The Albanian alphabet is a variant of the Latin alphabet used to write the Albanian language. It consists of 36 letters:
The Albanian National Awakening, commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political, and social movement in the Albanian history where the Albanian people gathered strength to establish an independent cultural and political life, as well as the country of Albania.
Ndre Mjeda was an Albanian philologist, poet, priest, rilindas, translator and writer of the Albanian Renaissance. He was a member of the Mjeda family.
Mid'hat Bey Frashëri was an Albanian diplomat, writer and politician. The son of Abdyl Frashëri, one of the most important activists of the Albanian National Awakening in 1908 he participated in the Congress of Monastir. In 1942 he became the president of Balli Kombëtar, an Albanian fascist collaborationist and anti-communist movement during the Second World War. Frashëri is referred to as one of the fathers of modern Albanian nationalism.
Gjergj Fishta was an Albanian Franciscan friar, poet, educator, rilindas, politician, translator and writer. He is regarded as one of the most influential Albanian writers of the 20th century, particularly for his epic masterpiece Lahuta e Malcís, and he was the editor of two of the most authoritative magazines after Albania's independence, Posta e Shypniës and Hylli i Dritës.
Petro Nini Luarasi was an Albanian rilindas activist, Christian orthodox priest, teacher and journalist. His father, Nini Petro Kostallari, had also been active in the Albanian National Revival as a publicist and teacher.
Parashqevi Qiriazi was an Albanian teacher of the Qiriazi family who dedicated her life to the Albanian alphabet and to the instruction of written Albanian language. She was a woman participant at the Congress of Manastir, which decided the form of the Albanian alphabet, and the founder of the Yll' i Mengjesit, a women's association. Parashqevi was also a participant in the Paris Peace Conference, 1919 as a member of the Albanian-American community. She was the sister of Sevasti Qiriazi, who was the director of the first Albanian School for girls in Korça, opened in 1891.
Gjergj Qiriazi, known as George D. Kyrias, was an Albanian patriot, author, educator, translator, Protestant Bible distributor, organizer of the First Congress of Monastir (1908), and activist of the Albanian National Awakening.
Fehim bey Zavalani (1859-1935) was an Albanian landowner from the Kolonjë area, journalist and activist of the Albanian National Awakening. He was also the editor of Bashkimi i Kombit, one of the most important Albanian newspapers of the era. In 1908 he became one of the head organizers of the Congress of Monastir, in which the Albanian alphabet was standardized.
Athanas Sina, also known as Thanas Sina, was an Albanian journalist, teacher and activist of the Albanian National Awakening. Sina was the second headmaster of the Mësonjëtorja, the first officially recognized Albanian-language school in the Ottoman Empire. He was also member of the Bashkimi organization, whose alphabet proposal in the Congress of Monastir would become the official alphabet of Albania.
The Congress of Dibër was a congress held by members of Albanian committee in Debar from July 23 to July 29, 1909. The congress was chaired by Vehbi Dibra, Grand Mufti of the Sanjak of Dibra and was sponsored by the government of the Young Turks. It was held on the first anniversary of the Young Turk Revolution and was a countermeasure on the Latin script based Albanian alphabet which came out of the Congress of Manastir.
Society for the Publication of Albanian Letters was a patriotic organization of Albanian intellectuals, promoting publications in Albanian, especially school texts, which were extremely important for the younger generation's education. It was founded on 12 October 1879 in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire.
Hysni Curri (?–1925) was a Kosovar Albanian military figure and a prominent leader of the Kachak movement and the Committee for the National Defence of Kosovo.
Qiriazi family were a prominent Albanian family from Manastir. They were educators, translators, publishers, and public figures of the Albanian National Awakening period. They are remembered for their activities in support of the consolidation of Albanian national awareness. They are also known, especially Gjerasim and Gjergj, for their role as early founders of the Albanian Evangelical Movement.
Preng Doçi (1846–1917), Italian: Primus Docci, was an Albanian political and religious figure and poet. He was a main contributor in the Albanian Bashkimi Alphabet.
Shoqnia e Bashkimit të Gjuhës Shqipe, usually known as the Shoqnia Bashkimi, or simply Bashkimi i Shkodrës was a literary society founded in Shkodra, Ottoman Empire in 1899. The Bashkimi society was the union of three previously independent societies: Shpresa, Drita and Dituria. Drita, a journal was the official publication of the Bashkimi Society.
Agimi was an Albanian literary society founded in Shkodër, Ottoman Empire in 1901.
The Second Congress of Manastir was an Albanian congress held on 2–3 April 1910 in Manastir, back then Ottoman Empire, today's Bitola in the Republic of North Macedonia. It dealt with the challenges that the Albanian language and schools faced at the time within the context of the empire, and the platform to overcome them.
The Congress of Elbasan, also known among Albanians as the Congress of the Albanian schools, was held from 2 to 8 September 1909 in Elbasan, today's Albania, back then part of the Vilayet of Monastir of the Ottoman Empire. The congress, sponsored by the local Bashkimi literary club, was attended by 35 delegates from central and southern Albania.
Menduh Zavalani (1889–1914) was an Albanian revolutionary and political leader active during the last years of the Albanian National Awakening. He formed his own revolutionary band and was one of the leaders that liberated Përmet and the environs from the Ottoman Empire. Menduh was an appointed delegate from his hometown Korça to the Albanian National Congress that proclaimed the Independence of Albania. In the intellectual level Menduh was noted for the translation of Friedrich Schiller's drama Wilhelm Tell into Albanian. He was assassinated at a very young age near Pogradec by a local collaborationist band.
