Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr (Никола́й Я́ковлевич Марр, Nikolay Yakovlevich Marr; ნიკოლოზ იაკობის ძე მარი, Nikoloz Iak'obis dze Mari; 6 January 1865 [O.S. 25 December 1864] — 20 December 1934) was a Georgian-born historian and linguist who gained a reputation as a scholar of the Caucasus during the 1910s before embarking on his "Japhetic theory" on the origin of language (from 1924), now considered as pseudo-scientific,[1] and related speculative linguistic hypotheses.
Nikolai Marr
ნიკოლოზ იაკობის ძე მარი(Georgian) Николай Яковлевич Марр(Russian)
Marr was born on 6 January 1865 [O.S. 25 December 1864] in Kutaisi, Georgia (then part of the Russian Empire).[2] His father, James Montague Marr (1793–1874), was an Englishman of possible Scottish descent who moved to the Caucasus in 1822 to work as a trader, before moving into horticulture, and worked with the Gurieli family of Guria.[3] His mother was a young Georgian woman (Agrafina Magularia).[4] Marr's parents spoke different languages (James spoke English and Agrafina spoke the Gurian dialect of Georgian), and thus could hardly understand each other.[5] When Marr was 8 his father died, leaving the family in difficult circumstances.[6]
In 1874 Marr was accepted into a Kutaisi boarding school, after his mother successfully secured funding from the local authorities for him. While a good student, Marr was nearly expelled as he was often in conflict with the school administration.[6] He entered Department of Oriential Studies [ru] at St Petersburg University in 1884, where he specialized in Caucasian languages, and simultaneously studied Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Syriac, among others. Working under Viktor Rosen [ru], the head of the department, Marr mainly worked with manuscripts.[6] He completed his master's degree in 1899, with his thesis titled The Collection of the Parables of Vardan.[7]
After graduating Marr taught at the university beginning in 1891, becoming dean of the Oriental faculty in 1911 and member of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1912. Between 1904 and 1917 he undertook yearly excavations at the ancient Armenian capital of Ani.[8]
After a visit to Turkey in 1933 Marr developed influenza, followed several months later by a stroke. He died from complications of these ailments in Leningrad on 20 December 1934.[9][10]
Marr gained recognition with his Japhetic theory, postulating the common origin of Caucasian, Semitic-Hamitic, and Basque languages. In 1924, he went even further and proclaimed that all the languages of the world descended from a single proto-language which had consisted of four "diffused exclamations": sal, ber, yon, rosh.[11] Although the languages undergo certain stages of development, his method of linguistic paleontology claims to make it possible to discern elements of primordial exclamations in any given language. One of his followers was Valerian Borisovich Aptekar, and one of his opponents was Arnold Chikobava.
In 1950 Marr's theories were criticized in a discussion in Pravda, culminating in a June 20, 1950 article by Stalin, "Marxism and Problems of Linguistics".[12] After that point Marr's theories were largely abandoned by Soviet linguists, and an emphasis on Russian language research was promoted instead.[13]
Publicationsedit
Selected works:
Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr, Vardan (Aygektsi) (1899). Collections of proverbs Vartan: Izslѣdovanіe. Type. Imp. akademii Sciences.
Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr (1910). Chan (Laz) Grammar. Type. imp. Akademіi Sciences. p. 240.
Jah Gato , Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr (1932). Amran. The Academy. p. 162.
Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr (1932). Tristan and Isolda: love of the heroine of feudal Europe to the matriarchal goddess Afrevrazii. Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. p. 286.
Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr, Valerian Borisovich Aptekar (1934). Language and Society. State Academy of the History of Material Culture.
Nikolay Yakovlevich Marr; Valerian Borisovich Aptekar (1936). Collected articles. Power to the Soviets. p. 207.
Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr (1940). Description of the Georgian manuscripts of Sinai Monastery. Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. p. 276.
Referencesedit
^Alpatov, V.M. "Марр, марризм и сталинизм" [Marr, Marrism and Stalinism] (in Russian).
