August Friedrich Pott

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August Friedrich Pott

August Friedrich Pott (born November 14, 1802 in Nettelrede ; † July 5, 1887 in Halle (Saale) ) was a German linguist .

life and work

The son of a preacher was by no means satisfied with studying theology, which is why he devoted himself primarily to the subjects of philology, philosophy and history at the University of Göttingen . Pott studied Hebrew, Greek and Latin in particular, but also listened to physics and chemistry. He took up a position as a collaborator at the high school in Celle and received his doctorate in 1827 at the University of Göttingen with the dissertation De relationibus quae praepositionibus in Linguis denotantur . The lessons did not fill him, however, so that he continued his linguistic studies (especially Sanskrit ) at the University of Berlin . On May 1, 1830, Pott completed his habilitation there, in 1833 he was appointed associate professor at the University of Halle for general linguistics and in 1838 he was promoted to full professor.

Pott mainly read general linguistics and philosophy of language as well as historical grammar. He also offered special lectures on Sanskrit, Chinese and hieroglyphics. In 1845, Pott and other scholars founded the German Oriental Society . Problems of Indo-European studies were at the center of his research . Pott applied the Grimm method of etymological comparison of sounds to Indo-European questions and developed methods for the comparative analysis of stem formation. His Etymological Research , published for the first time in 1833 (reprint 1999), he expanded into a six-volume work on the Indo-European languages, in particular on Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Lithuanian and Gothic (1859–1876). He published a three-volume work on personal and place names, several studies on numerals (1847-1859), which he summarized in 1868, and an unprejudiced two-volume work on The Gypsies in Europe and Asia , taking into account the " crooks language " of the time (1844 / 45). Pott's Introduction to General Linguistics (1884) provides an overview of the current state of linguistics .

Again and again, Pott turned against the instrumentalization of linguistics and mystical interpretations (including Anti-Kaulen: Or mystical notions of the origin of peoples and languages , 1863). He also rejected Arthur de Gobineau's racially motivated attempt on the inequality of human races as insufficiently justified ( The inequality of human races mainly from the linguistic point of view, with special consideration of the Count of Gobineau's works of the same name: with an overview of the linguistic relations of peoples, an ethnological experiment , 1856). Pott's pioneering work in linguistics was recognized; so he received the Red Eagle Order II. Class, the Russian Order of Saint Stanislaus I. Class with ribbon and star and the Order Pour le mérite for science and arts . From 1850 he was a corresponding and from 1877 a foreign member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences . In 1870 the Bavarian Academy of Sciences made him a foreign member. In 1876 he was elected a foreign member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences .

Medal in honor of Hermann Brockhaus, Heinrich Leberecht Fleischer, August Friedrich Pott and Emil Roediger, 1870

In 1870 Pott received a medal together with his colleagues Hermann Brockhaus , Heinrich Leberecht Fleischer and Emil Rödiger on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft, whose first managing directors were the honorees.

His son Hermann Richard Pott (1844–1903) made a name for himself as a doctor.

His guardian and uncle was Georg Heinrich Deicke , to whom he dedicated his work Etymological Research in the Field of Indo-European Languages in 1833 .

literature

  • Gertrud Bense: Comments on theoretical positions in AF Pott's work. In: Journal for Phonetics, Linguistics and Communication Research. Vol. 29, 1976, pp. 519-522.
  • Gertrud Bense: August Friedrich Pott 1802–1887. In: Journal for Phonetics, Linguistics and Communication Research. Vol. 32, 1979, pp. 19-23.
  • Karl-Heinz Best : August Friedrich Pott (1802–1887). In: Glottometrics. Vol. 12, 2006, pp. 94-96 (covers topics by Pott that are important to quantitative linguistics ). (PDF full text )
  • Georg von der Gabelentz :  Pott, August Friedrich . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 26, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1888, pp. 478-485.
  • Joan Leopold: The letter liveth. The life, work and library of August Friedrich Pott (1802-1887). Benjamin, Amsterdam 1983, ISBN 90-272-3733-6 .
  • Frans Plank: Professor Pott and the teaching of general linguistics. In: Contributions to the history of linguistics. Vol. 3, 1993, pp. 95-128.
  • Harald Wiese: A journey through time to the origins of our language. How Indo-European Studies explains our words. Logos, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-8325-1601-7 .

Web links

Wikisource: August Friedrich Pott  - Sources and full texts

swell

  • Personnel file in the university archive in Halle: 12595 AF Pott
  1. ↑ August F. Pott: The linguistic difference in Europe in the numerals demonstrated as well as quinary and vigesimal counting method. Halle an der Saale 1868; Reprinted Amsterdam 1971.
  2. ^ In: International Journal for General Linguistics. Vol. 1, 1884, pp. 1-68 (= Techmers magazine). Reprint: John Benjamin, Amsterdam 1974.
  3. ↑ Holger Krahnke: The members of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen 1751-2001 (= Treatises of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen, Philological-Historical Class. Volume 3, Vol. 246 = Treatises of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen, Mathematical-Physical Class. Episode 3, vol. 50). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2001, ISBN 3-525-82516-1 , p. 193.
  4. ↑ Stefan Krmnicek, Marius Gaidys: Taught images. Classical scholars on 19th century medals. Accompanying volume to the online exhibition in the Digital Coin Cabinet of the Institute for Classical Archeology at the University of Tübingen (= From Croesus to King Wilhelm. New Series, Volume 3). University Library Tübingen, Tübingen 2020, pp. 35–37 ( online ).
  5. ^ Paul Horn: August Friedrich Pott (Reprint from: Contributions to the customer of the Indo-European languages. Volume 13, Göttingen 1888, p. 317.) Online
  6. ↑ August Friedrich Pott: Etymological research in the field of the Indo-European languages. Lemgo 1833, dedication p. III.
personal data
SURNAME Pott, August Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German linguist
DATE OF BIRTH November 14, 1802
PLACE OF BIRTH Sweet speech
DATE OF DEATH July 5, 1887
Place of death Halle (Saale)