fbpx
Wikipedia

Otto Jespersen

January 19, 2024

For the Norwegian comedian, see Otto Jespersen (comedian).

Jens Otto Harry Jespersen (Danish: [ˈʌtsʰo ˈjespɐsn̩]; 16 July 1860 – 30 April 1943) was a Danish linguist who specialized in the grammar of the English language. Steven Mithen described him as "one of the greatest language scholars of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries."[1]

Otto Jespersen
Jespersen, c. 1915
Born(1860-07-16)16 July 1860
Randers, Denmark
Died30 April 1943(1943-04-30) (aged 82)
Roskilde, Denmark
OccupationLinguist

Early life edit

Otto Jespersen was born in Randers in Jutland. He was inspired by the work of Danish philologist Rasmus Rask as a boy, and with the help of Rask's grammars taught himself some Icelandic, Italian, and Spanish.[2] He entered the University of Copenhagen in 1877 when he was 17, initially studying law but not forgetting his language studies. In 1881 he shifted his focus completely to languages,[3] and in 1887 earned his master's degree in French, with English and Latin as his secondary languages. He supported himself during his studies through part-time work as a schoolteacher and as a shorthand reporter in the Danish parliament.

In June, 1886, Jespersen became a member of the International Phonetic Association, then called The Phonetic Teachers' Association. In fact the idea of creating a phonetic alphabet that could be used by every language was first put forward by Jespersen in a letter he sent to Paul Passy.[4]

In 1887–1888, he traveled to England, Germany and France, meeting linguists like Henry Sweet and Paul Passy and attending lectures at institutions like Oxford University. Following the advice of his mentor Vilhelm Thomsen, he returned to Copenhagen in August 1888 and began work on his doctoral dissertation on the English case system. He successfully defended his dissertation in 1891.

Academic life and work edit

Jespersen was a professor of English at the University of Copenhagen from 1893 to 1925, and served as Rector of the university in 1920–21. His early work focused primarily on language teaching reform and on phonetics, but he is best known for his later work on syntax and on language development.

He advanced the theories of Rank and Nexus in Danish in two papers: Sprogets logik (1913) and De to hovedarter af grammatiske forbindelser (1921). Jespersen in this theory of ranks removes the parts of speech from the syntax, and differentiates between primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries; e.g. in "well honed phrase," "phrase" is a primary, this being defined by a secondary, "honed", which again is defined by a tertiary "well". The term Nexus is applied to sentences, structures similar to sentences and sentences in formation, in which two concepts are expressed in one unit; e.g., it rained, he ran indoors. This term is qualified by a further concept called a junction which represents one idea, expressed by means of two or more elements, whereas a nexus combines two ideas. Junction and nexus proved valuable in bringing the concept of context to the forefront of the attention of the world of linguistics.

He was most widely recognized for some of his books. Language: Its Nature, Development and Origin (1922) is considered by many to be his masterpiece.[3] A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles (1909–1949), concentrated on morphology and syntax, and Growth and Structure of the English Language (1905) is a comprehensive view of English by someone with another native language, and still in print, over 70 years after his death and more than 100 years after publication. Late in his life he published Analytic Syntax (1937), in which he presents his views on syntactic structure using an idiosyncratic shorthand notation. In The Philosophy of Grammar (1924) he challenged the accepted views of common concepts in grammar and proposed corrections to the basic definitions of grammatical case, pronoun, object, voice etc., and developed further his notions of Rank and Nexus. In the 21st century this book is still used as one of the basic texts in modern structural linguistics. Mankind, Nation and Individual: from a linguistic point of view (1925) is one of the pioneering works on sociolinguistics.

Jespersen visited the United States twice: he lectured at the Congress of Arts and Sciences in St. Louis in 1904, and in 1909–1910 he visited both the University of California and Columbia University.[5] While in the U.S., he took occasion to study the country's educational system. His autobiography (see below) was published in English translation as recently as 1995.