Cherchi, M.; Manning, H.P. (2002), Disciplines and Nations: Niko Marr vs. his Georgian students at Tbilisi State University and the Japhetidology/Caucasology schism, Carl Beck Papers in Russian and East European Studies, 1603, University of Pittsburgh Center for Russian & East European Studies
Mikhankova, V.A. (1949), Николай Яковлевич Марр: Очерк его жизни и научной деятельности [Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr: Essay on his life and scientific activity] (in Russian), Moscow: Izd-vo Akademii nauk SSSR, OCLC 70250730
Pollock, Ethan (2006), Stalin and the Soviet Science Wars, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, ISBN978-0-691-12467-4
Rayfield, Donald (16 March 2015), Nikolai Marr - a talk by Donald Rayfield 17 February, British Georgian Society, retrieved 4 October 2015
Sériot, P., ed. (2005), Un paradigme perdu: la linguistique marriste [A Lost Paradigm: Marrist Linguistics], Cahiers de l'ILSL, No 20, Université de Lausanne
Slezkine, Yuri (Winter 1996), "N. Ia. Marr and the National Origins of Soviet Ethnogenetics", Slavic Review, 55 (4): 826–862, doi:10.2307/2501240, JSTOR 2501240, S2CID 163569693
Tolz, Vera (1997), Russian Academicians and the Revolution: Combining Professionalism and Politics, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan Press, ISBN0-333-69811-8
Tolz, Vera (2005), Russia's Own Orient: The Politics of Identity and Oriental Studies in the Late Imperial and Early Soviet Periods, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN978-0-19-959444-3
Tuite, K. (2011), "The reception of Marr and Marrism in the Soviet Georgian academy" (PDF), in Mühlfried, Florian; Sokolovsky, Sergey (eds.), Exploring the Edge of Empire: Soviet Era Anthropology in the Caucasus and Central Asia, Halle Studies in the Anthropology of Eurasia, Halle: LIT Verlag, pp. 197–214
nikolai, marr, nikolai, yakovlevich, marr, Никола, ковлевич, Марр, nikolay, yakovlevich, marr, ნიკოლოზ, იაკობის, ძე, მარი, nikoloz, obis, mari, january, 1865, december, 1864, december, 1934, georgian, born, historian, linguist, gained, reputation, scholar, cau. Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr Nikola j Ya kovlevich Marr Nikolay Yakovlevich Marr ნიკოლოზ იაკობის ძე მარი Nikoloz Iak obis dze Mari 6 January 1865 O S 25 December 1864 20 December 1934 was a Georgian born historian and linguist who gained a reputation as a scholar of the Caucasus during the 1910s before embarking on his Japhetic theory on the origin of language from 1924 now considered as pseudo scientific 1 and related speculative linguistic hypotheses Nikolai Marrნიკოლოზ იაკობის ძე მარი Georgian Nikolaj Yakovlevich Marr Russian Nikolai Marr circa 1930sBornNikoloz Iakobis dze Mari 1864 12 25 25 December 1864Kutaisi Kutais Governorate Russian EmpireDied20 December 1934 1934 12 20 aged 69 Leningrad Russian SFSR USSRKnown forJaphetic theoryAcademic backgroundEducationSt Petersburg UniversityAcademic workDisciplineLinguistics Marr s hypotheses were used as a rationale in the campaign during the 1920 30s in the Soviet Union of introduction of Latin alphabets for smaller ethnicities of the country In 1950 the Japhetic theory fell from official favour with Joseph Stalin denouncing it as anti Marxist citation needed Contents 1 Biography 2 Japhetic theory 3 Publications 4 References 5 BibliographyBiography editMarr was born on 6 January 1865 O S 25 December 1864 in Kutaisi Georgia then part of the Russian Empire 2 His father James Montague Marr 1793 1874 was an Englishman of possible Scottish descent who moved to the Caucasus in 1822 to work as a trader before moving into horticulture and worked with the Gurieli family of Guria 3 His mother was a young Georgian woman Agrafina Magularia 4 Marr s parents spoke different languages James spoke English and Agrafina spoke the Gurian dialect of Georgian and thus could hardly understand each other 5 When Marr was 8 his father died leaving the family in difficult circumstances 6 In 1874 Marr was accepted into a Kutaisi boarding school after his mother successfully secured funding from the local authorities for him While a good student Marr was nearly expelled as he was often in conflict with the school administration 6 He entered Department of Oriential Studies ru at St Petersburg University in 1884 where he specialized in Caucasian languages and simultaneously studied Arabic Persian Turkish Hebrew Sanskrit Syriac among others Working under Viktor Rosen ru the head of the department Marr mainly worked with manuscripts 6 He completed his master s degree in 1899 with his thesis titled The Collection of the Parables of Vardan 7 After graduating Marr taught at the university beginning in 1891 becoming dean of the Oriental faculty in 1911 and member