By Genc Mlloja
When I started studying at the Faculty of Foreign Languages in the English branch at the University of Tirana, I was impressed when we met the professors as one of them was called Hamlet by his colleagues. I initially thought it was a name- calling among friends, but no, it was the real name of my future professor of the ‘History of England’, Hamlet Bezhani, who would teach me during my studies. I was 18 years old from Shkodra city and it was the first time I learned that an Albanian had the name of one of the most emblematic characters of the great English playwright, William Shakespeare.
But I later learned that this name was no coincidence for the professor. He was a child of the well-known Bezhani family, a prominent dynasty for generations with a love of knowledge and education. It seems that when he was born on June 10, 1940 in the village of Fterre in Vlora, known as a source of patriotism and educational tradition, his father Refik saw in the future of his son a genuine intellectual. No wonder Fterra, Hamlet’s hometown, is nicknamed the “Village of Wisdom”.
President: Prof. Bezhani among founding intellectuals of Albania’s higher education
“This environment has nourished Professor Bezhani with love for books and reading that remained his permanent love,” said President Ilir Meta in the ceremony organized on June 10, 2020 to appreciate the prominent linguist, translator and lecturer Hamlet Bezhani (after death) with the title” Knight of Skanderbeg Order”.
And the motivation for the decoration shows in a few lines a lot about that ‘Knight’ of knowledge that goes so well with the title: “Knight of Skanderbeg Order”. Motivation’s five lines tell concisely very much on the life and work of Professor Bezhani. “In high esteem for his dedication and valuable contribution as a professor of English and German, who educated whole generations with European culture and values. In appreciation of his work as a researcher, author of text-books and talented linguist, as well as for the special mastery of translating literature and well-known historical, scientific and academic works from English and German languages into Albanian.”
There is no way not to bow respectfully in front of this figure, and he was honored with veneration in the ceremony organized at the Faculty of Foreign Languages of the University of Tirana on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of his birthday by President Meta, his family, colleagues and students who attended the remarkable ceremony. Meta’s remarks in the ceremony follow:
“Professor Bezhani belongs to the generation of intellectuals who laid the foundations of higher education in Albania, especially in the field of linguistics, with their commitment to science and studies and the unforgettable translations from English and German languages into Albanian. He was one of the first students of excellence to be sent to study abroad and bring values and experience to help and develop education, creating profiles of universities and departments that would train future generations of educators. Professor Bezhani turned his academic education and in-depth studies abroad into extraordinary contributions to Albanian higher education. Thanks to his valuable experience and dedication to language and translation, he worthily represented Albania in the international arena as an excellent ambassador of his people around the world, in studies and scientific researches of various countries.
Owing to his education and solid educational principles, Professor Bezhani succeeded to become an honored educator and professor remembered with respect and nostalgia by generations of students and colleagues. He knew how to convey values, knowledge and humanism, passion and hard work and at the same time, authority and respect to students of all generations.
His colleagues rightly honor him as an academic with integrity and unquestionable contribution to the creation and growth of the English and German departments at the Faculty of Foreign Languages but also as a profound researcher of scientific and literary works and often appreciating him as a “moving encyclopedia”. Today, the Albanian society and academic libraries have as their property some of the most valuable works owing to the outstanding work of Professor Bezhani.
Among them it is the German-Albanian Dictionary in two volumes, which he co-authored, containing 82,000 words. It is published by one of the most prestigious academic publishing houses in Germany remaining still as the basic work in both languages used by the public as well as the Albanian and foreign scholars after 3 decades. His didactic work extends to a wide range of the Albanian educational system, ranging from works for the 8-year cycle to the contribution with his studies of Albanian and English linguistics, historical grammar, the history of the English people and others.
The accumulated academic wealth and respect, which he enjoyed naturally, put him in leading positions over the years as vice dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, head of the Department of English Language, chairman of the German Language Postgraduate Commission for 20 years and chairman of the Scientific Council for a 10- year term.
During his career, Professor Bezhani is known for his special mastery in translating from the English and German languages into Albanian of literature and well-known historical, scientific and academic works for the Albanian public and scholars.
Thanks to his outstanding knowledge and solid knowledge of the German language Professor Bezhani was translator during the visits of the Prime Minister of Bavaria, Franz Joseph Strauss to Albania since 1984 and in the bilateral discussions on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the former Federal Republic of Germany and the former Socialist People’s Republic of Albania.
The professor was a passionate researcher of languages and a perfect example of how languages connect people and bring them together. Professor Bezhani has also made a major contribution to the promotion of Albania in the early 1990s as a place of coexistence and ethnic and religious understanding and the promotion of Albanian identity in the circles of the US Congress and the German Parliament.
Thus, he has represented Albania several times in annual international forums such as the Breakfast Prayer in Washington DC organized by the US Congress where the world political, social and business elite gathers in meetings for several days in the name of peace and conflict avoidance in the world. As a symbol of peace and legacy left to younger generations, Professor Bezhani planted an olive tree in the courtyard of the Faculty of Foreign Languages in 2000. Today the olive tree bears a plaque with his name on it.
Due to the promotion of Albania by honorable people like Professor Bezhani, foreign students and researchers are already coming to live and work in Albania through academic exchange programs. This marks another stage in the development of Albania and the integration of our country in the western world, which began with the generation of the professor. It has already reached the highest levels a decade after Albania’s membership in NATO and now when we can hardly wait for the opening of negotiations (with the EU).
