Sven-Erik Soosaar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sven-Erik Soosaar | |
|---|---|
 Soosaar in 2008 | |
| Born | November 12, 1973 |
| Alma mater | University of Tartu (PhD) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Linguistics, Lexicography, Etymology |
| Institutions | Institute of the Estonian Language |
Sven-Erik Soosaar (born 12 November 1973) is an Estonian linguist, lexicographer, and a Wikipedian. He is a senior lexicographer at the Institute of the Estonian Language and served as an expert member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues from 2020 to 2022.[1][2]
Soosaar graduated from the University of Tartu in 1995, specializing in classical philology. He pursued further studies in Greenlandic at the University of Greenland (1995–1996) and Finno-Ugrian studies and Assyriology at the University of Helsinki (1997–1998). In 1998, he received his MA from the University of Tartu with a thesis titled Samojeedi ja eskaleuudi ühisjooned (Common features of Samoyed and Eskaleut languages).[1]
He continued his research at the University of Konstanz (2001–2002) and worked as a fellow of the Kone Foundation at the University of Helsinki (2013–2015). In 2017, he earned his PhD in linguistics from the University of Tartu with the dissertation "Developmental lines of Estonian cultural vocabulary – Estonian as a fringe language."[3]
Since 2016, he has served as a senior lexicographer at the Institute of the Estonian Language (EKI). From 2008 to 2011, he served as a department head and a member of the EKI scientific council.[1] Between 2020 and 2022, he represented Estonia as an expert on the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.[2]
Research and translations
Soosaar's research focuses on etymology, lexicology, and Finno-Ugric languages, including Nenets and Mari. He was one of the compilers and editors of the Estonian Etymological Dictionary (2012) and has authored several bilingual dictionaries, including the Estonian–Tundra Nenets Dictionary (2000) and the Hungarian–Estonian Dictionary (2007).[1]
In addition to his linguistic research, Soosaar is a translator of ancient texts. He translated Plato's dialogue Euthyphro from Ancient Greek (published in 2003) and the Sumerian temple hymn "Cylinder A" of King Gudea into Estonian (published in 2002).[4]
Public activity and Wikimedia
Soosaar is a member of the board of the Fenno-Ugria Foundation and the Estonian–Hungarian Society.[5]
Since 2005, he has been an active contributor to the Estonian Wikipedia. From 2014 to 2018, he served on the board of Wikimedia Eesti, the local chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation, including a term as chairman.[6] In 2021, he was named Estonia's "Volunteer of the Year" for his contributions to the digital encyclopedia.[7][8]
