Matthias Alexander Castrén
Matthias Alexander Castrén (born December 2, 1813 in Tervola / Finland , † May 7, 1852 in Helsinki ) was a Finnish philologist and ethnologist . He is considered the founder of the scientific study of the Uralic languages .
education
Matthias Alexander Castrén was born into a Finnish-Swedish family. His father Christian Castrén († 1825) was a pastor in the parish of Rovaniemi . Matthias was raised by his uncle Mathias Castrén and went to a Finnish-speaking school in Oulu .
In 1828 he began studying ancient Greek and Hebrew at the University of Helsinki . After giving up original plans for a theological career, he devoted himself more and more to the study of the Finnish language . While still a student he began to write a thesis on Finnish mythology . In 1836 he finished his studies.
Research trips
In the same year, Castrén toured with his friend, the doctor Dr. Ehrenström, as a linguist and philologist in Lapland and, in 1839, Karelia . In 1841 he published the first translation of the Finnish national epic Kalevala into Swedish . From 1841 to 1844 he and Elias Lönnrot visited the Finno-Ugric peoples in northern Russia on the other side of the Urals . In 1844 Castrén's Elementa grammatices Syrjaenae on Komi and Elementa grammatices Tscheremissae on Mari appeared . They were pioneering work in the study of the Finno-Ugric languages in Russia.
In 1844 he graduated as Dr. phil. Although Castrén's lungs were in poor health, he went on a research trip to Siberia from 1845 to 1848 on the recommendation of Andreas Johan Sjögren with the support of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences and the University of Helsinki . As a result, Castrén published an attempt at an East Yak language teaching along with a short dictionary (1849) (on Chantic ) and De affixis personalibus linguarum Altaicarum (1850).
Professorship in Helsinki
In 1851 he was appointed first professor of the newly created Chair of Finnish Language and Literature at the University of Helsinki. However, he died of tuberculosis the following year . Work on a Samoyed grammar remained unfinished. Between 1852 and 1858 there were posthumous Reseminnen från åren 1838-1844 , Reseberättelser och bref åren 1845-1849 , Föreläsningar i finsk mytolog , Ethnologiska föreläsningar öfver altaiska folken and Smärre afhandlingar och akademiska dissertationer . Between 1853 and 1862, Franz Anton Schiefner published the twelve-volume complete edition Nordic Travels and Research by Dr. M. Alexander Castrén .
Castrén was married to Lovisa Natalia Tengström (1830-1881), whose father, Archbishop Johan Jakob Tengström, was a professor of theoretical and practical philosophy .
In 1921, a monument to Castrén was erected in Helsinki in close proximity to the Finnish National Museum .
Appreciation
Matthias Alexander Castrén was one of the pioneers of Ural Studies and an important linguist and ethnologist. He laid the foundation for a scholarly study of the language, customs and mythology of the Finno-Ugric and Samoyed peoples.
literature
- Werner, Heinrich: MA Castrén and the Jenissejistik. The Yenisei languages of the 19th century. Wiesbaden, 2003
Web links
- Literature by and about Matthias Alexander Castrén in the catalog of the German National Library
- MA Castrén Society (Finnish and English)
- Article in the Encyclopaedia Britannica (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Castrén, Matthias Alexander |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Castrén, MA |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Finnish philologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 2, 1813 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tervola , Finland |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 7, 1852 |
| Place of death | Helsinki |