Ranko Matasovic
Encyclopedia
Ranko Matasović is a Croatia
n linguist
, Indo-Europeanist
and Celticist
.
He was born and raised in Zagreb
where he attended primary and secondary school. At the Faculty of philosophy at the University of Zagreb
he graduated linguistics
and philosophy
, receiving M.A. in linguistics in 1992 and Ph.D. in 1995 under the supervision of Radoslav Katičić
with the thesis A Theory of Textual Reconstruction in Indo-European Linguistics. He received research fellowship at the University of Vienna
(1993) and University of Oxford
(1995), post-doctoral Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin during 1997/1998 with Andrew Sihler
as an advisor, and also Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
fellowship at the University of Bonn
in 2002/2003.
He currently holds a chair at the Department of Linguistics at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb, where he teaches courses on comparative Indo-European
grammar, Celtic studies
and language typology. His research interest include comparative Indo-European grammar (especially of Celtic
and Balto-Slavic languages
), language typology and syntax, and Latin, Celtic and Hittite philology
. He contributes to the project of Indo-European Etymological Dictionary
organized by the Leiden University
by making An etymological lexicon of Proto-Celtic.
In 2002 he received an award of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
for a lasting contribution to philology, and in 2006 he finally became an associate member of the same institution.
He published more than 50 papers in Croatian and foreign-language journals, and translated various works from Latin, Ancient Greek, Lithuanian, Hittite, Old and modern Irish, Welsh and English.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n 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....
, Indo-Europeanist
Indo-European studies
Indo-European studies is a field of linguistics dealing with Indo-European languages, both current and extinct. Its goal is to amass information about the hypothetical proto-language from which all of these languages are descended, a language dubbed Proto-Indo-European , and its speakers, the...
and Celticist
Celtic Studies
Celtic studies is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to a Celtic people. This ranges from linguistics, literature and art history archaeology and history, the focus lying on the study of the various Celtic languages, living and extinct...
.
He was born and raised in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
where he attended primary and secondary school. At the Faculty of philosophy at the University of Zagreb
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...
he graduated 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....
and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, receiving M.A. in linguistics in 1992 and Ph.D. in 1995 under the supervision of Radoslav Katičić
Radoslav Katicic
Radoslav Katičić is a Croatian linguist, classical philologist, Indo-Europeanist, Slavist and Indologist, one of the most prominent Croatian scholars in the field of humanities.-Biography:...
with the thesis A Theory of Textual Reconstruction in Indo-European Linguistics. He received research fellowship at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
(1993) and University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
(1995), post-doctoral Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin during 1997/1998 with Andrew Sihler
Andrew Sihler
Andrew Littleton Sihler is an American linguist and comparative Indo-Europeanist.Sihler received his Bachelor of Arts cum laude in 1962 from Harvard College, where he studied Germanic languages, literature, and linguistics. He earned his Master of Arts from Yale in 1965...
as an advisor, and also Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is a foundation set-up by the government of the Federal Republic and funded by the German Foreign Office, the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and others for the promotion of international co-operation...
fellowship at the University of Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
in 2002/2003.
He currently holds a chair at the Department of Linguistics at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb, where he teaches courses on comparative Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
grammar, Celtic studies
Celtic Studies
Celtic studies is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to a Celtic people. This ranges from linguistics, literature and art history archaeology and history, the focus lying on the study of the various Celtic languages, living and extinct...
and language typology. His research interest include comparative Indo-European grammar (especially of Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
and Balto-Slavic languages
Balto-Slavic languages
The Balto-Slavic language group traditionally comprises Baltic and Slavic languages, belonging to the Indo-European family of languages. Baltic and Slavic languages share several linguistic traits not found in any other Indo-European branch, which points to the period of common development...
), language typology and syntax, and Latin, Celtic and Hittite philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
. He contributes to the project of Indo-European Etymological Dictionary
Indo-European Etymological Dictionary
The Indo-European Etymological Dictionary is a research project of the Department of Comparative Indo-European Linguistics at Leiden University, initiated in 1991 by Peter Schrijver and others....
organized by the Leiden University
Leiden University
Leiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...
by making An etymological lexicon of Proto-Celtic.
In 2002 he received an award of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts is the national academy of Croatia. It was founded in 1866 as the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts , and was known by that name for most of its existence.- History :...
for a lasting contribution to philology, and in 2006 he finally became an associate member of the same institution.
Works
- Harfa sa sjevera. Iz irske književnosti (Antibarbarus, Zagreb 1995) ISBN 953-6160-25-0
- A Theory of Textual Reconstruction in Indo-European Linguistics (Frankfurt a/M & New York 1996) ISBN 363-149-751-2
- Kratka poredbenopovijesna gramatika latinskoga jezika (Matica hrvatskaMatica hrvatskaMatica hrvatska is one of the oldest Croatian cultural institutions, dating back to 1842. The name is somewhat idiosyncratic, best translated as "The Croatian Centre" . It is the largest publisher of Croatian language books...
, Zagreb 1997) ISBN 953-150-105-X - Kultura i književnost Hetita (Matica hrvatskaMatica hrvatskaMatica hrvatska is one of the oldest Croatian cultural institutions, dating back to 1842. The name is somewhat idiosyncratic, best translated as "The Croatian Centre" . It is the largest publisher of Croatian language books...
, Zagreb 2000) ISBN 954-150-548-9 - Uvod u poredbenu lingvistiku (Matica hrvatskaMatica hrvatskaMatica hrvatska is one of the oldest Croatian cultural institutions, dating back to 1842. The name is somewhat idiosyncratic, best translated as "The Croatian Centre" . It is the largest publisher of Croatian language books...
, Zagreb 2001) ISBN 953-150-612-4 - Kamen kraljeva. Srednjovjekovne irske sage (Ex Libris, Zagreb 2004) ISBN 953-6310-35-X
- Gender in Indo-European (Universitätsverlag Winter, Heidelberg 2004) ISBN 382-531-666-1
- Jezična raznolikost svijeta (Algoritam, Zagreb 2005) ISBN 953-220-355-9
- Poredbenopovijesna gramatika hrvatskoga jezika, (Matica hrvatska, Zagreb, 2008.) ISBN 978-953-150-840-7
- Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, (Brill, Leiden & Boston, 2009) ISBN 978-90-04-17336-1
He published more than 50 papers in Croatian and foreign-language journals, and translated various works from Latin, Ancient Greek, Lithuanian, Hittite, Old and modern Irish, Welsh and English.
External links
- Personal web page of Ranko Matasović A Conversation with R. Matasović, VijenacVijenacVijenac is a biweekly magazine for literature, art and science, established in December 1993 and published by Matica hrvatska, the central national cultural institution in Croatia.-Historical background:...
, November 6, 2008