Janez Orešnik
Encyclopedia
Janez Orešnik is a Slovene linguist.
He was born on in Ljubljana
, Slovenia
. He finished his undergraduate studies in comparative Indo-European linguistics at the University of Ljubljana
in 1958, and completed his Ph.D.
in Germanic Linguistics
at the same institution in 1965. He continued with post-doctoral studies at the University of Copenhagen
(1959-1961), University of Zagreb
(1962-1963), University of Reykjavik (1965-1966) and Harvard University
(1969-1970).
Orešnik is an internationally recognized specialist in comparative linguistics
. He served as chair of the Department of Comparative and General Linguistics at the University of Ljubljana from 1990 to 2004. He is a member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
and a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts
.
Until 1990 Dr. Orešnik focused on Germanic
comparative linguistics
and on Scandinavian languages, especially Icelandic
. He formulated and partly substantiated some phonological rules of Icelandic
. He described several non-standard phenomena of Icelandic phonology
, especially within the preterit subjunctive and the imperative
. His main publication from this period is Studies in the Phonology and Morphology of Icelandic (1985). The volume won the Slovenian Boris Kidrič Foundation Award in 1987. Since 1985 Dr. Orešnik, together with a team of younger colleagues, has been developing a theory of strong and weak variants in syntax within Natural Linguistics; that is, synonymous syntactic units that compete with one another in the history of the language. The team has formulated hypotheses about the direction of this competition and has checked the hypotheses in language material. The group organized two international conferences on Natural Linguistics (including the theory of strong and weak variants) at the University of Maribor
, Slovenia, in 1993 and 1996. This theory is sometimes called the Slovenian model of Natural Syntax in international circles. After 1999, Dr. Orešnik abandoned the notion of strong and weak variants, calling them (morpho)syntactic variants instead. He has published two volumes on this framework: A predictable aspect of (morpho)syntactic variants (2001), and Naturalness in (morpho)syntax: English examples (2004).
Janez Orešnik received the Golden Order of Merit (zlati red za zasluge) of the Republic of Slovenia in 2004 and the highest Slovenian academic recognition, the Zois Award for lifetime achievements, on November 21, 2007.
He was born on in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. He finished his undergraduate studies in comparative Indo-European linguistics at the University of Ljubljana
University of Ljubljana
The University of Ljubljana is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. With 64,000 enrolled graduate and postgraduate students, it is among the largest universities in Europe.-Beginnings:...
in 1958, and completed his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Germanic Linguistics
German studies
German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents, and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German history, and German politics in addition to the...
at the same institution in 1965. He continued with post-doctoral studies at the University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
(1959-1961), University of Zagreb
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...
(1962-1963), University of Reykjavik (1965-1966) and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(1969-1970).
Orešnik is an internationally recognized specialist in comparative linguistics
Comparative linguistics
Comparative linguistics is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness....
. He served as chair of the Department of Comparative and General Linguistics at the University of Ljubljana from 1990 to 2004. He is a member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts is the national academy of Slovenia, which encompasses science and the arts and brings together the top Slovene researchers and artists as members of the academy....
and a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts
European Academy of Sciences and Arts
The European Academy of Sciences and Arts was created in 1990 in Salzburg, Austria by heart surgeon Felix Unger of Salzburg; the cardinal archbishop of Vienna, Franz König; and the political scientist and philosopher Nikolaus Lobkowicz....
.
Until 1990 Dr. Orešnik focused on Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
comparative linguistics
Comparative linguistics
Comparative linguistics is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness....
and on Scandinavian languages, especially Icelandic
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
. He formulated and partly substantiated some phonological rules of Icelandic
Icelandic phonology
Icelandic phonology is the study of the phonology of the Icelandic language. Unlike many languages, Icelandic has only very minor dialectal differences in sounds, due to the relatively small number of speakers and the concentration of these speakers in mostly one area...
. He described several non-standard phenomena of Icelandic phonology
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
, especially within the preterit subjunctive and the imperative
Imperative mood
The imperative mood expresses commands or requests as a grammatical mood. These commands or requests urge the audience to act a certain way. It also may signal a prohibition, permission, or any other kind of exhortation.- Morphology :...
. His main publication from this period is Studies in the Phonology and Morphology of Icelandic (1985). The volume won the Slovenian Boris Kidrič Foundation Award in 1987. Since 1985 Dr. Orešnik, together with a team of younger colleagues, has been developing a theory of strong and weak variants in syntax within Natural Linguistics; that is, synonymous syntactic units that compete with one another in the history of the language. The team has formulated hypotheses about the direction of this competition and has checked the hypotheses in language material. The group organized two international conferences on Natural Linguistics (including the theory of strong and weak variants) at the University of Maribor
University of Maribor
The University of Maribor is the second university in Slovenia, established in 1975. It currently has 17 faculties.-History:The university's roots reach back to 1859, when a theological seminary was established with the encouragement of Maribor bishop and patriot Anton Martin Slomšek...
, Slovenia, in 1993 and 1996. This theory is sometimes called the Slovenian model of Natural Syntax in international circles. After 1999, Dr. Orešnik abandoned the notion of strong and weak variants, calling them (morpho)syntactic variants instead. He has published two volumes on this framework: A predictable aspect of (morpho)syntactic variants (2001), and Naturalness in (morpho)syntax: English examples (2004).
Janez Orešnik received the Golden Order of Merit (zlati red za zasluge) of the Republic of Slovenia in 2004 and the highest Slovenian academic recognition, the Zois Award for lifetime achievements, on November 21, 2007.