The Elbasanisht and Literary Committee of Shkodra

Abstract

There are various ways of creating a national standard variation of a language. Highly significant roles in its creation, among others are the social factors such as: the general historical background, social development etc.Elbasanisht as a part of Gheg dialect has been discussed for a long time to be the standard Albanian. In this context, it is important to know when the first idea of Elbasanisht as a standard language was. Which was that institution that made such a decision for the first time? On the basis of which criteria was Elbasanisht selected as a representative language variation of the Albanian people? Why did this decision fail?These questions constitute the basis of this study which aims to shed light, to reflect and present the role and importance of the literary Committee of Shkodra (1916-1917), the issue of creating the standard Albanian. The paper will also treat by whom and how was the idea of selecting Elbasanisht as the common language variation disposed; the linguistic criteria which determined the selection of Elbasanisht; the Albanian outstanding linguists who supported this decision. The paper might help all linguists who deal with the study and formation of the standard languages and to all those interested in creating the standard Albanian.

DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2013.v3n7p539