Andrey Anatolyevich Zaliznyak ( rus, Андре́й Анато́льевич Зализня́к, p=zəlʲɪˈzʲnʲak; 29 April 1935 – 24 December 2017) was a Soviet and Russian

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

, an expert in

historical linguistics Historical linguistics, also known as diachronic linguistics, is the scientific study of how languages change over time. It seeks to understand the nature and causes of linguistic change and to trace the evolution of languages. Historical li ...

, accentology,

dialectology Dialectology (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ''dialektos'', "talk, dialect"; and , ''-logy, -logia'') is the scientific study of dialects: subsets of languages. Though in the 19th century a branch of historical linguistics, dialectology is often now c ...

and grammar. Doctor of Philological Sciences (1965, while defending his

Candidate A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group (sociology), group or election to an offic ...

thesis). In his later years he paid much attention to the popularization of linguistics and the struggle against

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...

Biography

Zaliznyak was born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and studied in the

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

before moving to the Sorbonne to further his studies with

André Martinet André Martinet (; 12 April 1908 – 16 July 1999) was a French linguist, influential due to his work on structural linguistics. In linguistic theory, Martinet is known especially for his studies on linguistic economy and double articulation. ...

. He was married to the linguist Elena V. Paducheva, with whom he also co-authored scientific publications. He was admitted into the

Soviet Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (un ...

as a corresponding member in 1987. Ten years later, he was elected a full

academician An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. Accor ...

. Zaliznyak's first monograph, ''Russian Nominal Inflection'' (1967), remains a definitive study in the field. Ten years later, he published a highly authoritative ''Grammatical Dictionary of the Russian Language'', which went through several reprints and provided a basis for Russian grammar software. In 1982, Zaliznyak turned his interests towards the birch bark scrolls which have been unearthed in

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

since the 1950s. He has co-edited all publications of newly discovered birch scrolls since 1986. As the number of these ancient documents exceeded 700, Zaliznyak summed up his findings in the monograph '' Old Novgorod dialect'' (1995), which comprised the texts and comments of every birch scroll discovered. In particular, he demonstrated how the

phonetics Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds or, in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians ...

of the Old Novgorod dialect can be reconstructed from the typos in the birch scrolls. In 2003, Zaliznyak published the first comprehensive study of the Novgorod Codex, the earliest extant East Slavic book, which had been sensationally discovered three years earlier. In 2004, he published a study of ''

The Tale of Igor's Campaign ''The Tale of Igor's Campaign'' or ''The Tale of Ihor's Campaign'' () is an anonymous epic poem written in the Old East Slavic language. The title is occasionally translated as ''The Tale of the Campaign of Igor'', ''The Song of Igor's Campaign'' ...

'' which examined all the significant linguistic arguments concerning its authenticity. Zaliznyak contends that no 20th-century (let alone 18th-century) forger could have reproduced the grammatical subtleties of the 12th-century

Old East Slavic Old East Slavic (traditionally also Old Russian) was a language (or a group of dialects) used by the East Slavs from the 7th or 8th century to the 13th or 14th century, until it diverged into the Russian language, Russian and Ruthenian language ...

language. Zaliznyak lectured in the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

, and

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

. For more data on his work, see Old Novgorod dialect, Novgorod Codex, and ''The Tale of Igor's Campaign''.

Honors

* 1997: Demidov Prize * 2007:

State Prize of the Russian Federation The State Prize of the Russian Federation, officially translated in Russia as Russian Federation National Award, is a state honorary prize established in 1992 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. In 2004 the rules for selection of laureates ...

Названы лауреаты Государственной премии РФ

Kommersant (, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...

20 May 2008 * 2007: Solzhenitsyn Prize * 2007:

Lomonosov Gold Medal The Lomonosov Gold Medal ( ''Bol'shaya zolotaya medal' imeni M. V. Lomonosova''), named after Russian scientist and polymath Mikhail Lomonosov, is awarded each year since 1959 for outstanding achievements in the natural sciences and the humaniti ...

* 2015: , for his work, ''Древнерусское ударение: общие сведения и словарь''

Major works

* Andrey Zaliznyak. ''Russkoe imennoe slovoizmenenie.'' Moskva, 1967. * Andrey Zaliznyak. ''Grammaticheskij slovar' russkogo jazyka''. Moskva, 1977, (further editions are 1980, 1987, 2003). * Andrey Zaliznyak. Grammaticheskij ocherk sanskrita. Appendix to ''Russian-Sanscrit dictionnary'', ed. by V.A. Kochergina, Moskva, 1978. * Andrey Zaliznyak. ''Drevnenovgorodskij dialekt''. Jazyki slavjanskoj kul'tury: Moskva. 2004. * Andrey Zaliznyak. ''About Faux Linguistics and Quasihistory'' "О ложной лингвистике и квазиистории"
(retrieved October 14, 2015)

References

External links

А. А. Зализняк
на сайте Института славяноведения РАН

* Pavel Iosad, Maria Koptjevskaja-Tamm, Alexander Piperski and Dmitri Sitchinava (2018
"Depth, brilliance, clarity: Andrey Anatolyevich Zaliznyak (1935–2017)" (Obituary)
''Linguistic Typology'' 2018; 22(1): 175–184. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zaliznyak, Andrey 1935 births 2017 deaths Writers from Moscow Russian people of Ukrainian descent Linguists of Slavic languages Linguists from Russia Linguists from the Soviet Union Grammarians from Russia Linguists of Russian 21st-century linguists University of Paris alumni Corresponding Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Full Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences State Prize of the Russian Federation laureates Demidov Prize laureates Solzhenitsyn Prize winners Recipients of the Lomonosov Gold Medal Russian scientists