Georg Pekmezi

Georg Pekmezi (born April 23, 1872 in Tushemisht near Pogradec , † February 24, 1938 in Vienna ) was an Albanian linguist and publicist. For almost 40 years of his life he taught and researched the Albanian language at the University of Vienna . Together with Maximilian Lambertz , Pekmezi published the first Albanian textbook for German-speaking students.

Life

Born in Tushemisht on Lake Ohrid , Pekmezi attended high school in Monastir since 1884 . From 1890 to 1894 he studied in Belgrade and then moved to Vienna. After completing his studies in 1898, he began teaching Albanian at the University of Vienna. At the same time he was involved in research on the Albanian language. In 1901 he published a report on the Central Albanian dialect of Elbasan , in 1908 his grammar followed the Albanian language and the following year an Albanian bibliography appeared , on which Pekmezi had contributed as a co-author.

Not least because of Austria-Hungary's intensive diplomatic engagement in Albania, the need for a practical phrase book arose. Pekmezi was able to put one of these into print in 1913. In the same year, the text and reading book in Albanian , which was developed together with Maximilian Lambertz , was published .

After the Austro-Hungarian army occupied northern and central Albania in World War I , Pekmezi became a member of the Albanian Literary Commission in Shkodra . This body, set up by the occupation authorities, was supposed to promote the development of journalism and the school system in Albanian. Not least under the influence of coming from the south Pekmezi the Commission, the south decided gegischen dialect of Elbasan to use as the basis for the Albanian written language, although many of its members had been written in the dialect of Shkodra.

After the end of the war, Pekmezi returned to Vienna, where he continued his work at the university. From 1920 to 1924 and 1926 to 1928 he was the Albanian consul in Austria. In 1928 he was appointed professor for Albanian at the Indo-European Institute of the University of Vienna. He held this position until his death in 1938.

Works

• Grammar of the Albanian language. Phonology and form theory. (1908)
• Albanian bibliography. (together with F. Manek & A. Stotz, 1909)
• Phrase book for quick learning of the Albanian language (together with F. Manek & H. Mossi, 1913)
• Albanian textbook and reader. (together with M. Lambertz, 1913)
• Albanian sayings and sayings. (together with N. Rotta, 1914)
• Bleta Shqypetare e Thimi Mitkos . (1924)

literature

• Robert Elsie : Historical Dictionary of Albania. New Edition. Scarecrow Press, Lanham MD 2004, ISBN 0-8108-4872-4 , p. 331 ( European Historical Dictionaries 42).