Eqrem cabej

Eqrem Çabej was born on August 6, 1908 in Eskişehir, a city in western Turkey. He completed his elementary education in Gjirokastër, southern Albania, in 1921. He then left Albania, at the age of 12, and moved to Austria 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 (1927) and later in Vienna (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. [1](^1^) 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. 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. 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. [1](^1^) [2](^2^) [3](^3^) 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. He also published several books, articles, and translations in Albanian and Romanian. He wrote about the history, culture, and politics of Albania, as well as the international affairs of Europe. He was the leader of the group that published the six-volume work Studime etimologjike në fushë të shqipes (Etymological Studies in the Field of Albanian), which is considered a monumental contribution to Albanian linguistics. He also wrote the first Albanian historical novel, Një breshkë në det (A Turtle in the Sea), which tells the story of the Albanian revolt against the Ottoman Empire in 1847. He was influenced by the European liberalism and nationalism, as well as by the Albanian oral tradition and folklore. He was a respected and influential personality in both Albania and Romania, where he had many friends and admirers. [1](^1^) [2](^2^) [3](^3^) [4]