George Abraham Grierson
Encyclopedia
Sir George Abraham Grierson OM
KCIE
(7 January 1851, Glenageary
, County Dublin
, Ireland
– 9 March 1941, Camberley
, Surrey
, England
, United Kingdom
) was born to a prominent Dublin family in 1851. His father and grandfather, both also named George, were well-known printers and publishers.
, Cumberland
and Trinity College, Dublin
, he joined the Indian Civil Service in 1871 and reached the Bengal Presidency
in 1873. He would eventually become Magistrate and Collector at Patna
and, later, Opium Agent for Bihar
. In 1898 he was appointed Superintendent of the newly formed Linguistic Survey of India
and moved to England "for convenience of consulting European libraries and scholars",
Grierson published scholarly works throughout his career: on the dialects and peasant life of Bihar, on Hindi
literature, on bhakti
, and on linguistics
.
His contemporaries noted his lack of sympathy for Advaita Vedanta
, which he regarded as "pandit religion" but noted his "warm appreciation of the monotheistic devotion of the country folk". Grierson had thought that bhakti stemmed from contact with Christian communities but later admitted that Indian bhakti was older than Christianity
, without ruling out later Christian influence .
Most of Grierson's later work deals with linguistics. In a celebratory account of his life, F.W. Thomas and R.L. Turner refer to the extensive publications of the Linguistic Survey of India as "a great Imperial museum, representing and systematically classifying the linguistic botany of India".
(OM).
He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire
(KCIE).
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit is a British dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture...
KCIE
Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...
(7 January 1851, Glenageary
Glenageary
Glenageary is an area in the suburbs of south County Dublin, Ireland, part of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County.While there is no officially defined boundary, it is surrounded by the areas of Sallynoggin, Dalkey, Dun Laoghaire, Glasthule and Johnstown...
, County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
– 9 March 1941, Camberley
Camberley
Camberley is a town in Surrey, England, situated 31 miles southwest of central London, in the corridor between the M3 and M4 motorways. The town lies close to the borders of both Hampshire and Berkshire; the boundaries intersect on the western edge of the town where all three counties...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) was born to a prominent Dublin family in 1851. His father and grandfather, both also named George, were well-known printers and publishers.
Biography
Educated at St. Bees SchoolSt. Bees School
St. Bees School is a co-educational independent school in the West Cumbrian village of St Bees. Founded in 1583 by the then Archbishop of Canterbury Edmund Grindal as a boys' "free grammar school", today it is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference with around 300 pupils aged...
, Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
and Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, he joined the Indian Civil Service in 1871 and reached the Bengal Presidency
Bengal Presidency
The Bengal Presidency originally comprising east and west Bengal, was a colonial region of the British Empire in South-Asia and beyond it. It comprised areas which are now within Bangladesh, and the present day Indian States of West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Meghalaya, Orissa and Tripura.Penang and...
in 1873. He would eventually become Magistrate and Collector at Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
and, later, Opium Agent for Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
. In 1898 he was appointed Superintendent of the newly formed Linguistic Survey of India
Linguistic Survey of India
The Linguistic Survey of India, often referred to as the LSI, is a comprehensive survey of the languages of British India, describing 364 languages and dialects. It was a project of the British Raj conducted between 1894 and 1928, under the direction of George A...
and moved to England "for convenience of consulting European libraries and scholars",
Grierson published scholarly works throughout his career: on the dialects and peasant life of Bihar, on Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
literature, on bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
, and on 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....
.
His contemporaries noted his lack of sympathy for Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta is considered to be the most influential and most dominant sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and ; while the minor ones include Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Achintya Bhedabheda...
, which he regarded as "pandit religion" but noted his "warm appreciation of the monotheistic devotion of the country folk". Grierson had thought that bhakti stemmed from contact with Christian communities but later admitted that Indian bhakti was older than Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, without ruling out later Christian influence .
Most of Grierson's later work deals with linguistics. In a celebratory account of his life, F.W. Thomas and R.L. Turner refer to the extensive publications of the Linguistic Survey of India as "a great Imperial museum, representing and systematically classifying the linguistic botany of India".
Honours
In 1928 Grierson was appointed to the Order of MeritOrder of Merit
The Order of Merit is a British dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture...
(OM).
He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire
Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...
(KCIE).
Publications
- Grierson, George Abraham. Bihar Peasant Life, Being a Discursive Catalogue of the Surroundings of the People of That Province, With Many Illustrations From Photographs Taken By the Author. Prepared Under Orders of the Government of Bengal. Calcutta, The Bengali Secretariat Press, & London, Trübner & Co., (1885); Cosmo (1998) ISBN 8170201853
- Grierson, George Abraham. Seven Grammars of the Dialects and Subdialects of the Bihari Language (1883–87) 3 vols. ISBN 8178354519
- Grierson George Abraham, Linguistic Survey of IndiaLinguistic Survey of IndiaThe Linguistic Survey of India, often referred to as the LSI, is a comprehensive survey of the languages of British India, describing 364 languages and dialects. It was a project of the British Raj conducted between 1894 and 1928, under the direction of George A...
, 11 Vols. in 19 Parts Delhi, Low Price Publ. (2005) ISBN 8175363614 - Grierson, George Abraham. A Dictionary of the Kashmiri Language. Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1932.
- Grierson, George Abraham. Ishkashmi, Zebaki and Yazghulami. An Account of Three Eranian Dialects. London: Royal Asiatic Society, 1920.
- Lalla-Vakyani, Sir George Grierson and Dr. Lionel D. Barnett Litt. D., R. A. S. monograph, Vol. XVII, London 1920.
- ———. 1909. Gleanings from the Bhakta-Mala. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society: 607-644.
- ———. 1910a. Gleanings from the Bhakta-Mala. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society: 269-306.
- ———. 1910b. Gleanings from the Bhakta-Mala. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society: 87-109.
Sources
- Thomas, F.W., and R.L. Turner. 1941. George Abraham Grierson 1851-1941. London: Humphrey Milford Amen House, E.C.