Vytautas Mažiulis
Encyclopedia
Vytautas Mažiulis was a highly distinguished Lithuanian Balticist
, an expert on the Old Prussian language
and Indo-European languages
.
at the Vilnius University
in 1947–1952, receiving his Ph.D. in 1956 at the Lomonosov Moscow State University with the thesis on Lithuanian
numerals. In 1955 he started working at the Vilnius University, holding a Chair of Lithuanian Language in 1968–1973.
With Jonas Kazlauskas he founded the international journal for Baltic philology Baltistica in 1965 and the Chair for Baltic philology in 1973 after the murder of professor Kazlauskas.
In 1970 he became the member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
, after publishing his monograph on the relationship between Baltic
and other Indo-European languages
.
Vytautas Mažiulis was also correspondent member of both the Mainz Academy of Sciences and Literature (Germany) and the Milanese
Linguistics Society (Italy), as well as Chairman of an International Commission on Baltic-Slavonic Relations.
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...
, an expert on the Old Prussian language
Old Prussian language
Prussian is an extinct Baltic language, once spoken by the inhabitants of the original territory of Prussia in an area of what later became East Prussia and eastern parts of...
and Indo-European languages
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
.
Biography
He studied classical philologyClassical philology
Classical philology is the study of ancient Greek and classical Latin. Classical philology has been defined as "the careful study of the literary and philosophical texts of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds." Greek and Latin literature and civilization have traditionally been considered...
at the Vilnius University
Vilnius University
Vilnius University is the oldest university in the Baltic states and one of the oldest in Eastern Europe. It is also the largest university in Lithuania....
in 1947–1952, receiving his Ph.D. in 1956 at the Lomonosov Moscow State University with the thesis on Lithuanian
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...
numerals. In 1955 he started working at the Vilnius University, holding a Chair of Lithuanian Language in 1968–1973.
With Jonas Kazlauskas he founded the international journal for Baltic philology Baltistica in 1965 and the Chair for Baltic philology in 1973 after the murder of professor Kazlauskas.
In 1970 he became the member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
The Lithuanian Academy of Sciences or LAS, founded in 1941 as the Lithuanian SSR Academy of Sciences , as an autonomous, state-subsidized establishment serving as a scientific advisory body to the government of Lithuanian SSR...
, after publishing his monograph on the relationship between Baltic
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...
and other Indo-European languages
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
.
Vytautas Mažiulis was also correspondent member of both the Mainz Academy of Sciences and Literature (Germany) and the Milanese
Linguistics Society (Italy), as well as Chairman of an International Commission on Baltic-Slavonic Relations.
Works
- Relations of Baltic and other Indoeuropean languages (Vilnius, 1970)
- Prūsų kalbos paminklai ("Monuments of the Prussian Language" Vilnius, t. I 1966, t. II 1981, Vilnius)
- Prūsų kalbos etimologijos žodynas ("Etymological dictionary of Prussian", 4 volumes, 1988-1997, Vilnius)
- Prūsų kalbos istorinė gramatika ("Historical Grammar of Prussian", Vilnius, 2004)
- On the Diachronic Morphology of the Slavonic and Baltic Languages (in collaboration with V. Zhuraviev, 1978, in Russian)