Kristoforidhi Translations (ALSK84)

Overview

This 1884 publication contains Old Testament portions in the Tosk Albanian dialect, translated by Konstandin Kristoforidhi (1827--1895) and published by the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) in Constantinople. The volume includes the books of Proverbs and Isaiah in Tosk Albanian. [1]

Kristoforidhi was born in Elbasan and studied at the Zosimea Greek college in Ioannina, where he assisted the Austrian consul Johann Georg von Hahn with a German-Albanian dictionary. [2] In 1865, the BFBS contracted him to produce Bible translations into Albanian, and he devoted the remaining three decades of his life to this work. [1] He published the first Gheg translation of the four Gospels and Acts in 1866, the Tosk Psalms in 1868, the complete Gheg and Tosk New Testaments by 1872 and 1879 respectively, Genesis and Exodus in Tosk (1880), Deuteronomy in Tosk (1882), and Proverbs and Isaiah in Tosk (1884). [1][2]

Beyond his Bible translation work, Kristoforidhi is recognized as a foundational figure in Albanian linguistics. He traveled extensively throughout Albania to collect linguistic material, and his posthumously published Dictionary of the Albanian Language (Athens, 1904) remains a landmark in Albanian lexicography. [2] His translations and linguistic work contributed significantly to the Albanian National Awakening (Rilindja Kombëtare) and the standardization of the Albanian written language. [3]

Translation History

Kristoforidhi's Tosk Old Testament portions were produced over a period of years: Psalms (1868), Genesis and Exodus (1880), Deuteronomy (1882), and Proverbs and Isaiah (1884). These were published by the BFBS from their Constantinople office. His Tosk New Testament, published in 1879, improved upon the earlier 1823 Tosk translation by Vangjel Meksi. [1][2]

Language and People

Tosk Albanian (ISO 639-3: als) is spoken by approximately 1,826,830 people in Greece and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. [Glottolog: tosk1239]

Publishing and Organizations

Published by BFBS, Constantinople.

References