In Tirana, Selman Riza, a linguist and professor, passed away. He was born in Gjakova in 1909. He completed his primary education in his hometown and in Tirana. He attended the Korça High School and continued his studies in literature at the University of Toulouse, France. At the same time, he also completed studies in jurisprudence. He was appointed as a professor at the Korça High School for Albanian, French, Latin, and German languages. In 1939, he became involved in activities against the Italian occupation. In 1940, he was transferred to Tirana High School, but was soon removed. He was imprisoned and interned in Ventotene, Italy, for 20 months. His work in education was also prohibited for political reasons. In 1943, he settled in Prizren, where he worked as a lawyer and engaged in patriotic activities. He was part of the group that founded the Small Center for Kosovo Studies, with branches in Gjakova, Peja, Pristina, and Mitrovica. He led the Irredentist Antifascist Movement for the political part, while the military part was led by Ejup Binaku. Along with the members of the Albanian Intellectual Committee, he published the newspaper “Lidhja e Prizrenit” (“The Prizren League”). At the end of 1944, Selman Riza returned to Tirana, and in January 1945, he was imprisoned by the communist regime. He was held in prison without trial for three years, and in 1948, he was handed over to Yugoslavia, accused of “war crimes”. He was held in the prison of Pristina without a court decision until 1951, when he was interned in Sarajevo. There, he was allowed to work as a French lecturer at the university. In 1953, he returned to Pristina and was appointed as a scientific worker at the Albanological Institute. In December 1955, the Albanological Institute was closed, and Selman Riza was deported to Albania. In Tirana, he was assigned to work at the Institute of Sciences as a scientific worker and professor until 1967. In 1959, he defended his candidacy for science, and in 1961, he obtained the title of professor. In 1962, he was awarded the Republic Prize. In 1967, during the political influences of the Cultural Revolution, he was accused of “foreign and hostile manifestations and unacceptable views”. After a campaign of slander, he was dismissed from his job and interned in Berat, where he worked as a tour guide at the local museum and later at the library. He was a very good connoisseur of grammar, both diachronic and synchronic. He contributed to the study of Albanian knots, names, surnames, pronouns, and the verbal system. He conducted studies on ancient authors such as Buzuku, Matrënga, Budi, Bardhi, and Bogdani. Among his major studies are: “Tri monografina albanologjike” (“Three Albanological monographs”) (Tirana, 1944), “Fillimet e gjuhësisë shqiptare” (“The origin of the Albanian language”)(Pristina, 1952), “Gramatikë e serbokroatishtes” (“Serbo-Croatian Grammar”) (Pristina, 1952), “Pesë autorët më të vjetër të gjuhës shqipe” (“The five oldest authors of the Albanian langauge”)(Tirana, 1960), and “Sistemi foljor i letrarishtes shqiptare bashkëkohore” (“The verbal system of contemporary of Albanian literature”), published posthumously (Tirana, 1995). After the internment in Berat, he was not allowed to publish. Part of his work was published in Pristina, in the volume “Studime albanistike 1” (“Albanian studies 1”) (1979). His work was published in five volumes under the title “Vepra I-V” (“Works I-V”) by the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo. (In the photo: Selman Riza)
Text: The encyclopedic dictionary of Kosovo – Vol. II , Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo, Prishtina, 2018, page 1432.
Photo: © Albanian Telegraphic Agency
Graphic processing: AHCF
