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August Friedrich Pott (14 November 1802 in Nettelrede, 
In 1870 he received a combined medal (together with ( Brockhaus,
August Friedrich Pott (14 November 1802 in Nettelrede, Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
5 July 1887 in Halle Halle may refer to:
Places Germany
* Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt
** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt
** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany
** Hal ...
) was a German pioneer in linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Ling ...
.
Pott was a theology student at the University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
, where he became interested in philology
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...
. He became a schoolmaster in Celle
Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lü ...
, but completed his doctoral dissertation in 1827 and went to the University of Berlin
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...
to study with Franz Bopp
Franz Bopp (; 14 September 1791 – 23 October 1867) was a German linguist known for extensive and pioneering comparative work on Indo-European languages.
Early life
Bopp was born in Mainz, but the political disarray in the Republic of Mai ...
, an important pioneer in Indo-European linguistics
Indo-European studies is a field of linguistics and an interdisciplinary field of study dealing with Indo-European languages, both current and extinct. The goal of those engaged in these studies is to amass information about the hypothetical pr ...
. He became an unsalaried lecturer in general linguistics there in 1830 and became the professor of general linguistics at the University of Halle
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...
in 1833, where he remained for the rest of his life.
In 1870 he received a combined medal (together with ( Brockhaus, Fleischer Fleischer (or Fleisher) is a common German language, German and Yiddish language, Yiddish family name. Its literal meaning is "butcher". Other German family names with the same meaning include Metzger (disambiguation), Metzger, Mezger, Fleischman, a ...
and Rödiger) in occasion of the 25th anniversary of the DMG.
His works, notably ''Etymologische Forschungen'' (1834–1836), established the modern etymological studies on the basis of the correspondence of sounds occurring in related words in the Indo-European languages.
The first volume appeared in two volumes, and the second edition (1841-76) was expanded to six volumes. He is also considered the nineteenth century's most important philologist of Romany, the language of the Romani people
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic Itinerant groups in Europe, itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have Ro ...
. Pott's growing work on Romani languages motivated Friedrich Christian Diez
Friedrich Christian Diez (15 March 179429 May 1876) was a German philologist. The two works on which his fame rests are the ''Grammar of the Romance Languages'' (published 1836–1844), and the ''Etymological Dictionary of the Romance Languages'' ...
to publish his work more quickly, so the result was an increase in analysis of Romani languages.p. 415. Malkiel, Yakov. "August Friedrich Pott as a Pioneer of Romance Linguistics." ''American Indian and Indoeuropean Studies: Papers in honor of Madison S. Beeler'' (1980): 409-420.
References
Relevant reading
*Bologna, Maria Patrizia. "Langage et expressivité chez August Friedrich Pott." ''Historiographia linguistica'' 22, no. 1-2 (1995): 75-90. *Leopold, Joan. ''The Letter Liveth: The life, work and library of August Friedrich Pott (1802 87)''. Vol. 9. John Benjamins Publishing, 1983. *Malkiel, Yakov. "August Friedrich Pott as a Pioneer of Romance Linguistics." ''American Indian and Indoeuropean Studies: Papers in honor of Madison S. Beeler'' (1980): 409-420. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pott, August 1802 births 1887 deaths People from Hameln-Pyrmont Linguists from Germany Linguists of Indo-European languages People from the Electorate of Hanover Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) University of Göttingen alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg faculty