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Shaban Demiraj | |
|---|---|
 Demiraj on a 2021 stamp of Albania | |
| Born | (1920-01-01)1 January 1920 |
| Died | 30 August 2014(2014-08-30) (aged 94) |
| Citizenship | Albanian |
| Occupations | Linguist, Albanologist |
| Signature | |
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Shaban Demiraj (1 January 1920 – 30 August 2014) was anAlbanianalbanologist, linguist, professor at theUniversity of Tirana from 1972–1990,[1] and chairman of theAcademy of Sciences of Albania during the period of 1993–1997.[2][3][4]
Demiraj was born on 1 January 1920 inVlorë.[5] Despite financial difficulties and the lack of academic institutions in Albania, he managed to study and learnLatin,ancient Greek, and the major European languages.[1] After completing his studies at theMadrasa of Tirana in 1939, he studiedAlbanian language in the two-year curriculum Pedagogical Institute, branch of Albanian language and literature (1946–1948), and later in the High Pedagogical Institute (1954–1955).
From 1948 to 1954, Demiraj worked as language and literature teacher in various high schools inGjirokastër and Tirana. In 1954, he started working as a lector in the same High Pedagogical Institute from where he graduated, and later in theUniversity of Tirana (UT), holding that position until 1990. From 1962 to 1989, he was in charge of the Albanian language chair, and from 1962 to 1966, he served as deputydean of the Faculty of History andPhilology of the UT.[6]
Demiraj's areas of expertise were: themorphology of modern Albanian, Albanian historicalgrammar, the history of the Albanian writing (18th–19th centuries), and a special course onBalkan linguistics.[6] In 1989, he became member of theAlbanian Academy of Sciences, and was its chairman during 1993–97.[7] Apart from his research publications, Demiraj also published many scientific articles inside Albania and abroad on topics as history of the Albanian language, grammar andphonetics, andBalkanology. He transcribed and adapted the work ofGabriele DaraKënga e sprasme e Balës (The last song of Bala) in 1994. He also worked as a translator, having produced the Albanian edition ofMartin Eden, a novel byJack London, in 1959.[6]
Demiraj was part of the committee that organized theOrthography Congress of 1972,Albanian:Kongresi i Drejtshkrimit, where the orthographic rules of the Albanian language were standardized, and he was also a signatory to the orthography.[8]
He is the father of linguistBardhyl Demiraj.[5]
Some of his main works include:[6]
