National Assembly of the Albanian Language: A Discussion on Albanian Language and Its Challenges in the 21st Century

On the eve of the Albanian Language Alphabet Day, the National Assembly on the Albanian Language titled "Challenges of the Albanian Language in the 21st Century" kicked off today, with wide participation from linguists, scholars, educators, and Albanian language teachers from Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia.

Prime Minister Edi Rama, who attended the opening ceremony, stated, among other things, that "Today, we are at a historic moment for the language, the presentation of the great Albanian language dictionary, which, after half a century, is finally being updated, thanks to the monumental work carried out under the supervision of the Academy of Sciences and with the involvement of linguists and academics from Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia." The draft of the dictionary will be publicly presented tomorrow.

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Prime Minister Edi Rama: Greetings to everyone!

First of all, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all those who were involved in organizing and carrying out the great Albanian language competition. This comes with a sense of surprise, for the truth I genuinely felt when I saw the level of the competition and the fact that, watching all these students compete in such a challenging subject, especially under the tremendous pressure against the Albanian language, its spelling, and its careful articulation - all as a result of social media - I sincerely thought that there is still hope. There is still hope that the Albanian language will survive the barbarism of this century, which is threatening languages in general and, more broadly, the roots of humanity.

Back in 1972, and to connect this with the students, at that time I was in second grade. Eqerem Çabej published an essay on the origin of the word "Albania." For those who know it, it is a long essay that starts from ancient maps of Alexandria. These maps are the first to show Albania and Albanopolis, and it ends with the monastery. But in this essay, Çabej writes: "Albania has had many names, but the language has always been one." Regarding the names Shqipëri, Shqipëtar, and Shqipni, Çabej writes that these names remain somewhat uncertain. Some argue that they may have originated from the name of the Albanian language itself, and that the Albanians took their name from this bird since the time of Skanderbeg, linking this name to Plutarch's reference, where after his victory over the Macedonians, Pyrrhus was celebrated with the epithet "Shqiponjë" (eagle).

However, we have never hesitated to challenge even the great Çabej in the pursuit of deriving glory from the past. For the sake of truth is that it would suffice for us to search and hold on tightly to the truth, not to fantasies or the delusions of today.

And today, the National Assembly of the Albanian Language - which may seem modest in its format - is of great significance for several important reasons. On the 116th anniversary of the adoption of the Albanian alphabet at the Congress of Monastir, it is also connected to an exceptionally important moment. This is the moment when the Albanian language, through this special date, becomes the identity for all of us. An identity that belongs to us, which no one can take from us, and no one else threatens, except ourselves in relation to this identity. But very soon, it will also become an official language of the European Union. If not the oldest language in the European family, Albanian will undoubtedly be one of the rarest and most unique languages in the EU.

On the other hand, I want to mention that this assembly is also a product of the third Diaspora Summit, which was held in Tirana last November, where the Albanian language was one of the main topics, as it should be. From that summit, we came together with the community, reached several conclusions, and made a number of commitments.

Moreover, I think this is the right place to link this assembly with the memory of Arben Xhaferi, who is no longer with us today. Arben Xhaferi was the Albanian who had the idea to request that November 22 - the day of the Albanian alphabet - become an official holiday for Albanians in North Macedonia. Since this year, it has been a permanent holiday for all Albanians, celebrated also in Albania.

Throughout our history, there have been several leagues. Of course, when we speak of leagues, we immediately think of the League of Lezha. For those more interested in history, we also recall the League of Prizren. But I believe that, without a doubt, the day of the Congress of Monastir is also part of the chain of connection among the Albanians.

The day of a congress where a group of Albanians had the vision, courage, and will to give the Albanians of that time and forever their own alphabet - in conditions when this was by no means easy or something guaranteed. It was the congress where Father Gjergj Fishta, the most Catholic of Catholics, said: "Sit down, gentlemen, sit down here in the square. Let's choose a commission to decide what we should do today for the good of the Albanian people tomorrow." There, the most Orthodox of Orthodox, Petro Nini Luarasi, said, in the context of the Greek alphabet: " Please, let us not make our Muslim and Catholic brothers suffer when they see that part of the Albanian body is suffering and losing for the benefit of the clergy."

