Trygve Knudsen (23 June 1897 – 18 January 1968) was a Norwegian

philologist 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 ...

linguist 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. Lingui ...

and

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoretica ...

Personal life

Knudsen was born in

Tønsberg Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative c ...

as the son of lawyer Knud Peder Knudsen (1863–1937) and Henriette von Lachmann Mørck (1867–1923). He married Grethe Tønnessen in 1925.

Career

Knudsen finished his secondary education in Tønsberg 1916, and enrolled 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 ...

at the University of Kristiania. He took the cand.philol. degree in 1923, and his thesis was issued as a book, titled ''P. A. Munch og samtidens norske målstræv''. Between 1925 and 1930 he worked as a University

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

, and later as a teacher in

Aker Aker may refer to: Places * Aker, Norway, a geographic area in Oslo and a former municipality in Norway * Vestre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Nordre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Aker Br ...

and

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. From 1935 he worked as a teacher at Oslo Cathedral School, until 1946, when he started lecturing at the University. He was appointed professor at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top univers ...

in 1954, and kept this position until he retired in 1967. Knudsen was co-editor of the dictionary '' Norsk Riksmålsordbok'' from 1925, together with Alf Sommerfelt, who had started the work in 1922. The first parts of the dictionary were published in 1930, and the dictionary work was completed in 1957. After publishing the dictionary, the editors started working on a supplementary volume. As Sommerfelt died in 1965, and Knudsen died in 1968, their work was completed by

Harald Noreng Harald Noreng (25 April 1913 – 7 February 2006) was a Norwegian literary researcher and lexicographer. Personal life He was born on the island of Hisøya in the municipality of Hisøy in 1913. He was the son of boat builder Johan Wilhelm Ha ...

, who also had been co-editor of volume four of the dictionary. The two supplementary volumes of ''Norsk Riksmålsordbok'' (labeled V and VI) were issued in 1995. Knudsen was co-editor of the magazine ''Maal og Minne'' from 1951. He wrote the book ''Gammelnorsk Homiliebok'' in 1952. He was chairman for the Norwegian Language Committee (''Norsk Språknemnd'') from 1956 to 1957. He wrote articles on city dialects in general, and more specifically on dialects in Oslo and Tønsberg. He was a radio speaker, especially on the subject "Norwegian language", and he held guest lectures at the universities of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

, Lund,

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

and

Göteborg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. He was also a literary critic. Knudsen received an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad ho ...

at the

University of Stockholm Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...

in 1960.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knudsen, Trygve Norwegian lexicographers Riksmål-language writers University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of the University of Oslo Norwegian literary critics People from Tønsberg 1897 births 1968 deaths 20th-century lexicographers Maal og Minne editors