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Lehrbuch der albanischen Sprache
Text in English and Albanian, translated from a work originally written in German and Albanian.
136 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1969
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About the author
Martin Camaj
33 books21 followersMartin Camaj was an Albanian writer, who wrote mainly poetry, fiction as well as academic work on the Albanian language and its dialects. His first two books of poetry were published in Belgrade,at the time he was studying. His lyrical work comprises nine volumes, alongside with three novels and a volume of short stories.Poetry by Camaj has been translated into Italian, English and German.
He was born on 21.07.1925 in Temal, in the inaccessible hinterland of the northern Albanian cultural city of Shkodra. In Shkodra, he attended the jesuit Italian school-college Xaverianum. After leaving school he worked as a teacher in the highland villages. For a time he was involved in the resistance against the communist guerrillas, so for some time he was forced to go underground until he managed to escape in neighboring Yugoslavia.
In the years 1949-1955 he studied Slavic, Romance and Albanian studies in Belgrade. He started working on a dissertation on the Old Albanian author Buzuku. In 1956 with the help of his former Italian teachers, he moved to Rome, where he completed his dissertation in 1960. He began teaching Albanian Studies in 1961 in the Albanian Studies department in Munch University, which he himself founded. From 1971 till 1990 he taught as a Titular Professor in the same department.
Martin Camaj died on 03.12.1992 in Munich.
He was born on 21.07.1925 in Temal, in the inaccessible hinterland of the northern Albanian cultural city of Shkodra. In Shkodra, he attended the jesuit Italian school-college Xaverianum. After leaving school he worked as a teacher in the highland villages. For a time he was involved in the resistance against the communist guerrillas, so for some time he was forced to go underground until he managed to escape in neighboring Yugoslavia.
In the years 1949-1955 he studied Slavic, Romance and Albanian studies in Belgrade. He started working on a dissertation on the Old Albanian author Buzuku. In 1956 with the help of his former Italian teachers, he moved to Rome, where he completed his dissertation in 1960. He began teaching Albanian Studies in 1961 in the Albanian Studies department in Munch University, which he himself founded. From 1971 till 1990 he taught as a Titular Professor in the same department.
Martin Camaj died on 03.12.1992 in Munich.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 20, 2021
Martin Camaj's Albanian grammar and sort-of textbook was first published in German in the 1960s, then it got an English translation where everything was updated and revised. However, when writing this work, the Albanian standard language was still nascent. Consequently, the picture of Albanian that Camaj gives is mainly his native Geg dialect, while the standard language ultimately drew mainly from the Tosk dialect. This book is therefore not a good first introduction to the Albanian language.
However, Camaj’s book has great value for anyone planning to speak to local people in northern Albania, Kosovo, or Montenegro where Geg forms persist in everyday speech even if those Albanians now read and write (and speak on television or radio) in the predominantly Tosk standard language. Visitors to those northerly regions who have learned Albanian from a recent standard-language textbook, often complain that the local dialect there is difficult to understand, but Camaj will fill the student in on many of the variant forms used in Geg. Finally, this book ends with a chrestomathy of Albanian texts that include some of the earliest attestations of the language, so this book is useful for e.g. Indo-Europeanists who want to learn Albanian from a historical-linguistics perspective.
Another reason that this book is not an ideal first introduction to the language is that it doesn’t contain very much in the way of exercises. At the end of each chapter are two or three reading passages and one English-Albanian translation exercise, but these are very skimpy and don’t let you flex your grammatical muscles at all. After a massive chapter detailing the Albanian verb – infamous for its complexity – the student is given just one tiny exercise where he isn’t even prompted to reproduce all the forms just met.
Camaj's book is as rigorously structured as any reference grammar. Soon after this book was published, Newmark’s Standard Albanian: A Reference Grammar for Students appeared and superseded it for anyone wanting to learn the standard language. Again however Camaj’s book is useful as a reference grammar of Geg.
However, Camaj’s book has great value for anyone planning to speak to local people in northern Albania, Kosovo, or Montenegro where Geg forms persist in everyday speech even if those Albanians now read and write (and speak on television or radio) in the predominantly Tosk standard language. Visitors to those northerly regions who have learned Albanian from a recent standard-language textbook, often complain that the local dialect there is difficult to understand, but Camaj will fill the student in on many of the variant forms used in Geg. Finally, this book ends with a chrestomathy of Albanian texts that include some of the earliest attestations of the language, so this book is useful for e.g. Indo-Europeanists who want to learn Albanian from a historical-linguistics perspective.
Another reason that this book is not an ideal first introduction to the language is that it doesn’t contain very much in the way of exercises. At the end of each chapter are two or three reading passages and one English-Albanian translation exercise, but these are very skimpy and don’t let you flex your grammatical muscles at all. After a massive chapter detailing the Albanian verb – infamous for its complexity – the student is given just one tiny exercise where he isn’t even prompted to reproduce all the forms just met.
Camaj's book is as rigorously structured as any reference grammar. Soon after this book was published, Newmark’s Standard Albanian: A Reference Grammar for Students appeared and superseded it for anyone wanting to learn the standard language. Again however Camaj’s book is useful as a reference grammar of Geg.
December 13, 2023
This book includes very technically difficult Albanian grammar, not for people that don’t already have at least a basic understanding of the language. The English grammar was difficult to understand at times, as well, even as a native speaker.
The language seems as difficult to learn as Latin with all the different conjugations, forms, and endings that must be memorized, but this book is a wealth of knowledge, if for nothing else than for the vocabulary.
There are many old Albanian words included that aren’t used as often today and that a foreigner would not typically learn. Additionally, the author makes a point to highlight Tosk, Geg, and, at times, Arberesh dialectical variations. My family speaks more Geg than is standard, so this is what I was most after in purchasing this book. Despite my limited total understanding of the language, I did gain insight from reading this book.
The language seems as difficult to learn as Latin with all the different conjugations, forms, and endings that must be memorized, but this book is a wealth of knowledge, if for nothing else than for the vocabulary.
There are many old Albanian words included that aren’t used as often today and that a foreigner would not typically learn. Additionally, the author makes a point to highlight Tosk, Geg, and, at times, Arberesh dialectical variations. My family speaks more Geg than is standard, so this is what I was most after in purchasing this book. Despite my limited total understanding of the language, I did gain insight from reading this book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews