Håkon Melberg
Encyclopedia
Håkon Melberg was one of Norway
's foremost linguist
s. He knew 42 languages and could communicate in an additional 20.
Born in Halden
, Melberg graduated from Halden Latinskole in 1930 with top grades. He went on to study languages and linguistics at the University of Oslo
for 6 or 7 years, but left without obtaining a formal degree. He received a scholarship to study modern English in London as preparation for a professorate in English, and wrote the novel 'Solen går aldri ned' in 1938. Melberg then received research funding from NAVF to study Celtic languages
, staying in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and Bretagne for long periods. To support a rather meagre economy and encourage the work with Celtic languages, Thomas Coats 2nd Baron Glentanar and the Earl of Bute gave Melberg a sum of money that he did not use himself, but instead handed over to Oslo University in support of a Celtic institute.
During the occupation years
in Norway, Melberg was one of the leaders of XU Pan
, a spy organisation that collected secret German information and transmitted it to London. This work is described in the book 'Dobbeltspill - Nazilensmannen som lurte tyskerne' (1988) by T. Brynildsen and H. Melberg.
From 1940-43, Melberg worked as a jiu jitsu
instructor at his brother Sam's training institute in Oslo. Melberg wrote the introductory chapter titled "Vitenskapen å slåss" ("The Science of Fighting") to Sam's book, 'Jiu Jitsu'.
In September 1945, Melberg presented the first version of his hypothesis on the origin of the Scandinavian nations to the Norwegian Science Academy in Oslo. It was met with silence. A year later, it was presented to the Danish Science Academy in Copenhagen, where it provoked animated discussion. Due to misunderstandings and the need for background information that became apparent during these discussions, Melberg decided to present his work with all the information required to evaluate the hypothesis. The outcome was the two-volume work, 'Origin of the Scandinavian Nations and Languages' (1953).
After the publication of that work, Melberg continued his work with Celtic languages for some years. The rest of his active life was spent working with and for children in Halden. In 1945, Melberg and his wife began running an activity center for children called Barnas hus. He wrote the text for a children's opera, 'Nattmannens barn', which was first presented in 1960. Melberg died in 1990.
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...
's foremost 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....
s. He knew 42 languages and could communicate in an additional 20.
Born in Halden
Halden
is a both a town and a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The seat of the municipality, Halden is a border town located at the Tista river delta on the Iddefjord, the southernmost border crossing between Norway and Sweden.-History:...
, Melberg graduated from Halden Latinskole in 1930 with top grades. He went on to study languages and linguistics at 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...
for 6 or 7 years, but left without obtaining a formal degree. He received a scholarship to study modern English in London as preparation for a professorate in English, and wrote the novel 'Solen går aldri ned' in 1938. Melberg then received research funding from NAVF to study Celtic languages
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
, staying in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and Bretagne for long periods. To support a rather meagre economy and encourage the work with Celtic languages, Thomas Coats 2nd Baron Glentanar and the Earl of Bute gave Melberg a sum of money that he did not use himself, but instead handed over to Oslo University in support of a Celtic institute.
During the occupation years
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...
in Norway, Melberg was one of the leaders of XU Pan
XU
XU was a clandestine intelligence organisation working on behalf of Allied powers in occupied Norway during World War II...
, a spy organisation that collected secret German information and transmitted it to London. This work is described in the book 'Dobbeltspill - Nazilensmannen som lurte tyskerne' (1988) by T. Brynildsen and H. Melberg.
From 1940-43, Melberg worked as a jiu jitsu
Jujutsu
Jujutsu , also known as jujitsu, ju-jitsu, or Japanese jiu-jitsu, is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon, or only a short weapon....
instructor at his brother Sam's training institute in Oslo. Melberg wrote the introductory chapter titled "Vitenskapen å slåss" ("The Science of Fighting") to Sam's book, 'Jiu Jitsu'.
In September 1945, Melberg presented the first version of his hypothesis on the origin of the Scandinavian nations to the Norwegian Science Academy in Oslo. It was met with silence. A year later, it was presented to the Danish Science Academy in Copenhagen, where it provoked animated discussion. Due to misunderstandings and the need for background information that became apparent during these discussions, Melberg decided to present his work with all the information required to evaluate the hypothesis. The outcome was the two-volume work, 'Origin of the Scandinavian Nations and Languages' (1953).
After the publication of that work, Melberg continued his work with Celtic languages for some years. The rest of his active life was spent working with and for children in Halden. In 1945, Melberg and his wife began running an activity center for children called Barnas hus. He wrote the text for a children's opera, 'Nattmannens barn', which was first presented in 1960. Melberg died in 1990.