Jonas Jablonskis
Encyclopedia
Jonas Jablonskis was a distinguished Lithuania
n linguist and one of the founders of the standard Lithuanian language
. He used the pseudonym Rygiškių Jonas, taken from the small town named Rygiškiai where he spent his childhood.
policy, he was unable to find employment as a teacher in Lithuania upon completing his studies in 1885. He was therefore constrained for a time to give private lessons and to serve as a clerk in the court of Marijampolė
. In 1889, however, he succeeded in obtaining an appointment as a teacher of Greek and Latin at Jelgava Gymnasium
, Latvia
, where he remained until 1896. His home became a frequent gathering place for educated Lithuanians. During summer vacations Jablonskis collected data among native speakers in Lithuania for his linguistic studies. His activities on behalf of Lithuanian causes prompted his relocation to Tallinn
, Estonia
, by the Tsarist authorities.
The Russian Academy of Sciences
charged Jablonskis with editing the dictionary compiled by the recently deceased Antanas Juška
. This caused his dismissal from his teaching position in Tallinn in 1901, and banishment from Lithuania the following year. In spite of this he continued with his work in Pskov
. It was during this period that he began his Lietuviškos kalbos gramatika (Lithuanian Grammar, 1901) under the name of Petras Kriaušaitis, his first pseudonym
. Since the Russian authorities prohibited the printing of Lithuanian books in the Latin alphabet
, his grammar was later published in Tilsit, East Prussia
.
When Jablonskis regained permission to enter Lithuania, he went to Šiauliai
in 1903 and to Vilnius
the next year. After the press ban was lifted in 1904, he served on the editorial boards of the newspapers Vilniaus žinios
(Vilnius News) and Lietuvos ūkininkas (Lithuanian Farmer) and edited the publications of Aušra
(The Dawn).
Between 1906 and 1908 he taught at the Pedagogic Seminary of Panevėžys
. Financial hardships forced a move to Brest, Belarus
in 1908, where he taught until he was transferred to Hrodna
, in 1912. At the beginning of World War I
the entire school was evacuated to Velizh
, Russia. From 1915-18 he taught at the Lithuanian refugees' gymnasium in Voronezh
, from where he returned to Vilnius almost totally disabled and needing to use a wheel-chair.
When Poland seized Vilnius in 1919, the Lithuanian government had him brought to Kaunas
. When the University of Lithuania in Kaunas opened in 1922, he was elected honorary professor and taught Lithuanian until 1926. Concurrently he produced texts for schools, translated and edited others' translations from foreign languages, participated in commissions set up to normalize terminology and orthography
, and wrote reviews of philological
literature.
He died in Kaunas
and was interred in the Petrašiūnai Cemetery
.
n dialect, whereas the linguists August Schleicher
and Friedrich Kurschat had used the dialect of Prussian Lithuanians
. Jablonskis chose a dialect, the living speech of the people, which preserved vocabulary and grammatical forms from foreign influences. In contrast, the literary language of the period suffered from heavy influx of foreign, especially Slavic
, elements. Thus Jablonskis made efforts to purify the Lithuanian language.
Jablonskis' fifty years of work brought the following results: variations and inconsistencies in orthography were greatly reduced; a number of unnecessary foreign loan words were replaced by appropriate Lithuanian expressions; the formation of neologisms became subject to principles that were consistent with the rules of Lithuanian; and in general greater order and consistency were introduced into the grammar, particularly the syntax
, of written Lithuanian.
Being a practical linguist, Jonas Jablonskis wrote works designed to serve practical ends, such as Lietuvių kalbos sintaksė (Lithuanian Syntax), 1911; Rašomosios kalbos dalykai (Matters of Literary Language), 1912; Lietuvių kalbos gramatika (Lithuanian Grammar), last edition 1922; Lietuvių kalbos vadovėlis (Textbook of Lithuanian), 1925; Linksniai ir prielinksniai (Cases
and Prepositions), 1929. His most significant work, however, remains Lietuvių kalbos gramatika, which for a long time was the only comprehensive manual available to schools and general public. The purification of the language was also helped by his frequent articles in periodicals, where he repeatedly pointed out unacceptable and non-Lithuanian grammatical and syntactical forms. In addition, he translated popular science and educational works by various (M. Bogdanov, Ivan Krylov
, Samuel Smiles
, George Sand
) authors.
Many of Jablonskis' works, even though meant to serve practical needs, are still important to scientific theory. The linguistic material which he collected was published in the 20 volumes of Academic Dictionary of Lithuanian
and is still being used in research and in editing of texts and books. He also introduced the letter ū into Lithuanian writing.
A complete edition of Jablonskis' works was prepared by Jonas Balčikonis and published as Jablonskio raštai, 5 volumes, Kaunas, 1932-36. Later Jonas Palionis edited a selection of his works titled Rinktiniai raštai, 2 volumes, Vilnius, 1957-1959.
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n linguist and one of the founders of the standard Lithuanian language
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
. He used the pseudonym Rygiškių Jonas, taken from the small town named Rygiškiai where he spent his childhood.
Biography
Jablonskis studied classical languages at the University of Moscow from 1881-1885. Amongst his professors were Phillip Fedorovich Fortunatov and Fedor Yevgenievich Korsh, both of who were familiar with Lithuanian and encouraged their student to research his native language. Being a Lithuanian Catholic, due to the russificationRussification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
policy, he was unable to find employment as a teacher in Lithuania upon completing his studies in 1885. He was therefore constrained for a time to give private lessons and to serve as a clerk in the court of Marijampolė
Marijampole
Marijampolė is an industrial city and the capital of the Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The population of Marijampolė is 48,700...
. In 1889, however, he succeeded in obtaining an appointment as a teacher of Greek and Latin at Jelgava Gymnasium
Jelgava Gymnasium
Jelgava Gymnasium or Academia Petrina is the oldest higher educational establishment in Latvia. It was established in Jelgava, capital of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, by Duke Peter von Biron in 1775. After the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Jelgava became part of the...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, where he remained until 1896. His home became a frequent gathering place for educated Lithuanians. During summer vacations Jablonskis collected data among native speakers in Lithuania for his linguistic studies. His activities on behalf of Lithuanian causes prompted his relocation to Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, by the Tsarist authorities.
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....
charged Jablonskis with editing the dictionary compiled by the recently deceased Antanas Juška
Antanas Juška
Antanas Juška was a Roman Catholic pastor, lexicographer, folklorist, and musicologist....
. This caused his dismissal from his teaching position in Tallinn in 1901, and banishment from Lithuania the following year. In spite of this he continued with his work in Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
. It was during this period that he began his Lietuviškos kalbos gramatika (Lithuanian Grammar, 1901) under the name of Petras Kriaušaitis, his first pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
. Since the Russian authorities prohibited the printing of Lithuanian books in the Latin alphabet
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
, his grammar was later published in Tilsit, East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
.
When Jablonskis regained permission to enter Lithuania, he went to Šiauliai
Šiauliai
Šiauliai , is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 133,900. It is the capital of Šiauliai County. Unofficially, the city is the capital of Northern Lithuania.-Names:...
in 1903 and to Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
the next year. After the press ban was lifted in 1904, he served on the editorial boards of the newspapers Vilniaus žinios
Vilniaus žinios
Vilniaus žinios was a short-lived newspaper published in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was the first legal Lithuanian-language daily newspaper to appear after the Lithuanian press ban was lifted on May 7, 1904.-History:...
(Vilnius News) and Lietuvos ūkininkas (Lithuanian Farmer) and edited the publications of Aušra
Aušra
Aušra or Auszra was the first national Lithuanian newspaper. The first issue was published in 1883, in Ragnit, East Prussia, Germany East Prussia's ethnolinguistic part - Lithuania Minor. Later it was published monthly in Tilsit...
(The Dawn).
Between 1906 and 1908 he taught at the Pedagogic Seminary of Panevėžys
Panevežys
Panevėžys see also other names, is the fifth largest city in Lithuania. As of 2008, it occupied 50 square kilometers with 113,653 inhabitants. The largest multifunctional arena in Panevėžys is the Cido Arena...
. Financial hardships forced a move to Brest, Belarus
Brest, Belarus
Brest , formerly also Brest-on-the-Bug and Brest-Litovsk , is a city in Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the city of Terespol, where the Bug River and Mukhavets rivers meet...
in 1908, where he taught until he was transferred to Hrodna
Hrodna
Grodno or Hrodna , is a city in Belarus. It is located on the Neman River , close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania . It has 327,540 inhabitants...
, in 1912. At the beginning of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the entire school was evacuated to Velizh
Velizh
Velizh is a town and the administrative center of Velizhsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, situated on the bank of the Western Dvina, from Smolensk. Population:...
, Russia. From 1915-18 he taught at the Lithuanian refugees' gymnasium in Voronezh
Voronezh
Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...
, from where he returned to Vilnius almost totally disabled and needing to use a wheel-chair.
