Otto Jespersen
Jens Otto Harry Jespersen (born July 16, 1860 in Randers , † April 30, 1943 in Roskilde ) was a Danish linguist who specialized in the English language .
He studied at the University of Copenhagen with degrees in English, French and Latin , as well as linguistics from the University of Oxford .
From 1893 to 1925 he was professor of English at the University of Copenhagen , where he was rector in the academic year 1920/21. Together with Paul Passy he was the founder of the International Phonetic Association . He was also committed to planned languages such as Esperanto . He was involved in the development of Ido , which he tried to improve with his Novial . He also participated in conferences of the International Auxiliary Language Association , which Interlingua developed.
Jespersen was widely recognized for several publications such as Modern English Grammar , in which he focused on morphology and syntax , and Growth and Structure of the English Language , a comprehensive treatise on English. This book is still on sale today, 100 years after it was published.
Another object of his research was the difference in language use between women and men. Jespersen argued that women used simpler language. In his opinion, women would form shorter sentences, have a smaller vocabulary and a far simpler sentence structure. In addition, there is an innate fear of coarse formulations. Scientific studies on these theses were not made.
The holistic approach to the origin of human language in its original form goes back to Jespersen .
Publications
- 1894: Progress in Language; with Special Reference to English .
- 1905: Growth and Structure of the English Language ( ISBN 0-226-39877-3 )
- 1909ff: A Modern English Grammar ISBN 0-06-493318-0 (7 volumes)
- 1922: Language: Its Nature, Development, and Origin ( ISBN 0-04-400007-3 )
- 1924: The Philosophy of Grammar ( ISBN 0-226-39881-1 )
- 1928: An International Language ( Memento of April 18, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- 1930: Novial Lexike (Novial Dictionary)
- 1933: Essentials of English Grammar .
- 1938: En sprogmands levned , Copenhagen, Jespersen's autobiography
- 1995: A Linguist's Life : English translation of Otto Jespersen's autobiography, edited by Arne Juul [et al.]. Odense, 1995. ( ISBN 87-7838-132-0 )
Web links
- Literature by and about Otto Jespersen in the catalog of the German National Library
- Works by and about Otto Jespersen in the German Digital Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Jespersen, Otto |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jespersen, Jens Otto Harry (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Danish linguist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 16, 1860 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Randers |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 30, 1943 |
| Place of death | Roskilde |