Aleksandr Matveyev
Encyclopedia
Aleksandr Konstantinovich Matveyev was a Russian linguist known for his works in toponymics (branch of linguistics studying toponyms
), onomastics
(studies of proper names), and etymology
(origins and semantical development of words).
but because of the World War II
he entered and graduated from the Khabarovsk University. Starting in 1952 he worked at the Ural State University
in Sverdlovsk
. In 1970 he defended his second thesis (Russian degree of doctor nauk) and became professor of the philological department. Since 1961 – chief of the chair of Russian language and general linguistics at the Ural State University
. In 1988 he received the title of Scientist Emeritus of Russia. In 1991 he was elected a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
.
Being the chief of the annual dialectological and toponimical expeditions he contributed to the creation of a huge collection of toponyms of the Northern part of Russia. His study of this material revealed a great number of substrate phenomena from Uralic languages
and extended our knowledge of the formal and semantical development of toponyms as well as of the ancient state of the Uralic languages. He is noted for his work in advancing Slavic etymology in both scholarly and popular domains.
He was also the head of a large group of linguists known as Ural school of onomastics.
, Toponymical investigations, Etymology) and dictionaries (Dictionnary of Russian dialects of the Middle Urals, Dictionnary of dialects of Northern Russia, Materials to a Dictionnary of Finno-Ugric borrowings in the dialects of Northern Russia).
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
), onomastics
Onomastics
Onomastics or onomatology is the study of proper names of all kinds and the origins of names. The words are from the Greek: "ὀνομαστικός" , "of or belonging to naming" and "ὀνοματολογία" , from "ὄνομα" "name". Toponymy or toponomastics, the study of place names, is one of the principal branches of...
(studies of proper names), and etymology
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
(origins and semantical development of words).
Biography
Aleksandr Matveyev was born in SverdlovskYekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
but because of the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he entered and graduated from the Khabarovsk University. Starting in 1952 he worked at the Ural State University
Ural State University
The Ural State University is located in the city of Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russian Federation. Founded in 1920, it was an exclusive educational establishment made of several institutes which later became independent universities and schools.In 1936 the university was named after one of...
in Sverdlovsk
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
. In 1970 he defended his second thesis (Russian degree of doctor nauk) and became professor of the philological department. Since 1961 – chief of the chair of Russian language and general linguistics at the Ural State University
Ural State University
The Ural State University is located in the city of Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russian Federation. Founded in 1920, it was an exclusive educational establishment made of several institutes which later became independent universities and schools.In 1936 the university was named after one of...
. In 1988 he received the title of Scientist Emeritus of Russia. In 1991 he was elected a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
.
Being the chief of the annual dialectological and toponimical expeditions he contributed to the creation of a huge collection of toponyms of the Northern part of Russia. His study of this material revealed a great number of substrate phenomena from Uralic languages
Uralic languages
The Uralic languages constitute a language family of some three dozen languages spoken by approximately 25 million people. The healthiest Uralic languages in terms of the number of native speakers are Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, Mari and Udmurt...
and extended our knowledge of the formal and semantical development of toponyms as well as of the ancient state of the Uralic languages. He is noted for his work in advancing Slavic etymology in both scholarly and popular domains.
He was also the head of a large group of linguists known as Ural school of onomastics.
Main works
Aleksandr Matveyev is the author of several books including Finno-Ugric borrowings in Russian dialect of the Northern Urals (Sverdlovsk, 1959), Methods of toponymic researches (Sverdlovsk, 1986), Substrate toponymics of Northern Russia (vol. 1, 2, Yekaterinburg, 2001), the fundamental Onomatology (Moscow, 2006) and many popular books about language for non-linguists. Prof. A. Matveyev is the author of 270 publications. He was the editor-in-chief and member of editorial committees of several periodicals (including Questions of OnomasticsQuestions of Onomastics
Questions of Onomastics is a Russian peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes articles on onomastics. It was established in 2004 by the Ural State University and the Russian Language Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences as a periodical dedicated to linguistic studies of proper names...
, Toponymical investigations, Etymology) and dictionaries (Dictionnary of Russian dialects of the Middle Urals, Dictionnary of dialects of Northern Russia, Materials to a Dictionnary of Finno-Ugric borrowings in the dialects of Northern Russia).