When Poland seized Vilnius in 1919, the Lithuanian government had him brought to Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
. When the University of Lithuania in Kaunas opened in 1922, he was elected honorary professor and taught Lithuanian until 1926. Concurrently he produced texts for schools, translated and edited others' translations from foreign languages, participated in commissions set up to normalize terminology and orthography
Orthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
, and wrote reviews of philological
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
literature.
He died in Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
and was interred in the Petrašiūnai Cemetery
Petrašiunai Cemetery
Petrašiūnai Cemetery is Lithuania's premiere last resting place formally designated for graves of people influential in national history, politics, arts, and science.- Location :...
.
Works
Jablonskis' greatest achievement was his contribution to the formation of the standard Lithuanian language. Jablonskis, in the introduction to his Lietuviškos kalbos gramatika, was the first to formulate the essential principles that were important to later development of standard Lithuanian. His proposal was to base Lithuanian on the western AukštaitijaAukštaitija
Aukštaitija is the name of one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. The name comes from the relatively high elevation of the region, particularly the eastern parts.-Geography:...
n dialect, whereas the linguists August Schleicher
August Schleicher
August Schleicher was a German linguist. His great work was A Compendium of the Comparative Grammar of the Indo-European Languages, in which he attempted to reconstruct the Proto-Indo-European language...
and Friedrich Kurschat had used the dialect of Prussian Lithuanians
Lithuania Minor
Lithuania Minor or Prussian Lithuania is a historical ethnographic region of Prussia, later East Prussia in Germany, where Prussian Lithuanians or Lietuvininkai lived. Lithuania Minor enclosed the northern part of this province and got its name due to the territory's substantial...
. Jablonskis chose a dialect, the living speech of the people, which preserved vocabulary and grammatical forms from foreign influences. In contrast, the literary language of the period suffered from heavy influx of foreign, especially Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
, elements. Thus Jablonskis made efforts to purify the Lithuanian language.
Jablonskis' fifty years of work brought the following results: variations and inconsistencies in orthography were greatly reduced; a number of unnecessary foreign loan words were replaced by appropriate Lithuanian expressions; the formation of neologisms became subject to principles that were consistent with the rules of Lithuanian; and in general greater order and consistency were introduced into the grammar, particularly the syntax
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
, of written Lithuanian.
Being a practical linguist, Jonas Jablonskis wrote works designed to serve practical ends, such as Lietuvių kalbos sintaksė (Lithuanian Syntax), 1911; Rašomosios kalbos dalykai (Matters of Literary Language), 1912; Lietuvių kalbos gramatika (Lithuanian Grammar), last edition 1922; Lietuvių kalbos vadovėlis (Textbook of Lithuanian), 1925; Linksniai ir prielinksniai (Cases
Declension
In linguistics, declension is the inflection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles to indicate number , case , and gender...
and Prepositions), 1929. His most significant work, however, remains Lietuvių kalbos gramatika, which for a long time was the only comprehensive manual available to schools and general public. The purification of the language was also helped by his frequent articles in periodicals, where he repeatedly pointed out unacceptable and non-Lithuanian grammatical and syntactical forms. In addition, he translated popular science and educational works by various (M. Bogdanov, Ivan Krylov
Ivan Krylov
Ivan Andreyevich Krylov is Russia's best known fabulist. While many of his earlier fables were loosely based on Aesop and Jean de La Fontaine, later fables were original work, often satirizing the incompetent bureaucracy that was stifling social progress in his time.-Life:Ivan Krylov was born in...
, Samuel Smiles
Samuel Smiles
-Early life:Born in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland, the son of Samuel Smiles of Haddington and Janet Wilson of Dalkeith, Smiles was one of eleven surviving children. The family were strict Cameronians, though when Smiles grew up he was not one of them...
, George Sand
George Sand
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant , best known by her pseudonym George Sand , was a French novelist and memoirist.-Life:...
) authors.
Many of Jablonskis' works, even though meant to serve practical needs, are still important to scientific theory. The linguistic material which he collected was published in the 20 volumes of Academic Dictionary of Lithuanian
Academic Dictionary of Lithuanian
Academic Dictionary of Lithuanian is the complete thesaurus of the Lithuanian language and is one of the most extensive lexicographical pieces in the world....
and is still being used in research and in editing of texts and books. He also introduced the letter ū into Lithuanian writing.
A complete edition of Jablonskis' works was prepared by Jonas Balčikonis and published as Jablonskio raštai, 5 volumes, Kaunas, 1932-36. Later Jonas Palionis edited a selection of his works titled Rinktiniai raštai, 2 volumes, Vilnius, 1957-1959.