Andrzej Stanisław Bogusławski (born 1 December 1931) is a Polish

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 th ...

, semanticist, semioticist and philosopher of language of international repute. Originally a specialist in Russian language, his interests broadened into the

epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Epis ...

of language and

linguistics Linguistics is the science, 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 ...

. During martial law in Poland he was interned for refusing to sign an oath of loyalty which led to international protests. He is a professor emeritus at

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

Career

His early work focused on Russian language and moved later to the

theory of language Theory of language is a topic from philosophy of language and theoretical linguistics. It has the goal of answering the questions "What is language?"; "Why do languages have the properties they have?"; or "What is the origin of language?". Even t ...

. He became a member of the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society o ...

philology committee, a member of the

Warsaw Scientific Society Warsaw Scientific Society (Polish: ''Towarzystwo Naukowe Warszawskie''; TNW) is a Polish scientific society based in Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital ...

, a national member of the

Polish Academy of Learning The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning ( pl, Polska Akademia Umiejętności), headquartered in Kraków and founded in 1872, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of scie ...

, and for many years director of the faculty of

Formal Linguistics Formal linguistics is the branch of linguistics which uses applied mathematical methods for the analysis of natural languages. Such methods include formal languages, formal grammars and first-order logical expressions. Formal linguistics also forms ...

at Warsaw University.

Political internment

On 13 December 1981 he was arrested and interned by the Polish authorities for refusing to sign an oath of loyalty.

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky i ...

, among other academics, called for his release. He was released on 16 July 1982.

Research

Bogusławski's research interests have ranged from

lexicography 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. * Theoreti ...

, through

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domain ...

semantics Semantics (from grc, σημαντικός ''sēmantikós'', "significant") is the study of reference, meaning, or truth. The term can be used to refer to subfields of several distinct disciplines, including philosophy, linguistics and comp ...

semiotics Semiotics (also called semiotic studies) is the systematic study of sign processes ( semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something ...

formal logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premis ...

and the roots of language in philosophy and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He collaborated with Anna Wierzbicka on

Natural semantic metalanguage The natural semantic metalanguage (NSM) is a linguistic theory that reduces lexicons down to a set of semantic primitives. It is based on the conception of Polish professor Andrzej Bogusławski. The theory was formally developed by Anna Wierzbi ...

research and is credited by her with reviving the notion of

Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of ma ...

's "

alphabet of human thought The alphabet of human thought ( la, alphabetum cogitationum humanarum) is a concept originally proposed by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz that provides a universal way to represent and analyze ideas and relationships by breaking down their component piec ...

", or ''Lingua Mentalis''. Bogusławski is an acknowledged authority in the field of the

and research methodology in the sphere of

Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...

, especially

Slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the ...

. His interests also take in semantics, lexicology,

pragmatics In linguistics and related fields, pragmatics is the study of how context contributes to meaning. The field of study evaluates how human language is utilized in social interactions, as well as the relationship between the interpreter and the in ...

, syntax,

inflection In linguistic morphology, inflection (or inflexion) is a process of word formation in which a word is modified to express different grammatical categories such as tense, case, voice, aspect, person, number, gender, mood, animacy, and ...

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

phonology Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...

, theories of text and translation, semiotics and the theory of literature. He has made original contributions to the methodology of semantics and to the theoretical bases of synchronistic morphology, lexicology, lexicography. In the 1960s he hypothesised the emergence of natural language generation with the aid of elementary linguistic units. In the 1970s he postulated a theory of operational grammar, relating linguistic elements to syntax. This helped to advance understanding of how the fields of internal languages are demarcated and he assisted the development of the empirical study of linguistics. He laid down the methodological basis of contemporary synchronous lexicography. He has also explored the frontiers of language and philosophy.

Honours

* In 2001 he was honoured with a ''

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

'' on the occasion of his 70th birthday. * In 2003 he was awarded the Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta. * On 16 May 2012 Andrzej Bogusławski was awarded an

Honorary doctor 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 hon ...

ate by the University of Torun.

Works

Bogusławski is the author of over 400 publications and the editor of the Polish-Russian and Russian-Polish dictionary. He has published in Polish, Russian and English.

Selected books

* Bogusławski, Andrzej (2010)
''Dwa studia z teorii fleksji (i inne przyczynki)''
Warsaw: Bel Studio. . * Bogusławski, Andrzej (2007). ''A study in the linguistics-philosophy interface''. Warsaw: BEL Studio. . http://bc.klf.uw.edu.pl/36/. * ''Fleksja rosyjska'', Warsaw 2005. * ''Aspekt i negacja'', Warsaw 2003¹, 2004². * ''Science as Linguistic Activity, Linguistics as Scientific Activity'', Warszawa 1998. * ''Sprawy słowa = Word matters'', Warsaw 1994. * ''Two Essays on Inflection'', Warsaw 1992. * ''Język w słowniku : desiderata semantyczne do wielkiego słownika polszczyzny'', Wrocław 1988. * ''Ilustrowany słownik rosyjsko-polski, polsko-rosyjski'', t. 1–2, Warsaw 1978¹, 1983², 1986³, 1993⁴. * ''Problems of the Thematic-Rhematic Structure of Sentences'', Warsaw 1977. * ''Semantyczne pojęcie liczebnika i jego morfologia w języku rosyjskim'', Wrocław 1966.

Selected articles

* ''Rezygnacja i nadzieja filozofów'', „Przegląd Humanistyczny” 2004 Nr 383, p. 1-26. * ''A note on Apresjan`s concept of "Polish school of semantics" with an appendix'', „Lingua Posnaniensis” 2003 Tom XLV, p. 7-18. * ''Jeszcze o wiedzy i wszechwiedzy'', „Przegląd Humanistyczny” 2002 Tom 3, p. 67-73. * ''Reflections on Wierzbicka`s explications'', „Lingua Posnaniensis” 2001 Tom XLIII, p. 47-88. * ''On the necessity of necessity'', „Lingua Posnaniensis” 2001 Tom XLIII, p. 39-45. * ''O pozytywnej stronie granic poznania'', in ''U progu trzeciego tysiąclecia. Człowiek - Nauka - Wiara'', Warsaw 2000, pp. 209–245. * ''Człowiek współczesny: rozum i wiara'', in ''U progu trzeciego tysiąclecia. Człowiek - Nauka - Wiara'', Warsaw 2000, pp. 524–536.

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

biography of Andrzej Bogusławski at Nicolas Copernicus University

NSM bibliography page at University of New England, Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boguslawski, Andrzej 1931 births Living people Etymologists Linguists from Poland Polish lexicographers Linguistic turn Members of the Polish Academy of Sciences Philosophers of language Polish educators Polish non-fiction writers Polish male non-fiction writers Polish philologists Polish translators Polish male writers 20th-century linguists Semanticists Linguists of Indo-European languages Semioticians Structuralists People from Warsaw Polish dissidents Academic staff of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń University of Warsaw alumni Academic staff of the University of Warsaw Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta