Carl Johan Sverdrup Marstrander (1883-1965) was a Norwegian linguist, known for his work on the Irish language

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

. His works, largely written in Norwegian, on the Celtic and Norse components in Norwegian culture, are considered important for modern Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

.

Life

He was a student of Sophus Bugge

Sophus Bugge

Sophus Bugge was a noted Norwegian philologist and linguist. His scientific work was directed to the study of runic inscriptions and Norse philology. Bugge is best known for his theories and his work on the runic alphabet and the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda. -Background:Elseus Sophus Bugge was...

 and Alf Torp

Alf Torp

Alf Torp was a Norwegian philologist and author. He is most known for his work with Indo-European and Nordic language history and meaning of ancient languages.-Biography:...

, and spent time in Ireland from 1907, studying on Great Blasket Island

Great Blasket Island

Great Blasket is the principal island of the Blaskets, County Kerry, Ireland.-Geography:The island lies approximately 2 km from the mainland at Dunmore Head, and extends 6 km to the southwest, rising to 292 metres at its highest point...

 with Tomás Ó Criomhthain

Tomás Ó Criomhthain

Tomás Ó Criomhthain was a native of the Irish-speaking Great Blasket Island off the coast of County Kerry in Ireland. He wrote two books, Allagar na h-Inise written over the period 1918–23 and published in 1928, and , completed in 1923 and published in 1929...

, and then teaching at the School of Irish Learning

School of Irish Learning

The School of Irish Learning was a center for Irish studies in Dublin founded in 1903 by Kuno Meyer, who talked of "the necessity of bringing the [Irish revivalist] movement into direct and intimate relations with scholarship, to provide an avenue for every student of Irish to the higher regions of...

 in 1910. From 1913 to 1954 he was Professor in Celtic languages at the University of Oslo

University of Oslo

The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...

. During the German occupation of Norway he was jailed several times. He influenced later linguists, including Alf Sommerfelt

Alf Sommerfelt

Alf Sommerfelt , was a Norwegian linguist and the first professor of linguistics in Norway, working at the University of Oslo from 1931 to 1962.-Linguistics work:...

 and Carl H. J. Borgstrøm.

Scholarly work

In 1913 he began the actual publication of the long-projected historical Dictionary of the Irish Language

Dictionary of the Irish Language

Dictionary of the Irish Language: Based Mainly on Old and Middle Irish Materials , published by the Royal Irish Academy, is the definitive dictionary of the origins of the Irish language, specifically the Old Irish and Middle Irish stages; the modern language is not included...

. He is also known for his writings on the history of the Isle of Man

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

, and for securing support and recognition for the Manx historian J. J. Kneen. He made pioneering sound recordings of the Manx language

Manx language

Manx , also known as Manx Gaelic, and as the Manks language, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, historically spoken by the Manx people. Only a small minority of the Island's population is fluent in the language, but a larger minority has some knowledge of it...

, at a time when few fluent native speakers survived.

He theorised a North Italian or Etruscan origin for the runes. This was, however, partly based on an artefact known now to have been faked.