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In Memoriam Grigore Brâncuş

05.04.2022


(* 20. März 1929 † 2. April 2022)

The albanological academic-university world is experiencing another bitter event. On April 2, at the age of 93, passed away the well-known Romanian researcher Prof. Dr. Grigore Brâncuş, a member of the Romanian Academy of Sciences, also known by the affectionate nickname "Albanesul" (Albanian), due to the knowledge and in-depth study of Romanian-Albanian interlinguistic and ethno-cultural relations, to which he devoted the most fruitful part of his scientific life.

Brâncuş was born on March 20, 1929 in the municipality of Peştişani in the district of Gorj. He completed his university studies at the Faculty of Philology of the University of Bucharest, then continued his studies in Albania. At the age of no more than 21 he engaged in the teaching program of that university, being part of it for almost half a century (1950-1999), in which for 18 years he headed the Department of Romanian Language, while in the years 1970-1972 he also served as Deputy Dean.
In 1968 he completed his PhD in Historical Linguistics and Balkanology under the supervision of one of the most prominent Romanian linguists, Prof. Alexandru Rosetti. From 1968 to 1969 he was invited as a lecturer of the Romanian language at the Universities of Amsterdam and Groningen in the Netherlands.
The results of his research have been incorporated in a large number of works, where we distinguish, among others, these monographs: “B. P. Hasdeu” (1972); “Limba română contemporană. Morfologia verbului” (1976), „Introducere în istoria limbii române” (2002); “Limba română. Modele de analiză gramaticală” (1996); “Gramatica limbii române. Morfologia, în colaborare” (1998); “Istoria cuvintelor. Unitate de limbă și cultură românească” (2004); “Studii de istorie a limbii române” (2007); “Expresie populară în ciclul „La Lilieci” de Marin Sorescu” (2014).
From the very beginning, the interlinguistic relations between Albanian and Romanian occupied a special place in his scientific and intellectual engagement: Walking in the footsteps of his predecessors B.P. Hasdeu, Ovid Densusianu, Alexandru Philippide, Sextil Puşcariu, Alexandru Rosetti, according to whom Romanian ethnogenesis cannot be understood or reconstructed in its entirety without taking into account the mutual relations between the Albanian language and all the components of ethnic culture of these two ancient Balkan populations in time and space, Grigore Brâncuş tried to fill this gap in many of his studies and in several monographs, most prominent among them: Vocabularul autohton al limbii române (1983); Cercetări asupra fondului tracodac al limbii române (1995; ribot. 2009); Concordanțe lingvistice româno-albaneze (1999).

During his active academic life, Prof. Brâncuş has been honored with many awards, medals and national orders. His nickname "Albanesul" (Albanian) is a token of honor and gratitude and stands for his inseparable spiritual connection with the Albanian language, the Albanian culture and its bearers. The Albanian academic world will always remember this eminent Romanian scholar.

Prof. Dr. Bardhyl Demiraj