After his retirement in 1925, Jespersen remained active in the international linguistic community. In addition to continuing to write, he convened and chaired the first International Meeting on Linguistic Research in Geneva in 1930, and acted as president of the Fourth International Congress of Linguists in Copenhagen in 1936.[6]

Jespersen was an important figure in the international language movement. He was an early supporter of the Esperanto offshoot Ido and in 1928 published his own project Novial. He also worked with the International Auxiliary Language Association.[7]

Jespersen received honorary degrees from Columbia University in New York (1910), St. Andrews University in Scotland (1925), and the Sorbonne in Paris (1927).[2] He was one of the first six international scholars to be elected as honorary members of the Linguistic Society of America.[8] He was elected a foreign member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1931.[9]

Bibliography edit

  • 1889: The articulations of speech sounds represented by means of analphabetic symbols. Marburg: Elwert.
  • Progress in Language. London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co. 1894. OCLC 607098829. New York: Macmillan & Co.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  • 1899: Fonetik: En systematisk Fremstilling af Læren om Sproglyd. Copenhagen: Schubothe
  • 1904: How to teach a foreign language. London: S. Sonnenschein & Co. 1928 printing available online through OpenLibrary.org.
  • 1905: Growth and Structure of the English Language (ISBN 0-226-39877-3)
  • 1909–1949: A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles (in seven volumes; the title should be understood as 'A grammar of Modern English') originally published by Carl Winter, Heidelberg, later vols. by Ejnar Munksgard, Copenhagen and George Allen & Unwin, London (ISBN 0-06-493318-0) (Vols. 5–7, issued without series title, have imprint: Copenhagen, E. Munksgaard, 1940–49; Imprint varies: Pt.5–6: London: Allen & Unwin; pt.7: Copenhagen: Munksgaard, London: Allen & Unwin.)
  • 1917: Negation in English and Other Languages. Det Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab: Historisk-filologiske Meddelelser I, 5. Copenhagen: Andr. Fred. Høst og søn. 1917. OCLC 457568567 – via Internet Archive.
  • 1922: Language: Its Nature, Development, and Origin (ISBN 0-04-400007-3)
  • 1924: The Philosophy of Grammar (ISBN 0-226-39881-1)
  • 1925: Mankind, nation and individual: from a linguistic point of view. H. Aschehoug (det Mallingske bogtryk.), 1925
  • 1928: (the introduction of the Novial language)
  • 1930: Novial Lexike Novial to English, French and German dictionary.
  • 1933: Essentials of English Grammar
  • 1937: Analytic Syntax (ISBN 0-226-39880-3)
  • 1938: En sprogmands levned, Copenhagen, Jespersen's autobiography
  • 1941: Efficiency in linguistic change
  • 1993: A literary miscellany: proceedings of the Otto Jespersen Symposium April 29–30, edited by Jørgen Erik Nielsen and Arne Zettersten 1994
  • 1995: A Linguist's Life: an English translation of Otto Jespersen's autobiography, edited by Arne Juul, Hans Frede Nielsen and Jørgen Erik Nielsen, Odense (ISBN 87-7838-132-0)

Essays and articles (selected) edit

  • What is the use of phonetics?, in: Educational Review (February 1910)
  • Nature and Art in Language, in: American Speech 5 (1929), pp. 89ff (Part 1, Part 2)
  • Adversative Conjunctions, in: Linguistica (1933)

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Mithen, Steven (2005). The Singing Neanderthals: The Origins of Music, Language, Mind, and Body. London: Orion Publishing Group. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-7802-2258-5.
  2. ^ a b "Otto Jespersen". interlanguages.net.
  3. ^ a b "Otto Jespersen's life and career".
  4. ^ "The Principles of the International Phonetic Association: 1949". Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 40 (3): 299–358. 2010. JSTOR 44526579.
  5. ^ Falk, Julia S. 1992. Otto Jespersen, Leonard Bloomfield, and American Structural Linguistics. Language 68(3):465-491.
  6. ^ Falk 1992
  7. ^ Falk, Julia S. "Words without grammar: Linguists and the international language movement in the United States, Language and Communication, 15(3): pp. 241–259. Pergamon, 1995.
  8. ^ Falk 1992.
  9. ^ . Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 16 October 2020.

