Vilhelm Thomsen

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Vilhelm Thomsen

Vilhelm Ludwig Peter Thomsen (born January 25, 1842 in Copenhagen ; † May 12, 1927 there ) was a Danish linguist .

Life and Scientific Work

Vilhem Thomsen was a linguist who was equally interested in the Indo-European language family as he was in the Finno-Ugric languages . In 1869 he became a private lecturer, in 1871 an associate professor and in 1887 a full professor of comparative languages at the University of Copenhagen . He held his professorship until 1913. In the academic year 1901/02 he was rector of the university. 1876-92 he was also chief editor of the Nordisk Tidskrift for Filologi . In 1901 he was elected a foreign member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences . From 1904 he was a corresponding member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences .

In 1893 he succeeded in deciphering the alphabet of the ancient Turkish so-called Orkhon runes . Three years later he published and interpreted the two orchestra texts known at the time. He thus opened up a language that was several centuries older than all previously known Turkish inscriptions.

For his scientific achievements he was honored as a foreign member on January 24, 1911 when he was accepted into the Prussian order Pour le Mérite for science and the arts. In 1912 he was honored with the Danish Elephant Order , making him the first civil medalist of the 20th century.

Publications (selection)

  • The gotiske Sprogklasses Indflydelse paa den Finske . Copenhagen 1869; German by E. Sievers: On the influence of the Germanic languages ​​on the Finnish-Lappish , Halle 1870
  • The relations between ancient Russia and Scandinavia, and the origin of the Russian state . Oxford / London 1877; German von Bornemann: The origin of the Russian state . Gotha 1879, archive.org
  • Berøringer mellem de finske and de baltiske (Lithuanian-Latvian) Sprog . Copenhagen 1890
  • Déchiffrement des inscriptions de l'Orkhon et de l'Iénisséi. Notice préliminaire . In: Bulletin de l'Academie Royale du Danemark . 1893, pp. 285-299. archive.org
  • Inscriptions de l'Orkhon déchiffrées . Helsingfors 1896. archive.org
  • Sprogvidenskabens history . Copenhagen 1902; German 1927
  • Videnskabens faelessprog . Copenhagen 1905
  • Turcica: études concernant l'interprétation des inscriptions turques de la Mongolie et de la Sibérie . Helsingfors 1916 archive.org
  • Old Turkish inscriptions from Mongolia . In: Journal of the German Oriental Society (ZDMG), Volume 78, 1924, pp. 121–175 archive.org

literature

Web links

Wikisource: Vilhelm Thomsen  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 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, Volume 246 = Treatises of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen, Mathematical-Physical Class. Series 3, volume 50). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2001, ISBN 3-525-82516-1 , p. 239.
  2. ↑ The Order Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts. The members of the order. Volume II. Gebr. Mann-Verlag, Berlin 1978, p. 252.
personal data
SURNAME Thomsen, Vilhelm
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thomsen, Vilhelm Ludwig Peter (full name); Thomsen, Wilhelm; Thomsen, Vilhelm L.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish linguist
DATE OF BIRTH January 25, 1842
PLACE OF BIRTH Copenhagen
DATE OF DEATH May 12, 1927
Place of death Copenhagen