Gustav Meyer and the Albanology of the nineteenth century

Abstract This paper focuses on Gustav Meyer (1850–1900), one of the founding figures of Albanian studies, whose work played a decisive role in establishing the scientific study of Albanian historical linguistics. During the nineteenth century, Albanology was still an emerging field, characterized by limited empirical data, fragmented descriptions of the Albanian language, and ongoing debates regarding its linguistic classification. In this scholarly context, Albanian was often studied indirectly and lacked a systematic grammatical framework. Meyer’s research marked a decisive turning point by introducing rigorous comparative methods and firmly situating Albanian within the Indo-European language family. Through meticulous analyses of phonetics and morphology, he laid the foundations for the scientific study of Albanian. His work established methodological standards that combined systematic phonetic description with detailed morphological analysis, thereby advancing both the precision and the scope of Albanian linguistics. This paper examines Meyer’s Grammar of the Albanian Language (1888), with particular emphasis on its morphological structure and the systematic integration of phonetics. Selected examples from his work illustrate Meyer’s structured approach and highlight the enduring significance of his contributions to nineteenth-century Albanology. By situating Albanian within a comparative Indo-European framework, Meyer not only advanced the study of the language itself but also contributed to the broader development of historical linguistics in Europe.