External links edit

  •   Media related to Otto Jespersen at Wikimedia Commons
  •   Works related to Otto Jespersen at Wikisource
  • Works by Otto Jespersen at Project Gutenberg
  • Works by or about Otto Jespersen at Internet Archive
  • "Otto Jespersen", by Niels Haislund, in: Englische Studien 75 (1943), pp. 273–282 (reprinted in: Thomas A. Sebeok, Portraits of Linguists, vol. 2, Bloomington & London: Indiana U.P. 1966 ISBN 1-84371-006-4, pp. 148–57).
  • Otto Jespersen Online Bibliography
  • Otto Jespersen in University of Warwick ELT Archive
  • Otto Jespersen in Encyclopædia Britannica

January 19, 2024
otto, jespersen, norwegian, comedian, comedian, jens, otto, harry, jespersen, danish, ˈʌtsʰo, ˈjespɐsn, july, 1860, april, 1943, danish, linguist, specialized, grammar, english, language, steven, mithen, described, greatest, language, scholars, nineteenth, twe. For the Norwegian comedian see Otto Jespersen comedian Jens Otto Harry Jespersen Danish ˈʌtsʰo ˈjespɐsn 16 July 1860 30 April 1943 was a Danish linguist who specialized in the grammar of the English language Steven Mithen described him as one of the greatest language scholars of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries 1 Otto JespersenJespersen c 1915Born 1860 07 16 16 July 1860Randers DenmarkDied30 April 1943 1943 04 30 aged 82 Roskilde DenmarkOccupationLinguist Contents 1 Early life 2 Academic life and work 3 Bibliography 3 1 Essays and articles selected 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksEarly life editOtto Jespersen was born in Randers in Jutland He was inspired by the work of Danish philologist Rasmus Rask as a boy and with the help of Rask s grammars taught himself some Icelandic Italian and Spanish 2 He entered the University of Copenhagen in 1877 when he was 17 initially studying law but not forgetting his language studies In 1881 he shifted his focus completely to languages 3 and in 1887 earned his master s degree in French with English and Latin as his secondary languages He supported himself during his studies through part time work as a schoolteacher and as a shorthand reporter in the Danish parliament In June 1886 Jespersen became a member of the International Phonetic Association then called The Phonetic Teachers Association In fact the idea of creating a phonetic alphabet that could be used by every language was first put forward by Jespersen in a letter he sent to Paul Passy 4 In 1887 1888 he traveled to England Germany and France meeting linguists like Henry Sweet and Paul Passy and attending lectures at institutions like Oxford University Following the advice of his mentor Vilhelm Thomsen he returned to Copenhagen in August 1888 and began work on his doctoral dissertation on the English case system He successfully defended his dissertation in 1891 Academic life and work editJespersen was a professor of English at the University of Copenhagen from 1893 to 1925 and served as Rector of the university in 1920 21 His early work focused primarily on language teaching reform and on phonetics but he is best known for his later work on syntax and on language development He advanced the theories of Rank and Nexus in Danish in two papers Sprogets logik 1913 and De to hovedarter af grammatiske forbindelser 1921 Jespersen in this theory of ranks removes the parts of speech from the syntax and differentiates between primaries secondaries and tertiaries e g in well honed phrase phrase is a primary this being defined by a secondary honed which again is defined by a tertiary well The term Nexus is applied to sentences structures similar to sentences and sentences in formation in which two concepts are expressed in one unit e g it rained he ran indoors This term is qualified by a further concept called a junction which represents one idea expressed by means of two or more elements whereas a nexus combines two ideas Junction and nexus proved valuable in bringing the concept of context to the forefront of the attention of the world of linguistics He was most widely recognized for some of his books Language Its Nature Development and Origin 1922 is considered by many to be his masterpiece 3 A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles 1909 1949 concentrated on morphology and syntax and Growth and Structure of the English Language 1905 is a comprehensive view of English by someone with another native language and still in print over 70 years after his death and more than 100 years after publication Late in his life he published Analytic Syntax 1937 in which he presents his views on syntactic structure using an idiosyncratic shorthand notation In The Philosophy of Grammar 1924 he challenged the accepted views of common concepts in grammar and proposed corrections to the basic definitions of grammatical case pronoun object voice etc and developed further his notions of Rank and Nexus In the 21st century this book is still used as one of the basic texts in modern structural linguistics Mankind Nation and Individual from a linguistic point of view 1925 is one of the pioneering works on sociolinguistics Jespersen visited the United States