Velta Ruke-Dravina (Velta Rūķe-Draviņa; 25 January 1917 – 7 May 2003) was a Latvian-born Swedish

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 ...

and

folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

, as well as a professor in

Baltic languages The Baltic languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family spoken natively or as a second language by a population of about 6.5–7.0 million people

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

. Ruke-Dravina's research interests included children's language,

language contact Language contact occurs when speakers of two or more languages or varieties interact with and influence each other. The study of language contact is called contact linguistics. Language contact can occur at language borders, between adstratum ...

, and

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 ...

. Her doctoral thesis was about

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

s in Latvian. She held the only professorship in Baltic languages outside the

Baltics The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

and had a leading role in developing the teaching program on the subject at Stockholm University. In 1980, she was elected as a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities also called simply the Royal Academy of Letters or Vitterhetsakademien abbreviated KVHAA ( or or ) is the Sweden, Swedish Swedish Royal Academies, royal academy for the Humanities. Its ...

Biography

Velta Tatjana Ruke was born on 25 January 1917 in

Valmiera Valmiera () is the second largest city of the historical Vidzeme region, Latvia, with a total area of . As of 2002, Valmiera had a population of 27,323, and in 2020, it was at 24,879. It is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city, and ...

. She grew up in Latvia, graduating from

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Secondary School No 2, and from the Department of Baltic Philology at the Faculty of Philology and Philosophy of the

University of Latvia University of Latvia (, shortened ''LU'') is a public research university located in Riga, Latvia. The university was established in 1919. History The University of Latvia, initially named as the Higher School of Latvia () was founded on Se ...

in 1939.Latvijas enciklopēdija. 5. sējums. Rīga : Valērija Belokoņa izdevniecība. 2009. 49. lpp. . From 1938 and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Ruke-Dravina pursued doctoral studies in comparative

Indo-European language 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 ( ...

research, but was not allowed to complete the studies as public defense of a thesis in this subject was not allowed in the German-fortified Latvia. She worked for a while as a lecturer in

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 ...

and served as an assistant to the linguist Jānis Endzelīns. She was involved in a number of projects associated with land-targeting and place-name research at the Latvian language archive. In the autumn of 1944, Ruke-Dravina and her husband, like many others, fled to Sweden. She continued her academic activities, initially at

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

, where she taught in Baltic languages in the 1950s, and later at Stockholm University, where she earned a

licentiate degree A licentiate (abbreviated Lic.) is an academic degree present in many countries, representing different educational levels. The Licentiate (Pontifical Degree) is a post graduate degree when issued by pontifical universities and other universitie ...

in Slavic languages in 1954, and defended her doctorate in 1959 (''Diminutive im Lettischen''). Between 1948 and 1970, Ruke-Dravina worked as a lecturer at the University of Lund, where she was an associate professor in Baltic and Slavic languages. Later, she continued her career at the Stockholm University, first as an associate professor in Slavic languages, then as an assistant professor of general linguistics, and finally as a regular professor in Baltic languages. She became the chair of the Department of Baltic Language and Literature at the Institute of Slavs and Balts at the Stockholm University before 1984. She was also a guest lecturer at universities in different countries. After retiring in 1983, Helge Rinholm became her successor. From 1982 to 1990, Ruke-Dravina was an editor of the literary yearbook ''Zari''. She published over 300 scientific articles, and was the author of several books on linguistic issues. She received several awards and prizes for her activities. Ruke-Dravina is the mother of astronomer Dainis Dravins. She died on 7 May 2003.

Selected works

* ''Latviešu valodas dialektoloģijas atlanta materialu vākšanas programa'', 1954 * ''Laute und Nominalformen der Mundart von Stenden. 1, Einleitung, Akzent und Intonation, Lautlehre'', 1955 * ''Verbalformen und undeklinierbare Redeteile der Mundart von Stenden : Verben, Adverbien, Präpositionen und Präfixe, Partikeln, Konjunktionen'', 1958 * ''Diminutive im Lettischen'', 1959 * ''Interjektionen und Onomatopöie in der Mundart von Stenden '', 1962 * ''Zur Sprachentwicklung bei Kleinkindern. 1, Syntax : Beitrag auf der Grundlage lettischen Sprachmateriels'', 1963 * ''Rainis kā augšzemnieku valodas pārstāvis'', 1965 * ''Mehrsprachigkeit im Vorschulalter'', 1967 * ''Språk i kontakt.'', 1969 * ''Initial consonant combinations in Lithuanian and Latvian '', 1970 * ''Place names in Kauguri county, Latvia : a synchronic-structural analysis of toponyms in an ancient Indo-European and Finno-Ugric contact area.'', 1971 * ''Vārds īstā vietā : frazeologismu krājums = The right word in the right place'', 1974 * ''The standardization process in Latvian 16. century to the present'', 1977 * ''Jān̨i latviešu literatūrā '', 1978 * ''No pieciem mēnešiem līdz pieciem gadiem'', 1982 * ''Cilvēks un daba latviešu tautasdziesmās'', 1986 * ''Rakstnieks un valoda'', 1988 * ''Svenska ortnamn i lettisk skönlitteratur'', 1989 * ''Valodniecība'', 1991 * ''Jāni latviešu literatūrā'', 1991 * ''Valodas jautājumi : rakstu krājums'', 1992 * ''Latviešu meitene apgūst savu pirmo valodu'', 1993 * ''Latviešu tautasdziesmu varianti : Kr. Barona "Latvju dainās"'', 1993 * ''Darbu izlase'', 2017

References

Bibliography

* * Gustavsson, Sven (2004). ”Velta Rūķe-Draviņa”. Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antikvitetsakademiens årsbok 2004: sid. 724. . ISSN 0083-6796. Libris 9637340 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruke-Dravina, Velta 1917 births 2003 deaths Linguists from Sweden Linguists from Latvia Latvian emigrants to Sweden Women linguists People from Valmiera University of Latvia alumni Academic staff of Lund University Stockholm University alumni Academic staff of Stockholm University Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities 20th-century linguists Linguists of Baltic languages