Panayotis Koupitoris


Panayotis Koupitoris was an Arvanite Greek writer from the island of Hydra.

Biography

Koupitoris studied literature at the University of Athens and was later principal of several secondary schools. He also organized a night school that taught in Arvanitika. In 1879 Koupitoris purchased a printing press and, along with Anastas Kullurioti, started the publication of the newspaper The Voice of Albania,
Koupitoris is the author of the Greek-language Meletai peri tis glossis kai tou ethnous Alvanias, published in Athens in 1879. He is also said to have published a primer of Albanian in 1879, and wrote an etymological Albanian dictionary, as yet unpublished.

His work and views

Panayotis Koupitoris was a lifelong researcher of the Albanian language and nation. In his book "Αλβανικαί Μελέται ‐ Πραγματεία ιστορική και φιλολογική περί της γλώσσης και του έθνους των Αλβανών" in where he presents the core elements of his beliefs, after analyzing historically and literary the Albanian entity, concludes about the Albanian language that "αναγκάζεται τις να κατατάξη αυτήν εις τον ελληνολατινικόν κλάδον και να ομολογήση ότι της αλβανικής γλώσσης το πλείστον μέρος εστίν ελληνικόν, πολύ δε και το λατινικόν, σμικρόν δε τι μέρος το γερμανικόν και ελάχιστον το κελτικόν", p. 35. About the origin of the Illyrians and their language which he believes they were a relative to the Albanian, nation, he concludes: "Eκ των παρατεθειμένων συμπεραίνεται νομίζω ότι η ιλλυρική γλώσσα ην ουχί αλλότρια της ελληνικής, αλλά διάλεκτος αυτής απωτέρα των άλλων και οι Ιλλυριοί ελληνικόν φύλον.".
He also wrote a study about the pronouns of the Albanian dialect in Greece and an extended Latin-Greek lexicon.

Works