twice he lectured at the Congress of Arts and Sciences in St Louis in 1904 and in 1909 1910 he visited both the University of California and Columbia University 5 While in the U S he took occasion to study the country s educational system His autobiography see below was published in English translation as recently as 1995 After his retirement in 1925 Jespersen remained active in the international linguistic community In addition to continuing to write he convened and chaired the first International Meeting on Linguistic Research in Geneva in 1930 and acted as president of the Fourth International Congress of Linguists in Copenhagen in 1936 6 Jespersen was an important figure in the international language movement He was an early supporter of the Esperanto offshoot Ido and in 1928 published his own project Novial He also worked with the International Auxiliary Language Association 7 Jespersen received honorary degrees from Columbia University in New York 1910 St Andrews University in Scotland 1925 and the Sorbonne in Paris 1927 2 He was one of the first six international scholars to be elected as honorary members of the Linguistic Society of America 8 He was elected a foreign member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1931 9 Bibliography edit1889 The articulations of speech sounds represented by means of analphabetic symbols Marburg Elwert Progress in Language London Swan Sonnenschein amp Co 1894 OCLC 607098829 New York Macmillan amp Co a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint postscript link 1899 Fonetik En systematisk Fremstilling af Laeren om Sproglyd Copenhagen Schubothe 1904 How to teach a foreign language London S Sonnenschein amp Co 1928 printing available online through OpenLibrary org 1905 Growth and Structure of the English Language ISBN 0 226 39877 3 1909 1949 A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles in seven volumes the title should be understood as A grammar of Modern English originally published by Carl Winter Heidelberg later vols by Ejnar Munksgard Copenhagen and George Allen amp Unwin London ISBN 0 06 493318 0 Vols 5 7 issued without series title have imprint Copenhagen E Munksgaard 1940 49 Imprint varies Pt 5 6 London Allen amp Unwin pt 7 Copenhagen Munksgaard London Allen amp Unwin 1917 Negation in English and Other Languages Det Kgl Danske Videnskabernes Selskab Historisk filologiske Meddelelser I 5 Copenhagen Andr Fred Host og son 1917 OCLC 457568567 via Internet Archive 1922 Language Its Nature Development and Origin ISBN 0 04 400007 3 1924 The Philosophy of Grammar ISBN 0 226 39881 1 1925 Mankind nation and individual from a linguistic point of view H Aschehoug det Mallingske bogtryk 1925 1928 An International Language the introduction of the Novial language 1930 Novial Lexike Novial to English French and German dictionary 1933 Essentials of English Grammar 1937 Analytic Syntax ISBN 0 226 39880 3 1938 En sprogmands levned Copenhagen Jespersen s autobiography 1941 Efficiency in linguistic change 1993 A literary miscellany proceedings of the Otto Jespersen Symposium April 29 30 edited by Jorgen Erik Nielsen and Arne Zettersten 1994 1995 A Linguist s Life an English translation of Otto Jespersen s autobiography edited by Arne Juul Hans Frede Nielsen and Jorgen Erik Nielsen Odense ISBN 87 7838 132 0 Essays and articles selected edit What is the use of phonetics in Educational Review February 1910 Nature and Art in Language in American Speech 5 1929 pp 89ff Part 1 Part 2 Adversative Conjunctions in Linguistica 1933 See also editDania transcription Interlinguistics Jespersen s Cycle ProsiopesisReferences edit Mithen Steven 2005 The Singing Neanderthals The Origins of Music Language Mind and Body London Orion Publishing Group p 15 ISBN 978 1 7802 2258 5 a b Otto Jespersen interlanguages net a b Otto Jespersen s life and career The Principles of the International Phonetic Association 1949 Journal of the International Phonetic Association 40 3 299 358 2010 JSTOR 44526579 Falk Julia S 1992 Otto Jespersen Leonard Bloomfield and American Structural Linguistics Language 68 3 465 491 Falk 1992 Falk Julia S Words without grammar Linguists and the international language movement in the United States Language and Communication 15 3 pp 241 259 Pergamon 1995 Falk 1992 J O H Jespersen 1860 1943 Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Archived from the original on 16 October 2020 External links edit nbsp Media related to Otto Jespersen at Wikimedia Commons nbsp Works related to Otto Jespersen at Wikisource Works by Otto Jespersen at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Otto Jespersen at Internet Archive Otto Jespersen by Niels Haislund in Englische Studien 75 1943 pp 273 282 reprinted in Thomas A Sebeok Portraits of Linguists vol 2 Bloomington amp London Indiana U P 1966 ISBN 1 84371 006 4 pp 148 57 Otto Jespersen Online Bibliography Otto Jespersen in University of Warwick ELT Archive Otto Jespersen in Encyclopaedia Britannica Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Otto Jespersen amp oldid 1188216979, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.