Carl Darling Buck (October 2, 1866 – February 8, 1955), born in
Bucksport, Maine
Bucksport is a historical town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,944 at the 2020 census. Bucksport is across the Penobscot River estuary from Fort Knox and the Penobscot Narrows Bridge, which replaced the Waldo– ...
, was an American
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...
.
Biography
He graduated from
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
in 1886, was a graduate student there for three years, and studied at the
American School of Classical Studies
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, image = American School of Classical Studies at Athens.jpg
, image_size =
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, caption = The ASCSA main building as seen from Mount Lykavittos
, latin_name =
, other_name =
, former_name =
, mo ...
in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
from 1887 to 1889, and in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
from 1889–1892.
In 1892 he became professor of
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
and
Indo-European comparative philology at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
, and was later named
Martin A. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor of Comparative Philology.
In his early career, he concentrated on the
Italic dialects, including among his published work, ''Der Vocalismus der oskischen Sprache'' (1892), ''The
Oscan
Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian.
Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including ...
-
Umbrian
Umbrian is an extinct Italic language formerly spoken by the Umbri in the ancient Italian region of Umbria. Within the Italic languages it is closely related to the Oscan group and is therefore associated with it in the group of Osco-Umbrian ...
Verb-System'' (1895), and ''Grammar of Oscan and Umbrian, with a collection of inscriptions and a glossary'' (1904), and a ''précis'' of the Italic languages in Johnson's ''
Universal Cyclopaedia
The 12-volume ''Universal Cyclopaedia'' was edited by Charles Kendall Adams, and was published by D. Appleton & Company in 1900. The name was changed to ''Universal Cyclopaedia and Atlas'' in 1902, with editor .
History
This was the culmination ...
''. He collaborated with
W.G. Hale in the preparation of ''A Latin Grammar'' (1903).
Later, he worked extensively on the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
dialects, publishing: ''The Greek dialects; grammar, selected inscriptions, glossary'' (1910), ''Comparative grammar of Greek and Latin'' (1933); and on more general Indo-European issues.
His ''Dictionary of Selected Synonyms in the Principal Indo-European Languages'' was called by
Calvert Watkins
Calvert Watkins ( /ˈwɒtkɪnz/; March 13, 1933 – March 20, 2013) was an American linguist and philologist, known for his book '' How to Kill a Dragon''. He was a professor of linguistics and the classics at Harvard University and after retirem ...
"a treasure house of words, word origins, expressions, and ideas..., a monument to a great American scholar".
[''Dictionary...'' (1949, reprinted 1988, )]
Upon his death, the New York Times reported that Buck spoke 30 languages. Many of Buck's books went through multiple editions, and several are still in print.
Bibliography
* Buck C D (1892). ''Der Vocalismus der oskischen Sprache''. Leipzig: K. F. Koehler's Antiquarium.
* Buck C D (1895). ''The Oscan-Umbrian verb-system''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
* Buck C D (1903). ''A sketch of the linguistic conditions of Chicago''. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
* Buck C D (1904). ''Grammar of Oscan and Umbrian''. Boston: Ginn and Company.
* Buck C D (1905). ''Elementarbuch der oskisch-umbrischen Dialekte''. Heidelberg: C. Winter.
* Buck C D (1910). ''Introduction to the study of the Greek dialects: grammar, selected inscriptions, glossary''. Boston: Ginn and Company.
* Buck C D (1933). ''Comparative grammar of Greek and Latin''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
* Buck C D (1949). ''A dictionary of selected synonyms in the principal Indo–European languages: a contribution to the history of ideas''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
LINK(Academia.EDU)
* Buck C D &
Hale W G (1903). ''A Latin grammar''. New York: Mentzer, Bush.
* Buck C D &
Petersen W (1945). ''A reverse index of Greek nouns and adjectives, arranged by terminations with brief historical introductions''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
References
Notes
General references
*
External links
*
Carl Darling Buck, ''A Grammar of Oscan and Umbrian''on the
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buck, Carl Darling
1866 births
1955 deaths
American philologists
Etymologists
People from Bucksport, Maine
American Sanskrit scholars
Linguistic Society of America presidents