Mit'hat Frashëri, the architect of the Congress, presented the vision of the most devout Muslim, Imam Hasan Tahsim, for an alphabet for the Albanian language-not an Arabic alphabet, nor a Greek alphabet, and certainly not a Cyrillic one. These were the threatening options that weighed heavily on the shoulders of the participants at the Congress. History has shown just how courageous the decision was for a unique alphabet, one capable of expressing, along with special words, the soul and unique worldview of the Albanian people.

It is deeply disturbing to witness how delusional and ignorant individuals, branded as such for their attacks on those who have fought for the Albanian language, and for all who recognize the roots of the language, today proclaim all kinds of theories.

Today, we are also missing another figure, one of the greatest defenders of the Albanian language. I believe that anyone who harbors even the slightest doubt about the Albanian language's capacity to express anything in a thousand and one ways needs only to refer to the works of Ismail Kadare. I frequently recall conversations I've had the privilege of sharing with him, and how much anxiety he felt over the attacks on the Albanian language.

Today, I am very glad that, as part of this resistance, we can say that we are at a historic moment-at least I believe so-when it comes to the presentation of the great dictionary of the Albanian language, which is finally being updated after half a century. This is thanks to the monumental work done under the supervision of the Academy of Sciences and with the participation of linguists and academics from Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. Tomorrow, to my knowledge, the draft of this dictionary will be presented publicly. I'm saying draft because it will undergo a broad public consultation, opinions, suggestions, and contributions will likely enrich it. However, it will undoubtedly solidify it as a shared product of a necessary resistance in a time when, as I mentioned earlier, we cannot be on the offensive because we are under the attack of barbarism and delusionists who find some space thanks to the new world of social networks. But it is our unavoidable duty to defend it and ensure that the language does not degrade to the point of no return.

I don't wish to enter into debates about what the Orthographic Congress did to the language; it did, in my opinion, the greatest historical and national service, or perhaps it did the opposite. However, I believe that politics should not, and has no business, interfering with this territory.

It is not the job of any politician to contribute to the opposite of what politics should do: create a broader and more productive space for those who are the true workers of this effort. We had a dark hour in our modern history when, on the 100th anniversary of Independence, the Albanian Parliament initiated a process to open debates that other civilized nations have closed centuries ago. Unfortunately, they were unable to close it with an appropriate conclusion from one of the 36 patriots of the Manastir Congress. To conclude, I will leave you with a quote from a foreign Albanologist, Maximilian Lambertz, who writes: 'The true history of humanity will only be written when Albanians are allowed to write their own history.'

It has now been many years since no one has prevented us from writing our history. However, there is someone who doesn't allow us to write it, and that someone is us. In this confrontation with ourselves, first and foremost, we are trying-just as we did with the dictionary-to support and have supported the Academy of Sciences to write the great book of the history of the Albanians."

It has been many years now that no one prevents us from writing our own history, but there are those who do not allow us to write our own history, and that is us. In this confrontation with ourselves, first and foremost, we are trying, just as we did with the dictionary, to support and have supported the Academy of Sciences in writing the great book of the history of the Albanians. As far as I know, nearly all the non-problematic volumes have been completed, since up to the Middle Ages we generally agree, excluding here the spokespeople for the Pelasgians, who are a separate element in this field. When speaking of the Pelasgians, they are actually trying to defend their own interests. But now comes the difficult part, or rather the more difficult part. However, this is not my task, nor is it the task of the government to influence how this part of history will be written in the great book of history, which is now approaching very closely to the living people who are fortunately still alive and active.

With these thoughts and these fragments gathered for this speech that I am truly honored to give here, taking advantage of the fact that I hold the position of Prime Minister-because otherwise, I would never have had the chance to deliver a speech here, even though I am a steadfast lover of the Albanian language-I don't claim to be like all the men and women who hold a language certificate.

I thank you all very much for your patience. I thought I would make a shorter speech than usual, but I wasn't able to, and before I leave the podium, I want to express my deep respect and gratitude to Professor Emili and all his colleagues who are here, or those who are not present but are still alive, still active, and still unwavering in the ranks of resistance to protect the Albanian language from the barbarians.

Thank you very much!

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