Irena Natalia Sawicka (born 20 September 1944, in Warsaw) is a Polish linguist, Balkanologist, and Slavicist with significant interest in Albanology. She is among the world's most authoritative linguists who have studied the Albanian language and has greatly contributed to the dissemination, cultivation, and study of Albanian in Poland, as well as the promotion of Albanology worldwide. [1] [2]
In 1968, she graduated with a degree in Slavic philology from the University of Warsaw. After her studies, she began working at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In 1972, she obtained her doctoral degree with a dissertation on the structure of consonant clusters in Slavic languages, under the supervision of Janusz Siatkowski. In 1978, she obtained her habilitation degree at the University of Warsaw with a dissertation titled "Issues of Nominal Predication on the Example of the Serbo-Croatian Language." In 1991, she was awarded the title of professor of humanities. [3]
She worked at the Institute of Slavic Studies until 1992, after which she was employed in the Department of Comparative Slavic Studies at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, where she directed the Institute of Slavic Philology and Balkan Studies for many years. Within this university, she also taught Albanian, qualifying some of today's most distinguished Polish Balkanists in Albanology. She retired in 2014.
Sawicka specializes in the phonetics and phonology of Slavic and Balkan languages, including Albanian, as well as typology and geographical linguistics, with a special focus on Southern Slavic languages and Albanian. She is the author of many pioneering works on the grammar and inflection of the Albanian language in Poland. Among her most important studies on Albanian are those on the structure of the syllable in the Albanian language and the syllable structure of the Arbëreshë of Italy. These are included in the monograph "The Structure of the Albanian Syllable," co-authored with her former student Karolina Dargiel, published in 2018 by the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo.
She has participated in the Prishtina Albanological Seminar and in various Albanology conferences in Kosovo. In 1989, she received the award of the Secretary General of the Polish Academy of Sciences, several times the Rector's Award of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, as well as the "Goce Delčev" Award from the Republic of Macedonia and the "Blaže Koneski" Award from the Macedonian Academy of Sciences for her contributions to Macedonian. [4] She is also a member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo. [5]
The phonological system of the Polish language is similar in many ways to those of other Slavic languages, although there are some characteristic features found in only a few other languages of the family, such as contrasting postalveolar and alveolo-palatal fricatives and affricates. The vowel system is relatively simple, with just six oral monophthongs and arguably two nasals in traditional speech, while the consonant system is much more complex.
The Albanians of Kosovo, also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars, constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo.
Mark Krasniqi was a Kosovar Albanian ethnographist, publicist, writer and translator who did most of his work while residing in Yugoslavia.
Albanian is an Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan group. It is the native language of the Albanian people. Standard Albanian is the official language of Albania and a co-official language in Kosovo, where it is the native language of the vast majority of the population. It is also a co-official language in North Macedonia and Montenegro, where it is the primary language of significant Albanian minority communities. Albanian is recognized as a minority language in Italy, Croatia, Romania, and Serbia. It is also spoken in Greece and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Europe and Oceania. Albanian is estimated to have as many as 7.5 million native speakers.
Opinga are traditional shoes worn by Albanians in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia (opinci), Montenegro, Greece, and the Arbëresh villages of Italy. They were also worn by countrymen in Romania (opinca), Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (opanak), Bulgaria (opinka), and other countries. They are made of a single leather skin, formed to the feet with leather or wool strips. A southern Albanian variety of opinga are the typical turned up leather shoes with red and black wool pompoms on the ends, which are often used for folk dances.
Wacław Cimochowski was a Polish philologist who specialized in Indo-European linguistics, especially in Albanology.
Classical music in Kosovo refers to the art music cultivated in Kosovo. The roots of classical music in Kosovo are found in the 1940s and include the time period from the times when Kosovo was part of Yugoslavia to this day. It can be said that there is a tradition of classical music in Kosovo, however, compared to other Balkan countries and especially European countries this tradition is younger. Classical music in Kosovo has evolved in a very short period of time, passing through generations of composers and artists. In his book Stylistic development in the works of Albanian composers, Engjëll Berisha comments:
The diversity of styles in Albanian music [of Kosovo], its national patterns with sound idea-aesthetic foundations are a characteristic of the European musical reality, so many many works are of interest abroad, too, because during this relatively short period Albanian classical music in Kosovo has compensated for the delay in its development.
