Kārlis Mīlenbahs
Latvian linguist (1853–1916)
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Kārlis Mīlenbahs (his surname was formerly also written as Mühlenbach, Mühlenbachs, Mǖlenbachs or Mīlenbachs) (18 January 1853 in Courland, Russian Empire – 27 March 1916 in Võru, Livonia, Russian Empire) was the first native speaker of Latvian to devote his career to linguistics.
Kārlis Mīlenbahs | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 18 January 1853 |
| Died | 27 March 1916 (aged 63) |
| Occupations | Lexicographer Philologist |
Mīlenbahs studied classical philology at the Imperial University of Dorpat (he did not remain at the university because of his poverty). He worked as a school teacher in Jelgava and Latvia until the end of his life.[1][2]
He published his first magazine article in 1881; after 1890, he authored over a hundred scholarly articles on the language in Latvian, Russian, and German.[1]
He became the first chairman of the Orthography Commission at the Latvian Society's Science Union.[3]
His main achievement was the Latvian-German dictionary that remains the most important lexicographical work on Latvian.[4] The first four volumes were printed posthumously between 1923 and 1932 in Riga; the dictionary was completed and expanded by Jānis Endzelīns, with whom Mīlenbahs co-wrote other works, including a major Latvian grammar.[4]
His polemics with the poet Rainis led to an important essay on literary Latvian published in 1909. He was also a translator of part of the Odyssey (1890–95).[2][5]
Family
He was married to Marija Kronberga and they had a son named Kārlis.[5]
