Eqrem Çabej


Eqrem Çabej was an Albanian historical linguist and scholar who, through the publication of numerous studies gained a reputation as a key expert in the research into Albanian-language, literature, ethnology and linguistics.

Educational background

He was born in Eskişehir, Turkey and 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, where he obtained his bachelor's degree. He went to University first in Graz and later in Vienna. 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 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. 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 in Tirana, the precursor institution of the University of Tirana. From 1952 to 1967, he served as a professor of the history of Albanian language 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.
Eqrem 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:
His articles and monographs were collected into the 9-volume Studime gjuhësore . Prishtina: 1976-7. The Eqrem Çabej University in Gjirokastër is named in his honor.