Ivan Meshchaninov
Encyclopedia
Ivan Meshchaninov was a Soviet linguist
and ethnographer
.
, he graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of St Petersburg in 1907 and then briefly studied at Heidelberg University before taking up archaeology
back at St Petersburg, graduating in 1910. He headed the archives of Institute of Archaeology until 1923 focussing on cataloguing the Elamite antiquities there. Between 1925 and 1933 he led a number or archaeological expeditions to the Northern Pontic region and Transcaucasia.
He became a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
, as a historian, in 1932 and was director of the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography from 1934 to 1937.
He was a follower of Nikolay Yakovlevich Marr
and succeeded him as head of the Soviet Institute of Language and Thought from 1935 to 1950. He advocated that material culture goes through developmental stages and that migratory changes were secondary in this process. He published A New Theory in Languages, a guide to Marrism, and later Verb and Parts of Speech and Phrase Elements. As a linguist, however, Meshchaninov did not adhere straightforwardly to the radical Marrism, but rather tended to reconcile its ideas with a more objective historical linguistics
and typology
. He advocated the idea of notional categories that is also found in Otto Jespersen
's works, studied polysynthetic languages and syntax
.
Then in 1948 a move against the Anti-Marrists was initiated, in which however it was not Meschaninov himself who played a major role, but rather younger Marrists as Fedot Filin, depicting such people as Viktor Vinogradov
and Aleksandr Reformatskii as "bourgeois idealists". While the last Marrist campaign was successful in Leningrad, he met resistance amongst linguists in Moscow
, and also from the Caucausian linguists. Among liguists who resisted Marrism were Boris Serebrennikov, Arnold Chikobava
, Rachia Acharyan, and Grikor Kapantsyan.
In 1950 he was denounced by Joseph Stalin
: "The Arakcheyev regime was set up by the 'disciples' of N. Y. Marr." This term, derived from the tsarist military officer Aleksey Arakcheyev
(1768–1834), means a regime having "... a policy of extreme reaction, police despotism and crude militarism". However Stalin stated that he "did not question the honesty of Comrade Meschaninov and others", which resulted in that Meschaninov lost his position at the Institute of Language and Thought but continued carrying out research and held all his titles, medals and honours. Following Stalin's death he became active in linguistics again and re-edited his major works.
He died in Leningrad
in 1967.
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....
and ethnographer
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
.
Biography
Born at UfaUfa
-Demographics:Nationally, dominated by Russian , Bashkirs and Tatars . In addition, numerous are Ukrainians , Chuvash , Mari , Belarusians , Mordovians , Armenian , Germans , Jews , Azeris .-Government and administration:Local...
, he graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of St Petersburg in 1907 and then briefly studied at Heidelberg University before taking up archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
back at St Petersburg, graduating in 1910. He headed the archives of Institute of Archaeology until 1923 focussing on cataloguing the Elamite antiquities there. Between 1925 and 1933 he led a number or archaeological expeditions to the Northern Pontic region and Transcaucasia.
He became a 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....
, as a historian, in 1932 and was director of the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography from 1934 to 1937.
He was a follower of Nikolay Yakovlevich Marr
Nikolay Yakovlevich Marr
Nicholas Jakovlevich Marr was a Georgia-born historian and linguist who gained a reputation as a scholar of the Caucasus during the 1910s before developing his linguistic "Japhetic theory" on the origin of language and related speculative linguistic hypotheses.Marr's hypotheses were used as a...
and succeeded him as head of the Soviet Institute of Language and Thought from 1935 to 1950. He advocated that material culture goes through developmental stages and that migratory changes were secondary in this process. He published A New Theory in Languages, a guide to Marrism, and later Verb and Parts of Speech and Phrase Elements. As a linguist, however, Meshchaninov did not adhere straightforwardly to the radical Marrism, but rather tended to reconcile its ideas with a more objective 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...
and typology
Linguistic typology
Linguistic typology is a subfield of linguistics that studies and classifies languages according to their structural features. Its aim is to describe and explain the common properties and the structural diversity of the world's languages...
. He advocated the idea of notional categories that is also found in Otto Jespersen
Otto Jespersen
Jens Otto Harry Jespersen or Otto Jespersen was a Danish linguist who specialized in the grammar of the English language.He was born in Randers in northern Jutland and attended Copenhagen University, earning degrees in English, French, and Latin...
's works, studied polysynthetic languages and syntax
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
.
Then in 1948 a move against the Anti-Marrists was initiated, in which however it was not Meschaninov himself who played a major role, but rather younger Marrists as Fedot Filin, depicting such people as Viktor Vinogradov
Viktor Vinogradov
Viktor Vladimirovich Vinogradov was a Soviet linguist and philologist who presided over Soviet linguistics after World War II.Vinogradov's teachers at the Petrograd Institute of History and Philology included Lev Shcherba and Aleksey Shakhmatov, but it was Charles Bally's ideas that influenced him...
and Aleksandr Reformatskii as "bourgeois idealists". While the last Marrist campaign was successful in Leningrad, he met resistance amongst linguists in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, and also from the Caucausian linguists. Among liguists who resisted Marrism were Boris Serebrennikov, Arnold Chikobava
Arnold Chikobava
Arnold Stepanovich Chikobava was a Georgian linguist and philologist best known as for his contributions to the Caucasian studies as well as one of the most active critics of Nicholas Marr's controversial monogenetic "Japhetic" theory of language.Chikobava was born in the small village...
, Rachia Acharyan, and Grikor Kapantsyan.
In 1950 he was denounced by Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
: "The Arakcheyev regime was set up by the 'disciples' of N. Y. Marr." This term, derived from the tsarist military officer Aleksey Arakcheyev
Aleksey Arakcheyev
Count Alexey Andreyevich Arakcheyev or Arakcheev was a Russian general and statesman under the reign of Alexander I.He served under Paul I and Alexander I as army leader and artillery inspector respectively. He had a violent temper, but was otherwise a competent artillerist, and is known for his...
(1768–1834), means a regime having "... a policy of extreme reaction, police despotism and crude militarism". However Stalin stated that he "did not question the honesty of Comrade Meschaninov and others", which resulted in that Meschaninov lost his position at the Institute of Language and Thought but continued carrying out research and held all his titles, medals and honours. Following Stalin's death he became active in linguistics again and re-edited his major works.
He died in Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
in 1967.