Yevgeny Polivanov
Encyclopedia
Yevgeny Dmitrievich Polivanov ( was a Soviet
linguist
, orientalist
and polyglot
.
He wrote major works on the Japanese
, Chinese
, Uzbek
, and Dungan
languages and on theoretical linguistics
and poetics
. He participated in the development of writing systems for the peoples of the Soviet Union
and also designed a cyrillization
system for Japanese language
, which was officially accepted in the Soviet Union and is still the standard in modern Russia
. He also translated the Kyrgyz
national Epic of Manas
into Russian. Polivanov is credited as the scholar who initiated the comparative study of Japanese pitch accent
across dialects
.
During the Russian revolution of 1917
and the civil war
, Polivanov was active first in the Socialist Revolutionary Party and later in the Bolshevik Party. He worked in the Oriental section of People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs in 1917-1918 and in the Komintern
in 1921.
In 1928-1929 he expressed disagreement with Nikolas Marr's Japhetic theory, which was promoted by the regime at the time. After this he was blackballed from all scholarly institutions in Moscow and Leningrad and until his arrest "was essentially in exile in Central Asia, where he was able to accomplish fruitful work on the local languages."
During the Great Purge
, Polivanov was arrested on August 16, 1937 and was charged with spying for Japan. On January 25, 1938, he was tried in a closed session of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR
and pleaded non-guilty. He was sentenced to death and executed by NKVD
near Moscow. He was rehabilitated in 1963.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
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....
, orientalist
Orientalism
Orientalism is a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, as well as having other meanings...
and polyglot
Polyglot (person)
A polyglot is someone with a high degree of proficiency in several languages. A bilingual person can speak two languages fluently, whereas a trilingual three; above that the term multilingual may be used.-Hyperpolyglot:...
.
He wrote major works on the Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, Uzbek
Uzbek language
Uzbek is a Turkic language and the official language of Uzbekistan. It has about 25.5 million native speakers, and it is spoken by the Uzbeks in Uzbekistan and elsewhere in Central Asia...
, and Dungan
Dungan language
The Dungan language is a Sinitic language spoken by the Dungan of Central Asia, an ethnic group related to the Hui people of China.-History:...
languages and on theoretical 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 poetics
Poetics
Aristotle's Poetics is the earliest-surviving work of dramatic theory and the first extant philosophical treatise to focus on literary theory...
. He participated in the development of writing systems for the peoples of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and also designed a cyrillization
Cyrillization
A Cyrillization is a system for rendering words of a language that normally uses a writing system other than the Cyrillic alphabet into a Cyrillic alphabet. A Cyrillization scheme needs to be applied, for example, to transcribe names of German, Chinese, or American people and places for use in...
system for Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, which was officially accepted in the Soviet Union and is still the standard in modern Russia
Cyrillization of Japanese
Cyrillization of Japanese is the practice of expressing Japanese sounds using Cyrillic characters. It is commonly accepted in Russia.Below is a cyrillization system for the Japanese language known as the Yevgeny Polivanov system...
. He also translated the Kyrgyz
Kyrgyz language
Kyrgyz or Kirgiz, also Kirghiz, Kyrghiz, Qyrghiz is a Turkic language and, together with Russian, an official language of Kyrgyzstan...
national Epic of Manas
Epic of Manas
The Epic of Manas is a traditional epic poem claimed by the Kyrgyz people dating to the 18th century, though it is possibly much older. In some earlier versions, however, Manas is identified as Nogay. This opens the possibility of Manas having spoken a dialect of Turki similar to that of the...
into Russian. Polivanov is credited as the scholar who initiated the comparative study of Japanese pitch accent
Japanese pitch accent
Japanese pitch accent is a feature of the Japanese language which distinguishes words in most Japanese dialects, though the nature and location of the accent for a given word may vary between dialects...
across dialects
Japanese dialects
The comprise many regional variants. The lingua franca of Japan is called hyōjungo or kyōtsūgo , and while it was based initially on the Tokyo dialect, the language of Japan's capital has since gone in its own direction to become one of Japan's many dialects...
.
During the Russian revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
and the civil war
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, Polivanov was active first in the Socialist Revolutionary Party and later in the Bolshevik Party. He worked in the Oriental section of People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs in 1917-1918 and in the Komintern
Komintern
Komintern may refer to:*Comintern, the Communist International*Komintern artillery tractor*Soviet_cruiser_Komintern - Soviet cruiser of the Black Sea Fleet*Malyshev Factory...
in 1921.
In 1928-1929 he expressed disagreement with Nikolas Marr's Japhetic theory, which was promoted by the regime at the time. After this he was blackballed from all scholarly institutions in Moscow and Leningrad and until his arrest "was essentially in exile in Central Asia, where he was able to accomplish fruitful work on the local languages."
During the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
, Polivanov was arrested on August 16, 1937 and was charged with spying for Japan. On January 25, 1938, he was tried in a closed session of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR
Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR
Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR was created in 1924 to the Supreme Court of the USSR as a court for the higher military and political personnel of Red Army and Fleet...
and pleaded non-guilty. He was sentenced to death and executed by NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
near Moscow. He was rehabilitated in 1963.