Kazimieras Buga
Encyclopedia
Kazimieras Būga was a Lithuania
n linguist
and philologist. He was a professor of linguistics, who mainly worked on the Lithuanian language
.
He was born at Pažiegė, near Dusetos
, then part of the Russian Empire
. Appointed as personal secretary to Lithuanian linguist Kazimieras Jaunius
he showed great interest in the subject, and during the period 1905-1912 studied at Saint Petersburg State University
. After that, he continued his work on Indo-European language under the supervision of Jan Niecisław Baudouin de Courtenay. He later moved to Köningsberg to continue his studies under the direction of Adalbert Bezzenberger
. In 1914 he received a master's degree in linguistics.
His research of Lithuanian personal names led him into the study of place-names. From these he was able to determine that the homeland of the Lithuanians and other Baltic peoples
up to the 6th to 9th cents. CE had been just north of Ukraine in the area around the Pripet River. In addition, he studied the chronological sequence of Slavic
loanword
s in the Baltic languages
.
He also carried out a linguistic reconstruction of the names of the early princes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
and refuted the theories of their Slavic origin. This became the main thrust for the concept of the Academic Dictionary of Lithuanian
(Didysis Lietuvių Kalbos Žodynas) in Lithuanian. He died in Königsberg
, and was buried in Kaunas
, Lithuania
.
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
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and philologist. He was a professor of linguistics, who mainly worked on the 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 was born at Pažiegė, near Dusetos
Dusetos
Dusetos is a city in Zarasai district municipality, northeastern Lithuania, west of Zarasai, near Lake Sartai.-Name:Dusetos is the Lithuanian name of the city. Versions of the name in other languages include Polish: Dusiaty, Russian: Дусяты Dusiaty, Belarusian: Дусяты Dusiaty, Yiddish: דוסיאַט...
, then part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. Appointed as personal secretary to Lithuanian linguist Kazimieras Jaunius
Kazimieras Jaunius
Kazimieras Jaunius was a Lithuanian priest and linguist. He started his studies in linguistics in the end of 19th century in Kaunas. While Jaunius did not publish much, his major achievements include research on the similarity of Lithuanian to other languages and the systematization of research of...
he showed great interest in the subject, and during the period 1905-1912 studied at Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg and one of the oldest and largest universities in Russia....
. After that, he continued his work on Indo-European language under the supervision of Jan Niecisław Baudouin de Courtenay. He later moved to Köningsberg to continue his studies under the direction of Adalbert Bezzenberger
Adalbert Bezzenberger
Adalbert Bezzenberger was a German philologist, born at Kassel.He studied the Indo-Germanic languages at the universities of Göttingen and Munich. In 1874 he became lecturer at Göttingen and in 1879 professor of Sanskrit at the University of Königsberg...
. In 1914 he received a master's degree in linguistics.
Balts
The Balts or Baltic peoples , defined as speakers of one of the Baltic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family, are descended from a group of Indo-European tribes who settled the area between the Jutland peninsula in the west and Moscow, Oka and Volga rivers basins in the east...
up to the 6th to 9th cents. CE had been just north of Ukraine in the area around the Pripet River. In addition, he studied the chronological sequence of 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...
loanword
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
s in the Baltic languages
Baltic languages
The Baltic languages are a group of related languages belonging to the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family and spoken mainly in areas extending east and southeast of the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe...
.
He also carried out a linguistic reconstruction of the names of the early princes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
and refuted the theories of their Slavic origin. This became the main thrust for the concept of the 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....
(Didysis Lietuvių Kalbos Žodynas) in Lithuanian. He died in Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
, and was buried 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...
, Lithuania
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...
.