Carl Johan Sverdrup Marstrander (26 November 1883 – 23 December 1965) was a Norwegian linguist, known for his work on the

Irish language Irish (an Caighdeán Oifigiúil, Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages, Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European lang ...

. His works, largely written in Norwegian, on the Celtic and Norse components in Norwegian culture, are considered important for modern

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Life

He was a student of

Sophus Bugge Elseus Sophus Bugge (5 January 1833 – 8 July 1907) was a Norwegian philologist and linguist. His scholarly work was directed to the study of runic inscriptions and Norse philology. Bugge is best known for his theories and his work on the runic ...

and Alf Torp, and spent time in Ireland from 1907, studying modern Irish on

Great Blasket Island The Great Blasket () is the principal island of the Blaskets, County Kerry, Ireland. It was home to a small fishing community of Irish speakers until the island was abandoned in 1954 when living there became unsustainable. Geography The isl ...

with Tomás Ó Criomhthain, and then teaching at the School of Irish Learning in 1910. He jointly edited ''

Ériu In Irish mythology, Ériu (; modern ga, Éire ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland. The English name for Ireland comes from the name Ériu and the Germanic (Old Norse or ...

'' volumes 5–6 (1911–12) with Kuno Meyer. From 1913 to 1954 he was Professor in Celtic languages 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 ...

. During the

German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...

he was jailed several times, and once came close to execution after an arrest by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one or ...

. He influenced later linguists, including Alf Sommerfelt and Carl H. J. Borgstrøm.

Scholarly work

He was general editor from 1910 to 1914 for the long-projected historical ''

Dictionary of the Irish Language ''Dictionary of the Irish Language: Based Mainly on Old and Middle Irish Materials'' (also called "the DIL"), published by the Royal Irish Academy, is the definitive dictionary of the origins of the Irish language, specifically the Old Irish, Mi ...

'', the first fascicle of which was published by the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural i ...

in 1913. His articles were of enduring influence, and published in ''

Revue Celtique A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own du ...

'' and ''

Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie The ''Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie'' is an academic journal of Celtic studies, which was established in 1897 by the German scholars Kuno Meyer and Ludwig Christian Stern.Busse, Peter E. "''Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie''." In ''C ...

'', and his own journal, ''Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap'' which he founded in 1928. His ''Bidrag til det Norske Sprogs historie i Irland'' (1915) and ''Les présents indo-européens à nasale infixée en celtique'' (1924), are two of his larger works. He is also known for his writings on the history of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

, and for securing support and recognition for the Manx historian John Kneen. He made pioneering sound recordings of the

Manx language Manx ( or , pronounced or ), also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Gaelic language of the insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family. Manx is the historical language of the Manx pe ...

, at a time when few fluent native speakers survived. He theorised a North Italian or Etruscan origin for the

runes Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...

. This was, however, partly based on an artefact known now to have been faked.

Notes

;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marstrander, Carl 1883 births 1965 deaths Celtic studies scholars Linguists of Germanic languages Linguists of Indo-European languages Linguists from Norway 20th-century linguists