The Bazaar of Pristina, Kosovo, was the core merchandising center of the Old Pristina since the 15th century, when it was built. It played a significant role in the physical, economic, and social development of Pristina. The Old Bazaar was destroyed during the 1950s and 1960s, following the modernization slogan of "Destroy the old, build the new". In its place, buildings of Kosovo Assembly, Municipality of Pristina, PTT, and Brotherhood and Unity socialist square were built. Nowadays, instead of PTT building resides the Government of Kosovo building. Only few historical buildings, such as the Bazaar Mosque and ruins of the Bazaar Hammam have remained from the Bazaar complex. Since then, Pristina has lost part of its identity, and its cultural heritage has been scattered.
Rugova is a mountain region located to the north-west of the city of Peja, in Kosovo. According to notes of Rugova it has been inhabited since before the 12th century. In 2013, it was designated a national park by the Parliament of Kosovo.
The Faculty of Arts of Pristina is the faculty of arts of the University of Pristina, located in Pristina, Kosovo.
Albania's Golgotha: Indictment of the Exterminators of the Albanian People, is a German published document of 1913 which was written by the Austrian publicist and politician Leo Freundlich (1875-1953). The document is a compilation of news which he gathered when traveling in the Vilayet of Kosovo during the Serbian invasion of 1912-1913, explaining in detail the full-scale massacres, rape, expulsions, torture and abuse which Albanian civilians suffered under rule by the Serb army and Chetnik paramilitaries. According to the documents of Freundlich, 25,000 Albanians were massacred in the Kosovo Vilayet halfway through the First Balkan War. The document describes the methods of ethnic cleansing which was used to remove the Albanian population of North Macedonia, Northern Albania, and Kosovo. The document was re-translated by Robert Elsie. The reports were confirmed by the International Commission to Inquire into the Causes and Conduct of the Balkan War.
Kosovo is characterised by a diverse biodiversity and an abundance of different ecosystems and habitats determined by the climate along with the geology and hydrology. Predominantly mountainous, it is located at the center of the Balkan Peninsula bounded by Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the north and east, North Macedonia to the southeast, and Albania to the southwest.
Isaija Radev Mažovski was a Mijak painter and activist. Mažovski sought political solutions in the liberation of Ottoman Macedonia. A Slavophile, he travelled to Russia to establish contacts with prominent individuals there including the Russian tsar, hoping to gain support for Macedonian liberation.
Kosovo during World War I was initially, for about a year, completely filled with Serbian military forces, which retreated towards Albania to continue further to Corfu. After the occupation of the territories by Austria-Hungary, the German Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria as allies in the First World War, the occupied territories were divided. The years 1915–1918 in the occupied Bulgarian zone are considered the most tragic years of poverty and hunger for the population of this part of Kosovo. The lack of bread was felt not only because of the drought, but also because the invaders confiscated the people's grain. Unlike the Bulgarian occupation zone, the Austro-Hungarians pursued a policy aimed at benefiting the general populace. They began to disregard some national rights, which for Albanians had vital value.
Zef Mirdita was an Albanian historian, university professor and academic. He has made a significant contribution to the fields of Illyrology and Balkan studies.
Dea Dardanica is an archaeological artifact found in Kosovo that represents an ancient deity associated with the Dardania region, located in the central-western Balkans, which encompasses parts of modern Kosovo and western North Macedonia.
The University Clinical Center of Kosovo is the largest and most prominent medical institution in Kosovo, located in Pristina, the capital city. The UCCK provides a wide range of medical services, including specialized treatments and surgeries, and plays a crucial role in healthcare delivery and medical education within Kosovo.
Remzi Nesimi (1933–2018) was an Albanian linguist, professor, and researcher from North Macedonia. Nesimi's dedication to the Albanian language and education left a lasting mark, and he is remembered as a respected scholar and mentor.
Rexhep Ferri was a Kosovan Albanian painter, poet, and writer. Renowned for his contributions to the arts, he was a significant figure in the Albanian and Kosovan art scene. Ferri's work is characterized by its distinctive style and profound thematic elements, often reflecting the cultural and historical context of Albania and Kosovo.
Gunnar Olaf Svane was a distinguished Danish linguist, professor, and scholar specializing in Albanology and Slavic studies. His academic career was primarily associated with Aarhus University in Denmark, where he served as a professor of Slavic studies from 1965 until his retirement in 1994. Svane's expertise extended to medieval Slavic languages and South Slavic languages, but he is particularly renowned for his research on Slavic loanwords in the Albanian language.