Eugene Helimski
Encyclopedia
Eugene Arnoľdovič Helimski (Russ. Евге́ний Арно́льдович Хели́мский, 15 March 1950, Odessa
, USSR — 25 December 2007, Hamburg
, Germany) — a Russian linguist (in the latter part of his life working in Germany), Doctor of Philosophy (1988), Professor. Researched Samoyedic
and Finno-Ugric
languages, problems of Uralic and Nostratic linguistic affinity, language contact, theory of genetic classification of languages, cultural history of Northern Eurasia and shamanism
. One of the world's leading specialists in Samoyedic languages.
(1972); completed a Dissertation on "Ancient Ugro-Samoyedic Linguistic Ties" (Tartu, 1979); completed the Doctoral Dissertation on "Historical and Descriptive Dialectology of the Samoyedic Languages" (Tartu, 1988); worked at the Institute of Slavic and Balcan Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences
(1978—1997); lectured at the RSUH
(1992—1998), University of Budapest (1994—1995) and other European universities. From 1998 onward, Professor of Hamburg University and Director of the Institute of Finno-Ugrian and Uralic Studies in Hamburg.
" which were based on field studies and which have substantially broadened the linguistic understanding of Samoyedic. Exposed a number of regularities in the historical phonetics of Hungarian
, substantiated the existence of grammatical and lexical Ugro-Samoyedic parallels. Gathered all accessible data on Mator
, the extinct South-Samoyedic language, and published its dictionary and grammar. Proposed a number of novel Uralic, Indo-European and Nostratic etymologies, collected a large body of material on the borrowed lexicon of the languages of Siberia (including Russian).
Proposed a number of modifications to the traditional theory of the "genealogical tree" with respect to the Uralic data, which had an impact on comparative studies in general.
Worked on problematics of shamanism
among the Samoyedic peoples, collected and published texts of shamanistic incantations.
Published several editions of "Таймырский этнолингвистический сборник" ("Taimyr Ethno-Linguistic Compendium", RSUH) and other works on Uralistics.
Initiated the development of a digital database of Uralic, which later became part of Sergei Starostin
's StarLing Project.
(The database is based largely on Károly Rédei's Uralic Etymological Dictionary, UEW)
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, USSR — 25 December 2007, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany) — a Russian linguist (in the latter part of his life working in Germany), Doctor of Philosophy (1988), Professor. Researched Samoyedic
Samoyedic languages
The Samoyedic languages are spoken on both sides of the Ural mountains, in northernmost Eurasia, by approximately 30,000 speakers altogether....
and Finno-Ugric
Finno-Ugric languages
Finno-Ugric , Finno-Ugrian or Fenno-Ugric is a traditional group of languages in the Uralic language family that comprises the Finno-Permic and Ugric language families....
languages, problems of Uralic and Nostratic linguistic affinity, language contact, theory of genetic classification of languages, cultural history of Northern Eurasia and shamanism
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
. One of the world's leading specialists in Samoyedic languages.
Biography
Graduated from the Department of Structural and Applied Linguistics of Moscow State UniversityMoscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
(1972); completed a Dissertation on "Ancient Ugro-Samoyedic Linguistic Ties" (Tartu, 1979); completed the Doctoral Dissertation on "Historical and Descriptive Dialectology of the Samoyedic Languages" (Tartu, 1988); worked at the Institute of Slavic and Balcan Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
(1978—1997); lectured at the RSUH
Russian State University for the Humanities
The Russian State University for the Humanities , is a university in Moscow, Russia with over 5500 students. It was created in 1991 as the result of the merger of the Moscow Public University and the Moscow State Institute for History and Archives The Russian State University for the Humanities...
(1992—1998), University of Budapest (1994—1995) and other European universities. From 1998 onward, Professor of Hamburg University and Director of the Institute of Finno-Ugrian and Uralic Studies in Hamburg.
Scientific Contributions
Participant and organizer of numerous linguistic expeditions to Siberia and to the Taimyr Peninsula; field studies of all Samoyedic languages, one of the authors of the well-known "Studies on the Selkup LanguageSelkup
The Selkup , until 1930s called Ostyak-Samoyeds are a people in Siberia, Russia. They live in the northern parts of Tomsk Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, and Nenets Autonomous Okrug.- Outline :...
" which were based on field studies and which have substantially broadened the linguistic understanding of Samoyedic. Exposed a number of regularities in the historical phonetics of Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
, substantiated the existence of grammatical and lexical Ugro-Samoyedic parallels. Gathered all accessible data on Mator
Mator language
Mator or Motor was a Uralic language belonging to the group of Samoyedic languages, extinct since the 1840s. It was spoken in the northern region of the Sayan Mountains in Siberia, close to the Mongolian north border. The speakers of Mator lived in a wide area from the eastern parts of the...
, the extinct South-Samoyedic language, and published its dictionary and grammar. Proposed a number of novel Uralic, Indo-European and Nostratic etymologies, collected a large body of material on the borrowed lexicon of the languages of Siberia (including Russian).
Proposed a number of modifications to the traditional theory of the "genealogical tree" with respect to the Uralic data, which had an impact on comparative studies in general.
Worked on problematics of shamanism
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
among the Samoyedic peoples, collected and published texts of shamanistic incantations.
Published several editions of "Таймырский этнолингвистический сборник" ("Taimyr Ethno-Linguistic Compendium", RSUH) and other works on Uralistics.
Initiated the development of a digital database of Uralic, which later became part of Sergei Starostin
Sergei Starostin
Dr. Sergei Anatolyevich Starostin was a Russian historical linguist and scholar, best known for his work with hypothetical proto-languages, including his work on the reconstruction of the Proto-Borean language, the controversial theory of Altaic languages and the formulation of the Dené–Caucasian...
's StarLing Project.
(The database is based largely on Károly Rédei's Uralic Etymological Dictionary, UEW)
Main Publications
- Очерки по селькупскому языку: Тазовский диалект. Ч. 1-3. М., 1980, 1993, 2002 (Co-authored with: А. И. Кузнецова et al.).
- Древнейшие венгерско-самодийские языковые параллели: Лингвистическая и этногенетическая интерпретация. М., 1982.
- The Language of the First Selkup Books. Szeged, 1983 — (Studia Uralo-Altaica 22).
- Die Matorische Sprache: Wörterbuch — Grundzüge der Grammatik — Sprachgeschichte unter Mitarbeit von Beáta Nagy. Szeged, 1997. — (Studia Uralo-Altaica 41).
- Компаративистика, уралистика: Лекции и статьи. М., 2000.
- Самодийско-тунгусо-маньчжурские лексические связи. М.: Языки славянской культуры, 2007 (co-author: А. Е. Аникин).