Adolf Noreen
Encyclopedia
Adolf Gotthard Noreen was a Swedish
linguist
who served as a member of the Swedish Academy
from 1919 until his death.
. He became a student at Uppsala University
in 1871 and went on to complete his doctorate
there in 1877; he became a lecturer at the university in the same year. Noreen spent most of 1879 at the University of Leipzig
, the home of the Neogrammarian
school of linguistics - a school to which Noreen belonged for his entire literary life. Whilst in Leipzig, Noreen was taught Lithuanian
by August Leskien
, a pioneer of research into sound laws
.
Much of Noreen's early output was focused on Swedish dialectology
, primarily in his home province of Värmland and the neighbouring province of Dalarna
. His work, which was the first in Sweden to utilise the findings of the Neogrammarians, remained influential in the field well into the 20th century. Noreen's academic focus in the 1880s shifted to the field of historical linguistics
, primarily centred on the Germanic languages
. His grammars of Old West Norse
and Old Swedish remain in use by scholars to the present day. In 1887 Noreen was named as the third Professor of Scandinavian languages at Uppsala University. Noreen devoted the last twenty years of his life to writing Vårt språk (Our Language), an ultimately unfinished work in which he outlines his view of the Swedish language
, its grammar
, phonology
and morphology
. Noreen was elected to Seat 12 of the Swedish Academy in 1919, following the death of Gustaf Retzius
.
Noreen is buried at Uppsala gamla kyrkogård.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
linguist
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
who served as a member of the Swedish Academy
Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy , founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden.-History:The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III. Modelled after the Académie française, it has 18 members. The motto of the Academy is "Talent and Taste"...
from 1919 until his death.
Biography
Noreen was born in VärmlandVärmland
' is a historical province or landskap in the west of middle Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland and Närke. It is also bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are Vermelandia and Wermelandia. Although the province's land originally was Götaland, the...
. He became a student at Uppsala University
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
in 1871 and went on to complete his doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
there in 1877; he became a lecturer at the university in the same year. Noreen spent most of 1879 at the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
, the home of the Neogrammarian
Neogrammarian
The Neogrammarians were a German school of linguists, originally at the University of Leipzig, in the late 19th century who proposed the Neogrammarian hypothesis of the regularity of sound change...
school of linguistics - a school to which Noreen belonged for his entire literary life. Whilst in Leipzig, Noreen was taught Lithuanian
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
by August Leskien
August Leskien
August Leskien was a German linguist active in the field of comparative linguistics, particularly relating to the Baltic and Slavic languages.-Biography:...
, a pioneer of research into sound laws
Sound change
Sound change includes any processes of language change that affect pronunciation or sound system structures...
.
Much of Noreen's early output was focused on Swedish dialectology
Swedish dialects
Swedish dialects can be categorized into Traditional Dialects and Modern Dialects .-Traditional dialects:...
, primarily in his home province of Värmland and the neighbouring province of Dalarna
Dalarna
', English exonym: Dalecarlia, is a historical province or landskap in central Sweden. Another English language form established in literature is the Dales. Places involving the element Dalecarlia exist in the United States....
. His work, which was the first in Sweden to utilise the findings of the Neogrammarians, remained influential in the field well into the 20th century. Noreen's academic focus in the 1880s shifted to the field of historical linguistics
Historical linguistics
Historical linguistics is the study of language change. It has five main concerns:* to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages...
, primarily centred on the Germanic languages
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
. His grammars of Old West Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
and Old Swedish remain in use by scholars to the present day. In 1887 Noreen was named as the third Professor of Scandinavian languages at Uppsala University. Noreen devoted the last twenty years of his life to writing Vårt språk (Our Language), an ultimately unfinished work in which he outlines his view of the Swedish language
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, its grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, phonology
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
and morphology
Morphology (linguistics)
In linguistics, morphology is the identification, analysis and description, in a language, of the structure of morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context...
. Noreen was elected to Seat 12 of the Swedish Academy in 1919, following the death of Gustaf Retzius
Gustaf Retzius
Magnus Gustaf Retzius was a Swedish physician and anatomist who dedicated a large part of his life to researching the histology of the sense organs and nervous system.-Biography:...
.
Noreen is buried at Uppsala gamla kyrkogård.
Works
- Fryksdalsmålets ljudlära (1877)
- Dalbymålet (1879)
- Fårömålet (1879)
- ‘Sam. Columbus’ En svensk ordeskötsel (with G. Stjernström; 1881)
- Svensk språklära (with E. Schwartz; 1881)
- Dalmålen (1881–83)
- Altislandische und altnorwegische Grammatik (1884)
- Utkast til föreläsningar i urgermansk ljudlära med huvudsakligt avseende på de nordiska språken (1888–90)
- Geschichte der germanischen Philologie (1891)
- Valda stycken af svenska författare 1526–1732 (with E. Meyer; 1893)
- Altschwedisches Lesebuch (1892–94)
- Spridda studier (1895)
- Altschwedische Grammatik mit Einschluss des Altgutnischen (1897)
- Vårt språk (1904–24)