Tamaz Valerianis dze Gamkrelidze ( ka, თამაზ ვალერიანის ძე გამყრელიძე; 23 October 1929 – 10 February 2021) was a Georgian

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 ...

, orientalist public benefactor and

Hittitologist Hittitology is the study of the Hittites, an ancient Anatolian people that established an empire around Hattusa in the 2nd millennium BCE. It combines aspects of the archaeology, history, philology, and art history of the Hittite civilisation. Ther ...

Academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

(since 1974) and President (2005–2013) of the Georgian Academy of Sciences (GAS), Doctor of Sciences (1963), Professor (1964).

Biography

Gamkrelidze was born in

Kutaisi Kutaisi ( ; ka, ქუთაისი ) is a city in the Imereti region of the Georgia (country), Republic of Georgia. One of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, it is the List o ...

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...

. His brother Revaz Gamkrelidze was a mathematician. Tamaz Gamkrelidze graduated from the Faculty of Oriental Studies of the

Tbilisi State University Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი, tr; often shorten ...

(TSU) in 1952. Since 1964, Gamkrelidze was a professor at this university, and since 1966 the Head of the Chair of Structural and Applied Linguistics. In 1973–2006, he was a Director of the Tsereteli Institute of Oriental Studies (Tbilisi). He was the author of many outstanding works in the fields of

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. ...

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 ...

Ancient languages An ancient language is any language originating in times that may be referred to as ancient. There are no formal criteria for deeming a language ancient, but a traditional convention is to demarcate as "ancient" those languages that existed prior t ...

Theoretical linguistics Theoretical linguistics is a term in linguistics that, like the related term general linguistics, can be understood in different ways. Both can be taken as a reference to the theory of language, or the branch of linguistics that inquires into the ...

, Structural and Applied Linguistics and Kartvelology. He was a leading proponent of the

glottalic theory The glottalic theory is that Proto-Indo-European had ejective or otherwise non- pulmonic stops, , instead of the plain voiced ones, as hypothesized by the usual Proto-Indo-European phonological reconstructions. A forerunner of the theory was ...

of Proto-Indo-European consonants. In the 1980s, Gamkrelidze worked with Vyacheslav Ivanov on a new theory of Indo-European migrations, which was most recently advocated by them in Indo-European and Indo-Europeans (1995). In 1988–1995, he edited the premier linguistics journal of the Russian Academy of Science "Voprosy jazykoznanija". He was a Foreign Associate of the

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

(2006), Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts & Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other F ...

, Corresponding Fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

, Fellow of the European Society of Linguistics (in 1986-1988 President of this Society), Corresponding Member of the

Austrian Academy of Sciences The Austrian Academy of Sciences (; ÖAW) is a legal entity under the special protection of the Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every fi ...

, Academician of the Russian Academy of Science, a Fellow of the

World Academy of Art and Science The World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), founded in 1960, is an international non-governmental scientific organization and global network of more than 800 scientists, artists, and scholars in more than 90 countries. It serves as a forum for s ...

(2006),

Doctor honoris causa 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 hono ...

of the

Bonn University 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 Will ...

(

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

(

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

), Honorary Member of the

Linguistic Society of America The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) is a learned society for the field of linguistics. Founded in New York City in 1924, the LSA works to promote the scientific study of language. The society publishes three scholarly journals: ''Language'', ...

, etc. He has received the

Lenin Prize The Lenin Prize (, ) was one of the most prestigious awards of the Soviet Union for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was originally created on June 23, 1925, and awarded until 1934. During ...

(1988), the Humboldt International Prize (1989) and the

Ivane Javakhishvili Ivane Alexandres dze Javakhishvili ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილი; 23 April 1876 – 18 November 1940) was a Georgian historian and linguist whose works heavily influenced the Kartvelian studies, modern scholarship of the ...

Prize of the Georgian Academy of Sciences (1992). From 1992 to 2005, Gamkrelidze was a member of the Parliament of Georgia. In August 1991, Tamaz Gamkrelidze was appointed the Rector of the Tbilisi State University, however, he stayed on this post for a very short time.Tamaz Gamkrelidze
// Tbilisi State University: The University Rectors - tsu.ge Since 2000, he was an honorary citizen of

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

. Gamkrelidze died on 10 February 2021, aged 91.

Selected bibliography

* “The Akkado-Hittite syllabary and the problem of the origin of the Hittite script”, ''Archiv Orientální'', vol. 29 (1960). * ''Anatolian languages and the problem of Indo-European migration to Asia Minor'', Studies in General and Oriental Linguistics. Tokyo, 1970 * with V. V. Ivanov, ''Indoevropjskij jazyk i indoevropejcy: Rekonstrukcija i istoriko-tipologieskij analiz prajazyka i protokultury''. Tiflis: Tiflis University Press 1984. xcvi + 1328 p. ** English translation: ''Indo-European and the Indo-Europeans: A reconstruction and historical analysis of a proto-language and a proto-culture''. 2 vols. Trans. J. Nichols. Berlin–New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 1: 1994, 2: 1995. * with V. V. Ivanov, “The ancient Near East and the Indo-European question: Temporal and territorial characteristics of Proto-Indo-European based on linguistic and historico-cultural data”, ''Soviet Studies in History'' vol. 22, no. 1–2 (1983): 7–52. doi: 10.2753/RSH1061-19832201027 * with V. V. Ivanov, “The migrations of tribes speaking Indo-European dialects from their original homeland in the Near East to their historical habitations in Eurasia”, ''Soviet Studies in History'' vol. 22, no. 1–2 (1983): 53–95. doi: 10.2753/RSH1061-198322010253 * “Proto-Indo-European as a Stative-Active Typology”, in ''Indogermanica et Caucasica: Festschrift für Karl Horst Schmidt zum 65. Geburtstag'', eds. Roland Bielmeier & Reinhard Stempel. Berlin–NY: Mouton de Gruyter, 1994, pp. 25–34. * ''Alphabetic writing and the old Georgian script''. New York: Caravan Books, 1994. * Ivo Hajnal, ed. ''Thomas V. Gamkrelidze, Selected writings: Linguistic sign, typology and language reconstruction''. Innsbruck 2006.

References

External links

Home Page of Tamaz Gamkrelidze
(2015-07-05 not accessible)

Tbilisi State University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gamkrelidze, Tamaz V. 1929 births 2021 deaths Linguists from Georgia (country) Hittitologists Linguists of Indo-European languages Indo-Europeanists People from Kutaisi Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Full Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Kartvelian studies scholars Orientalists from Georgia (country) Members of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Lenin Prize Rectors of Tbilisi State University Corresponding fellows of the British Academy Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Honoured Scientists of Georgia (country)

Biography

Selected bibliography

See also

References

External links