His multidimensional contribution has helped not only to set the standards of the education system in Albania and improve the didactics of teaching, but also for the European shaping of generations of students and the opening of the windows of thought of many generations of intellectuals, thus multiplying the achievements, the impact and echo of his immense work. Although we do not have Professor Bezhani among us since 5 years, he has left behind a respected family of academics, language researchers and talented translators, who today continue with dignity his precious tradition and that of the Bezhani family.”
Always in ‘knightly’ quest…
Talking to Mrs. Enida, the daughter of my honored professor, before the ceremony in honor of the professor, it stuck in my mind one thing she told me about the mindset of her father’s generation: “The title that will be awarded to my father is: ‘Knight of Skanderbeg Order,’ and it seems to me that it does quite well with his ‘knightly’ personality, always on the run and in the avant-garde of the time. Like all of you in those days!”
And going back in time, this was Hamlet’s life and career: he was born in Fterre, Vlora, where he finished primary school, while he graduated seven- year school and high school in Tirana. From 1958 to 1961, Professor Bezhani studied in the former German Democratic Republic in the Department of German Language and Literature at the University of Leipzig. Subsequently, from 1961 to 1964, he continued his higher studies at the University of Tirana in the Department of English Language. After graduation he was sent to the University of Beijing for postgraduate studies owing to his excellent results.
For over 40 years as a full-time professor at the Department of English and contributing professor at the Department of German Language at the University of Tirana, Professor Bezhani has made his outstanding contribution to vocational training and the emancipation of new generations of teachers and translators.
The professor brought the model of a cooperative and inclusive leader during the years he held the post of Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, and as chairman of the Scientific Council at the Faculty of Foreign Languages. He has held the position of Chief of the English Language Department several times and chaired the German Language Postgraduate Commission for about 20 years.
In 1979 he presented his dissertation on the topic: “The system of articles in English compared to the system of articles in the Albanian language and some other Indo-European languages”. Subsequently, in 1981 he was awarded the title “Candidate of Philological Sciences”, in 1985 the title “Docent” and in 1994 he was awarded the title “Professor”.
His academic background made possible for him to benefit several prestigious scholarships such as: the UNESCO Scholarship at the Sorbonne University, Paris, France (1983-1984), the Humboldt Scholarship at the German Language Institute (IDS) in Mannheim, Germany (1991), the Scholarship Fulbright as a visiting professor at the University of Texas, Austin, US (1995-1996).
As an open-minded and benevolent man, Professor Bezhani has always put this international experience in the service of his colleagues and students, who maintain for their professor the highest appreciation for the role he has played in their formation not only professionally, but also humanly with the European civilized dimension.
‘English Kingdom between us’
Reflecting on my experience as a student (1966-1970) of professor Hamlet it has always impressed me on his anti- conformist nature, something which made you feel better with him both in lessons and free time. And as his name was related to the Shakespearean character Hamlet and the subject he taught us was the ‘History of England’ the atmosphere in his lectures was really full of drama keeping the class involved.
Through his eloquent lectures professor Hamlet brought us the historical events of England filled with kings and queens, wars, plots, dramas, and tragedies in real time. With the little English we had learned, he did not get tired of turning us into active performers during the class. And his type made possible such an experience for us, which for young people like us was both fun and rewarding. As a man without an authoritarian complex, the stature of the typical professor of that time did not suit Hamlet, it fitted him ‘tight’ and thus everything was different in his lectures making them interesting, vivid and easy to comprehend.
In his lectures in the late 1960s, when Albania was widely involved in the fury of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the professor passionately brought us English atmosphere of royal castles, numerous historical events, the masters of literature and art of that country, fragments of English life and other events as in a movie. And when it happened that any movie related to English history and life was shown in Tirana, the lectures turned into conversations having them as main topics of discussion.
Graduation put me in the whirlpool of work but I was in Tirana after 1972, and I followed Professor Hamlet, especially in the professional aspect, which interested me.
The professor has left behind a rich and varied linguistic activity. Among other things, he is the co-author of the German-Albanian Dictionary in two volumes, with about 82,000 words, published in 1996 by the publishing house Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, Germany. He is well known as author of a number of university textbooks for students as well as for high schools. Likewise the professor is the compiler of the basic texts of the Introduction to General Linguistic, A Brief History of the English People, the Historical Development of the English Language, etc. Professor Bezhani is well known for the special mastery of translating from the English and German language into Albanian of literature and well-known historical, scientific and academic works for the Albanian public and scholars such as Epirus, His History and Pre-History (historical work, 1,200 pages), Modern Times (historical work, 560 pages), Step by Step (didactic work, 310 pages), Khomreh (180 pages) and others.
From 1994 to 2015, he was a co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the first English language schools in Albania with branches in several districts of the country. He has also been an official government translator of both English and German. He was also a good connoisseur of the French, Italian and Russian languages.
Professor Bezhani passed away on May 29, 2015. In November 2018, the Faculty of Foreign Languages awarded him a Certificate of Appreciation with the motivation “For special contributions to the formation of generations of students and intellectuals at the Faculty of Foreign Languages”.
The latest event around the figure of the late Professor, Hamlet Bezhani, of this “mobile encyclopedia” – the awarding of the title “Knight of Skanderbeg Order ” – is a new well-deserved appreciation of his work, deed and a life full of dynamism and vitality, which can be summed up in one word: Knowledge! And it is exactly knowledge, which has been the ‘sword’ of the unforgettable ‘knightly’ professor Hamlet Bezhani, something that he has generously left behind to the younger generations in their path of learning.
