Gheg
The form of Albanian spoken in northern Albania and across into Kosovo and Montenegro is called Gheg or Geg.
Gheg Gospel of Matthew 1870
The Gospel of Matthew was translated into the Scutari (Shkodër) dialect of Gheg Albanian and published in 1870 as Ugniλl Scêit t’ Jeԑu Krisctit Sikundersè Matteu.
It was translated from the Latin Vulgate by Padre Francesco Rossi of Montalto. He had produced an Albanian grammar called Regole grammaticali della lingua albanese, which was published in 1866. The orthography of the Gospel was based on that used by Rossi in his grammar, and included some characters no longer used in modern Albanian.
The Gospel was then revised and corrected into natural Albanian by Mons. Gaspër Krasniqi (in Italian known as Gaspare Crasnich), who was the mitred abbot of the region of Mirdita, based in Orosh. The Italian label read: Il Vangelo di S. Matteo tradotto dalla Volgata nel dialetto Albanese Ghego Scutarino, dal P. Francesco Rossi da Montalto. Riveduto e corretto da Mons. Gaspare Crasnich, abate mitrato di Mirditta.
This Gospel account was commissioned by Prince Louis Luciano Bonaparte. He was a great linguist based in London, who commissioned translations into lesser languages and dialects of Europe.
The Gospel was published in 1870, with 250 copies, by Strangeways and Walden, of 28 Castle Street, Leicester Square, London.
Digital Edition
This was digitised from an original copy at the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) collection at Cambridge University. It was produced for the Interconfessional Bible Society of Albania (IBSR) with the help of MissionAssist in 2021.