of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1912 Between 1904 and 1917 he undertook yearly excavations at the ancient Armenian capital of Ani 8 After a visit to Turkey in 1933 Marr developed influenza followed several months later by a stroke He died from complications of these ailments in Leningrad on 20 December 1934 9 10 Japhetic theory editMain article Japhetic theory Marr gained recognition with his Japhetic theory postulating the common origin of Caucasian Semitic Hamitic and Basque languages In 1924 he went even further and proclaimed that all the languages of the world descended from a single proto language which had consisted of four diffused exclamations sal ber yon rosh 11 Although the languages undergo certain stages of development his method of linguistic paleontology claims to make it possible to discern elements of primordial exclamations in any given language One of his followers was Valerian Borisovich Aptekar and one of his opponents was Arnold Chikobava In 1950 Marr s theories were criticized in a discussion in Pravda culminating in a June 20 1950 article by Stalin Marxism and Problems of Linguistics 12 After that point Marr s theories were largely abandoned by Soviet linguists and an emphasis on Russian language research was promoted instead 13 Publications editSelected works Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr Vardan Aygektsi 1899 Collections of proverbs Vartan Izslѣdovanie Type Imp akademii Sciences Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr 1910 Chan Laz Grammar Type imp Akademii Sciences p 240 Jah Gato Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr 1932 Amran The Academy p 162 Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr 1932 Tristan and Isolda love of the heroine of feudal Europe to the matriarchal goddess Afrevrazii Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR p 286 Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr Valerian Borisovich Aptekar 1934 Language and Society State Academy of the History of Material Culture Nikolay Yakovlevich Marr Valerian Borisovich Aptekar 1936 Collected articles Power to the Soviets p 207 Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr 1940 Description of the Georgian manuscripts of Sinai Monastery Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR p 276 References edit Alpatov V M Marr marrizm i stalinizm Marr Marrism and Stalinism in Russian Tolz 1997 p 89 Mikhankova 1949 p 6 Rayfield 2015 Clark 1995 p 216 a b c Tolz 1997 p 89 Tolz 1997 pp 89 90 Tolz 2005 p 90 Tolz 1997 p 96 Slezkine 1996 p 852 Tolz 1997 p 93 Pollock 2006 p 123 Pollock 2006 pp 127 128Bibliography editCherchi M Manning H P 2002 Disciplines and Nations Niko Marr vs his Georgian students at Tbilisi State University and the Japhetidology Caucasology schism Carl Beck Papers in Russian and East European Studies 1603 University of Pittsburgh Center for Russian amp East European Studies Clark Katerina 1995 Petersburg Crucible of Cultural Revolution Cambridge Massachusetts Harvard University Press ISBN 978 0 67 466335 0 Mikhankova V A 1949 Nikolaj Yakovlevich Marr Ocherk ego zhizni i nauchnoj deyatelnosti Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr Essay on his life and scientific activity in Russian Moscow Izd vo Akademii nauk SSSR OCLC 70250730 Pollock Ethan 2006 Stalin and the Soviet Science Wars Princeton New Jersey Princeton University Press ISBN 978 0 691 12467 4 Rayfield Donald 16 March 2015 Nikolai Marr a talk by Donald Rayfield 17 February British Georgian Society retrieved 4 October 2015 Seriot P ed 2005 Un paradigme perdu la linguistique marriste A Lost Paradigm Marrist Linguistics Cahiers de l ILSL No 20 Universite de Lausanne Slezkine Yuri Winter 1996 N Ia Marr and the National Origins of Soviet Ethnogenetics Slavic Review 55 4 826 862 doi 10 2307 2501240 JSTOR 2501240 S2CID 163569693 Tolz Vera 1997 Russian Academicians and the Revolution Combining Professionalism and Politics Houndmills Basingstoke Hampshire Macmillan Press ISBN 0 333 69811 8 Tolz Vera 2005 Russia s Own Orient The Politics of Identity and Oriental Studies in the Late Imperial and Early Soviet Periods Oxford Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 959444 3 Tuite K 2011 The reception of Marr and Marrism in the Soviet Georgian academy PDF in Muhlfried Florian Sokolovsky Sergey eds Exploring the Edge of Empire Soviet Era Anthropology in the Caucasus and Central Asia Halle Studies in the Anthropology of Eurasia Halle LIT Verlag pp 197 214 Velmezova Ekaterina 2007 Les lois du sens la semantique marriste The laws of meaning Marrist semantics in French Bern Peter Lang ISBN 978 3 03911 208 1 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nikolai Marr amp oldid 1187884544, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
