Georg Morgenstierne
Encyclopedia
Georg Morgenstierne was a Norwegian
professor of linguistics
with the University of Oslo
(UiO). He specialized in Indo-Iranian languages
.
, Pakistan
, India
and Iran
. In 1924, he undertook the first of his two major linguistic expeditions. He arrived in Kabul
with a personal letter of introduction to the King of Afghanistan, from the King of Norway. Together with studying the languages, Morgenstierne collected remarkable scientific materials from the culture of the regional people, like images, movies from pre-Islam
ic ceremonial dance
s and sound recordings from nearly extinct languages. The materials are available in his database at the National Library of Norway.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
professor of linguistics
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....
with the University of Oslo
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
(UiO). He specialized in Indo-Iranian languages
Indo-Iranian languages
The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. It consists of three language groups: the Indo-Aryan, Iranian and Nuristani...
.
Studies
During the years 1923 to 1971 Morgenstierne carried out field works in AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. In 1924, he undertook the first of his two major linguistic expeditions. He arrived in Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
with a personal letter of introduction to the King of Afghanistan, from the King of Norway. Together with studying the languages, Morgenstierne collected remarkable scientific materials from the culture of the regional people, like images, movies from pre-Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic ceremonial dance
Ceremonial dance
Ceremonial dance is a major category or classification of dance forms or dance styles, where the purpose is ceremonial or ritualistic.This compares to other major dance categories based on purpose:* Celebration dance** Festival dance...
s and sound recordings from nearly extinct languages. The materials are available in his database at the National Library of Norway.
Writings
- His publications listed in BIBSYSBIBSYSBIBSYS is a supplier of library and information systems for all the Norwegian university Libraries, the National Library of Norway, college libraries, and a number of research libraries and institutions....
- Report on a Linguistic Mission to Afghanistan. Instituttet for Sammenlignende KulturforskningInstitute for Comparative Research in Human CultureThe Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture is a humanities research institute based in Oslo, Norway.It was established in 1922 by Fredrik Stang. An independent institute, its task is to sponsor research mainly in the fields of comparative linguistics, folklore, religion, ethnology,...
, Serie C I-2. Oslo. ISBN 0-923891-09-9 - Report on a Linguistic Mission to North-Western India by Georg Morgenstierne ISBN 0-923891-14-5
Further reading
- Nils Johan RingdalNils Johan RingdalNils Johan Ringdal was a Norwegian author and historian, known mostly for his works on Norwegian occupation history and Norwegian cultural history, and for his controversial book "Nationaltheaterets Historie 1899-1999" ...
: Georg Valentin von Munthe af Morgenstiernes forunderlige liv og reiser Aschehoug 2008 ISBN 9788203188336 - Ulf Andenæs: En norsk legende i Orienten. Bokanmeldelse i Aftenposten KulturAftenpostenAftenposten is Norway's largest newspaper. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007...
22. may 2008 side 10
External links
- National Library of Norway
- Search the general Morgenstierne database in the National Library of Norway site