The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-04-24
UP IN ARMS FOR AN ALPHABET
UNUSUAL GRIEVANCE or THE
PEOPLE OF ALBANIA.

Tnrs Wm ME Rather Than Use Arabic
Gnnraeeers- neSolt N Consequence
~ Against the TSarklsh Government.
~ A Ind Of freedom loving mountainOsrs
ruu IN arms. holding great camp meetings
: "a al the important centres VI population.
marching with brass bands and banners
tatiercd from many a conflict With the
Oountyy's enemies and DEMANDING only
IN alphabet Of their own. is that strip Of
tha AAiAtio coast called Albania. In
I westaTn Turkey.
70 speak with more exaotnsss, IL Is not
- InuHh that they want a brand new
( aiphsbAt a. that they object 70 the ready
'mAsls alphabet of Arabic characters that
the Turks. or rather q part Of the on
'clAl ciAss. are endea voring TO force upon
1hNm. For want Of something better
1niost o. the AIbanians have agreed upon
- alphabet Of Latin characters. The
MANb1mition oomes from q section Of the
Turkish Committee Of Union and Progress
and from local Turkish officials.
y TIE Former appear 90 be actiAted ny
rtBhish chauvtnism and desire 20 wipe
Spn4 ~ race distinctions through n CON-
~rasee Ncslsmiging Of the Inhabitants OF
Una 0tsomAn Empire. The latter are
.uI0esd by that Wild suspicion from which
'few Turkish officials are free and also
av the theory that an uprising Of any
chsrAeser should be put down.
= Ihe AIbAnians are perhaps the oldest
seock In the Balkans. EthnoloGisas
sAayp reGmIded them 40 descended from
f&s ancient nlyriAns. Although they
have reuAinsd q separate and distinct
cpxnpaa. thsy have not for centuries had a
ca6ssrnsnsnt of their own and they have In
g3riAhly been oppressed by whoever has
NaE8 nwssrAinty over them. Il N perhaps
dbr Tits reason that they have not been
able % preserve . printed languAge.
livery eonqueVing people that has come
among them has endeavOred 10 force
its own language upon them.
That they have preserved their spoken
language " duo to the fact that they are
q mountain people somewhat isolated
and have alwayS opposed the nations
that have attempted TO oontrOl them.
sEhm iRQgHags has been preserved moatly
N the form Of heroic poems which have
l,een rocited by HomeTic nainstrols. These
.pcems detail &C great length the battles
and conauasts OF early heroes and arc
,srecksea by old men around the fres IN
ths kalas accompanied by the strumming
unussotDnous notes OF . single strineed
Instrument. the guxla.
Thus for centuries the Albanian Ian
IRs1ARe lived in the mountains. The first
SHnrt 70 reduce Il TO print was In 1879.
.when thsre was pubh&hed &C CONSTANT
,nopAs q book with an alphAest COM
TN1rasssrs and some specially inverted
ths Sultan had learned from expert
COCO that schools are centres Of revola-
elen. and would heIr Of no national edu- |
al
hade the printing % the language on
Tnrlixh coll but tired 20 suppress the |
league altogether. In the southern part |
20 the country many perHons we're i'm I
iWanted IN Il. hut 10 northern Albania. (
Nhegu ths Sultan was not In complete
ronsFol. the people dehsd him. had print /
rs presses q thesF own and taught the
WITH some notifications Vhis special
alphabet 10 used by several presses that
pssat Albanian papers IN foretan lands,
IiAs DyEa as soaS wa. % printed a. vel
,by Blble socisties for the translations Of .
tho 0ogpels.
As IL requires special type and tyns- /
Ugetsrs. q proved very expensivo and inn 4
70 use the Latin alphabet and Of these tho |
dre1t aYspem IL that invented by the Alb
thUtk % the Mirdites. enc Of the greatest ,
OF Albanian tribes. He sneeeedsd IN !
INUFONluink many OF Nno QituCulttH1. OUT
has not made thoroughly practical al
pkRbet
The hn9uAgs 10 an Aryan tongue and
much Of ia vocabulary resembles either
Greek or Latin but students say that the /
Words often sssm IN bs allied 20 these
tenNnas rather than derived from them.
The vers1a are capable of expressing very
aahtle mkAdes Of meaning and have, Ac-
se>f4in@ 70 tia. latest grammar. not Iess .
than mkty-hve teusas and eleven moods
one q the Interesting stories told re-
maFding the efogta n establish q printed ,
'hRRuRee 10 that Of the Albanian student
KristofoFidh. q native Of Flhasan, and a
great patriot. He devoted almost his
whole life 20 the making of a dictinnarv
He visited village after village in hts
~earch for local words and his efforts 20
trace the difference In the dialects. when
he died the work contained not les than
20 O00 words.
he bequeath@d the manuscript IN HIS .
sen who received an offer from the Greek I
Consul &C DuyaExo Of several thousand .
francs for 10. Young Kristnforidh turned .
the manuscripts over % the Consul but in /
stead Of receiving the money no was de- b
nouncsd 20 the Turks for attempting a .
national propaganda and was Imprisoned ,
for two years.
What became OF the dictionary u un-
Known. One report II tfat 10 was
DESTROYED. Others believe that II Tray
yet come 20 hrht and Re an important
Factor IN establishing the LANGUAGE
The Albanians have expected q great .