Ranko Matasović (; born 14 May 1968) is a Croatian

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 ...

, Indo-Europeanist, and

Celticist Celtic studies or Celtology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to the Celtic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers of Celtic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art history ...

Biography

Matasović was born and raised in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, where he attended primary and secondary school. In the

Faculty of philosophy A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

, he graduated in

linguistics 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 ...

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, receiving an M.A. in linguistics in 1992 and a Ph.D. in 1995 under the supervision of Radoslav Katičić with the thesis ''A Theory of Textual Reconstruction in Indo-European Linguistics''. He has received research fellowships at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

(1993) and the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

(1995), a post-doctoral

Fulbright Fellowship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

during 1997/1998 (with Andrew Sihler as an advisor), and also an

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation () is a foundation that promotes international academic cooperation between scientists and scholars from Germany and abroad. Established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, it is funded by t ...

fellowship at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

in 2002/2003. He currently holds a chair in the Department of Linguistics in the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb, where he teaches courses on comparative

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

grammar,

Celtic studies Celtic studies or Celtology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to the Celts, Celtic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers of Celtic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art h ...

, and language typology. His research interests include comparative Indo-European grammar (especially of

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

and

Balto-Slavic The Balto-Slavic languages form a branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family of languages, traditionally comprising the Baltic languages, Baltic and Slavic languages. Baltic and Slavic languages share several linguistic traits ...

languages), language typology and syntax, and Latin, Celtic, and Hittite

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

. He has contributed to the

Indo-European Etymological Dictionary The ''Indo-European Etymological Dictionary'' (commonly abbreviated ''IEED'') is a research project of the Department of Comparative Indo-European studies, Indo-European Linguistics at Leiden University, initiated in 1991 by Peter Schrijver and ot ...

project organized by

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

with hi
''Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic''
He has also published works on

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

and Albanian, including the Arbanasi speech of the Albanian diaspora near

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

. In 2002, he received an award from the

Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia. HAZU was founded under the patronage of the Croatian bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer under the name Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (, JAZU) since its ...

for a lasting contribution to philology. In 2006, he became an associate member of the same institution and was promoted into a full member in 2012. In 2022, he was elected a member of the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

Works

He has published more than 100 papers in Croatian and foreign-language journals and translated various works from Latin, Ancient Greek, Lithuanian, Hittite, Old and modern Irish, Welsh, and English.

Linguistics

* ''A Theory of Textual Reconstruction in Indo-European Linguistics'' (Frankfurt a/M & New York: Peter Lang, 1996) * ''Kratka poredbenopovijesna gramatika latinskoga jezika'' 'A Short Comparative-Historical Grammar of Latin''(Zagreb:

Matica hrvatska Matica hrvatska () is the oldest independent, non-profit and non-governmental Croatian national institution. It was founded on February 2, 1842 by the Croatian Count Janko Drašković and other prominent members of the Illyrian movement during ...

, ¹1997, ²2010) , * ''Kultura i književnost Hetita'' 'Hittite Culture and Literature''(Zagreb; Matica hrvatska, 2000) * ''Uvod u poredbenu lingvistiku'' 'An Introduction to Comparative Linguistics''(Zagreb: Matica hrvatska, 2001) * ''Hrvatski enciklopedijski rječnik'' 'Encyclopedic Dictionary of Croatian'' co-edited with Ljiljana Jojić, Vladimir Anić, et al. (Zagreb: Novi Liber, ¹2002, ²2004–2005) * ''Gender in Indo-European'' (Heidelberg: Carl Winter, 2004) * ''Jezična raznolikost svijeta'' 'Linguistic Diversity of the World''(Zagreb: Algoritam, ¹2005, ²2011) , * ''Poredbenopovijesna gramatika hrvatskoga jezika'' 'A Comparative-Historical Grammar of Croatian''(Zagreb: Matica hrvatska, 2008.) * ''Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic'' (Leiden & Boston: Brill, 2009) ** �
Addenda et corrigenda to Ranko Matasović’s ''Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic'' (Brill, Leiden 2009)
�� (Zagreb, 2011) * ''A Reader in Comparative Indo-European Religion'' (Zagreb: University of Zagreb, 2010) * ''Etimološki rječnik hrvatskoga jezika: 1. svezak (A-Nj), 2. svezak (O-Ž)'' 'Etymological Dictionary of Croatian Language'' edited, co-authored with Tijmen Pronk, Dubravka Ivšić, Dunja Brozović Rončević (Zagreb: Institut za hrvatski jezik i jezikoslovlje, 2016–2021) , * ''Slavic Nominal Word-Formation: Proto-Indo-European Origins and Historical Development'' (Heidelberg: Carl Winter, 2014) * ''Lingvistička povijest Europe'' 'Linguistic History of Europe''(Zagreb: Matica hrvatska, 2016) * ''An Areal Typology of Agreement Systems'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018)

Translations

* ''Harfa sa sjevera. Iz irske književnosti'' (Zagreb: Antibarbarus, 1995) * ''Koje je vrijeme? Suvremena irska pripovijetka'' (Zagreb: Matica hrvatska, 1997) * ''Kamen kraljeva. Srednjovjekovne irske sage'' (Zagreb: Ex Libris, 2004) * Sveti Patrik. ''Djela / Opera (Confessio sancti Patricii episcopi; Epistole ad milites Corotici)'' (Zagreb: Antibarbarus, 2004) * '' Četiri grane Mabinogija'' (Zagreb: ArTresor, 2005) *

J. P. Mallory James Patrick Mallory (born October 25, 1945) is an American archaeologist and Indo-Europeanist. Mallory is an emeritus professor at Queen's University, Belfast; a member of the Royal Irish Academy, and the former editor of the '' Journal of ...

. ''Indoeuropljani: Zagonetka njihova podrijetla - jezik, arheologija, mit'' (Zagreb: Školska knjiga, 2006) * '' Narti: Mitovi i legende s Kavkaza'' (Zagreb: Matica hrvatska, 2010) *

Edward Sapir Edward Sapir (; January 26, 1884 – February 4, 1939) was an American anthropologist-linguistics, linguist, who is widely considered to be one of the most important figures in the development of the discipline of linguistics in the United States ...

. ''Jezik: Uvod u istraživanje govora'' (Zagreb: Institut za hrvatski jezik i jezikoslovlje) * Ksenofont. '' O konjaničkom umijeću; O zapovjedniku konjice'', with Maja Rupnik-Matasović (Zagreb: Latina et Graeca, 2018) * Plaut. '' Stiho'' (Zagreb: Latina et Graeca, 2022), with Maja Rupnik-Matasović * ''Dvadeset pjesama o ljubavi i smrti (i kratkih priča o njima)'' (Zagreb: Matica hrvatska, 2023) * Plaut. '' Prostak'' (Zagreb: Latina et Graeca, 2023), with Maja Rupnik-Matasović

Fiction

* ''Neprobuđeni. Roman'' (Zagreb: Ibis grafika, 2022)

References

External links

Personal web page of Ranko Matasović
*
A Conversation with R. Matasović
Vijenac, November 6, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Matasovic, Ranko Linguists from Croatia Linguists of Celtic languages Linguists of Indo-European languages Linguists of Slavic languages Scientists from Zagreb Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb alumni Members of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts Members of Academia Europaea Academic staff of the University of Zagreb 1968 births Living people Etymologists University of Zagreb alumni