Kostaq Cipo and Albanian language dictionary

Abstract

Sixty years ago, during the commemoration of Kostaq Cipo's death ceremony, a member of the Institute of Sciences, notable figures including Kol Paparisto, Aleksander Xhuvani, Gjovalin Lika, Kahreman Ylli, Aleks Buda, Mahir Domi, Shefqet Musaraj, Dhimitër Shuteriqi, Sotir Kuneshka, and Sali Mborja wrote, "In a short time of five years, he compiled two works on Albanian grammar and syntax, which mark important steps forward in the Albanian grammatology. The major part belonged to the elaboration of orthography and although weak by illness, he led the work for the Albanian language dictionary, reflecting the rich experience and his deep knowledge of the language. With careful scientific work, he prepared the critical edition of some works by our classic authors." Despite his illness, K. Cipo continued to work and stayed at the forefront of the dictionary project. In March 1951, he mentioned that "it will be of great help to schools and offices. It is a dictionary that has a special organization and tone. Every word has its elaborated and stylized definition, and its phraseological expression when necessary. It is given to the word the concrete meaning, the abstract meaning, and the imagined one when it had any. There is also the terminology of the learning subjects and that of some Departments. The dictionary includes words from literary language and those of popular origin, even of foreign origin, such as Turkish words of folklore. Officials and students will find words with expanded meaning and words with limited meaning, and also expressions of this or that province. Two to three hundred words of the social-political field are attached with definitions taken from the new Soviet dictionaries." K. Cipo explained "with how much affection and passion the Dictionary Commission worked and how during the work they gained preparation in the domain of lexicography, which we leave to the reader to think about." On this anniversary of both the professor’s birth and death, we convey the message that this work stands as a milestone in monolingual lexicography, but it also makes us bow respectfully before the extraordinary work done by the compilers and first of all by their conductor.