He was born in Elbasan Aleksandër Xhuvani, a linguist, a personality of Albanian education and culture, a social and political activist, Teacher of the People. He received his first lessons in his hometown. He completed his higher philological studies at the University of Athens. He worked in the first national high school, “Normalja e Elbasanit” (December 1909), as a teacher and as its director (1913–1914, 1917–1920, 1922–1929, 1933–1938). He did a great and valuable job in the creation and enrichment of teaching literature and provided the school with a set of texts, language, literature, pedagogical writings, etc. He fought for a national and secular school, for its continuous improvement and development. After the Second World War, he was a member of the Constitutional Assembly (December 1945), deputy of the People’s Assembly in several legislatures, and vice-president of its Presidium for many years until the end of his life. Aleksandër Xhuvani gave an important contribution to the development of education (1946–1951), to the organization and direction of scientific life as the head of the language and literature section of the Institute of Studies, later called the Institute of Sciences (January 1947 – September 1953) and as a member of his presidium (1947–1957). His scientific activity was concentrated in the field of linguistics: the unity and purity of the literary language, grammar, lexicology and lexicography, word formation, etc. Directed the drafting of consecutive spelling guides (1948, 1951, 1954, 1956), which paved the way for the complete unity of Albanian spelling later. He did a valuable job enriching our literary language, especially for the processing of the Albanian terminology of many branches of knowledge, grammar, literature and pedagogical sciences, etc. Aleksandër Xhuvani was the best connoisseur of the lexical treasure of the Albanian language. He patiently and passionately collected many words and expressions from the mouths of the people, which were processed after he died in the form of a dictionary and published for 20 years in the magazine “Studime filologjike” (“Philological studies”) (1971-1990). Aleksandër Xhuvani prepared a second edition of Kostandin Kristoforidhi’s “Fjalori i gjuhës shqipe” (“Albanian language dictionary”), transcribed in today’s alphabet, giving this work a new life. Aleksandër Xhuvani has drawn up a series of textbooks on syntax, on the history of Albanian literature, on classical Greek literature, on stylistics, on old and Arbëresh literature, etc. (In the photo: Aleksandër Xhuvani)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 3 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2009, page 2959-2960.
Photo: © https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksand%C3%ABr_Xhuvani
Graphic processing: AHCF
