical linguist and scholar who, through the publication of numerous studies gained a reputation as a key expert in research on
Albanian language
Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...
, literature,
ethnology
Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology).
Sci ...
and
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
.
Educational background
Eqrem Çabej was born in
Eskişehir,
Hüdavendigâr vilayet and completed his elementary education in
Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in Southern Albania, southern Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë moun ...
, southern
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
, in 1921.
He then left Albania, at the age of 12, and moved to
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
to continue his studies: first in St. Pölten then in
Klagenfurt (1923–26), where he obtained his bachelor's degree. He went to University first in
Graz
Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...
(1927) and later in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
(1930–33). Attending lectures of renowned language scholars such as
Paul Kretschmer, Karl Patsch,
Nikolai Trubetzkoy, and
Norbert Jokl, Çabej developed, under Jokl's guidance, an intense interest in the historical development of
Albanian language. Before returning to Albania at the end of 1933, he submitted, in the University of Vienna, the ''Italoalbanische Studien'' (''Italo-Albanian Studies'' in English) as his doctoral dissertation.
Career as an educator and scholar
Home after a 13-year absence, the 25-year-old Çabej returned to Albania and spent five years as a secondary school teacher in:
Shkodra,
Elbasan, Gjirokastër and
Tirana
Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...
. After Albania's occupation by
Mussolini's Italy on 7 April 1939, he was sent away from Albania and confined to Rome, Italy. In 1942, he received an invitation to join the newly formed Institute of Albanian Studies, which he declined, and, in 1943, was offered the position of minister of education in the government headed by Prime Minister
Rexhep Mitrovica which he refused also. Returning to Albania in the spring of 1944, he continued to work as a teacher and, in 1947, was appointed as a researcher in Instituti i Shkencavet (The Institute of Sciences) in Tirana, the precursor institution of the
University of Tirana. From 1952 to 1967, he served as a professor of the history of
Albanian and historical
phonology
Phonology (formerly also phonemics or phonematics: "phonemics ''n.'' 'obsolescent''1. Any procedure for identifying the phonemes of a language from a corpus of data. 2. (formerly also phonematics) A former synonym for phonology, often pre ...
. In 1972, he became a founding member of
Academy of Sciences of Albania. He worked as a researcher at the Institute of Linguistics and Literature in Tirana until the end of his life.
Çabej died in a clinic in Rome, Italy, a week after his 72nd birthday.
Works and tributes
Among Eqrem Çabej's numerous works dealing with Albanian and its history include:
* ''Hyrje në historinë e gjuhës shqipe'' (Introduction to the History of the Albanian language; Tirana 1958; reprinted 2008)
* "Parashtesat e gjuhës shqipe" (Prefixes in Albanian) in collaboration with Aleksandër Xhuvani, 1956
* "Prapashtesat e gjuhës shqipe" (Suffixes in Albanian) in collaboration with Aleksandër Xhuvani, 1962
* "Die älteren Wohnsitze der Albaner auf der Balkanhalbinsel im Lichte der Sprache und der Ortsnamen" ''Atti dil VII Congresso Internazionale di Scienze Onomastiche'' 7, 1962: 241–251. (Reprinted in Albanian "Vendbanimi i hershëm i shqiptarëve në Gadishullin Ballkan në dritën e gjuhës e të emrave të vendeve." in Rexhep Ismajli, et al., eds., ''Studime Shqiptare: Vepra të zgjedhura Prishtinë'', Akadëmia e Shkencave dhe e Artëve, 2008: 515–524.)
* ''"
Meshari" i
Gjon Buzukut'' (The Missal of Gjon Buzuku) a critical edition (Tirana 1962–68)
* "Einige Grundprobleme der alteren albanischen Sprachgeschichte," ''Studia Albanica'' 1 (1964): 69–89.
* ''Fonetika historike e shqipes'' (Historical Phonology of Albanian). Tirana 1968.
* ''Shumësi i singularizuar në gjuhën shqipe'' (The Singularized Plural in Albanian) 1967.
* "Mbi disa izoglosa të shqipes me sllavishten", ''Studime Filologjike'' 2 (1976): 63–74.
* ''Studime etimologjike në fushë të shqipes'' (Etymological Studies in Albanian). 7 vols. Tirana: Akademia et Shkencave e Republikës Popullore të Shqipërisë, Instituti i Gjuhësisë dhe i Letërsisë, 1976–2014.
** Vol. II: A–B. – 1976, 617 p.;
** Vol. I: ''Hyrje'' (Introduction) – 1982, 343 pages;
** Vol. III: C–D. – 1987, 565 p.;
** Vol. IV: Dh–J. – 1996, 624 p.;
** Vol. VI: N–Rr. – 2002, 522 p.;
** Vol. VII: S–Zh. – 2006, 434 p.;
** Vol. V: K–M. – 2014, 478 pages – )
His articles and monographs were collected into the 9-volume ''Studime gjuhësore'' (Linguistic Studies).
Pristina
Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district.
In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...
: 1976–1977. The
Eqrem Çabej University in Gjirokastër is named in his honor.
See also
*
Shaban Demiraj
*
Androkli Kostallari
*
Mahir Domi
*
Idriz Ajeti
References
Further reading
*
Akademia e Shkencave e Shqipërisë (2008) (in
Albanian), Fjalor Enciklopedik Shqiptar 1 (Albanian encyclopedia),
Tirana
Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...
,
*
*
*
*Wąsik, Zbigniew (1985). ''Profesor Dr Eqrem Çabej (1908–1980), wybitny filolog, twórca współczesnego językoznawstwa albańskiego'' ''
rofessor Dr. Eqrem Çabej (1908–1980), Renowned Philologist, Creator of Modern Albanian Linguistics', Acta Universitatis Wratislaviensis 1985/IX, pages 99–114.
External links
Eqrem Çabej biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabej, Eqerem
1908 births
1980 deaths
People from Eskişehir
People from Hüdavendigâr vilayet
Albanian lexicographers
Albanian albanologists
Albanian philologists
Albanian schoolteachers
20th-century Albanian historians
20th-century Albanian linguists
20th-century philologists
20th-century lexicographers