Heikki Antinpoika Paasonen (2 January 1865 - 24 August 1919) was a Finnish linguist and ethnographer best known for his research in the linguistics and folklore of the

Mokshas The Mokshas (also ''Mokshans'', ''Moksha people'', in ) comprise a Mordvinian ethnic group belonging to the Volgaic branch of the Finno-Ugric peoples. They live in the Russian Federation, mostly near the Volga River and the Moksha River, a tri ...

and the Erzyas during his two research trips to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. His studies include works on Chuvash, Mishar Tatar,

Meadow Mari Meadow Mari or Meadow-Eastern Mari or Eastern Mari is a standardised dialect of the Mari language used by about half a million people mostly in the European part of the Russian Federation. Meadow Mari, Hill Mari, and Russian are official langua ...

and

Khanty The Khanty (Khanty: ханти, ''hanti''), also known in older literature as Ostyaks (russian: остяки) are a Ugric indigenous people, living in Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug, a region historically known as "Yugra" in Russia, together ...

languages, which led to further discoveries in Finno-Ugric and Turkic studies.

Biography

Paasonen was born in

Mikkeli Mikkeli (; sv, S:t Michel; la, Michaelia) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Etelä-Savo region. The municipality has a population of () (around 34,000 i ...

, the son of the merchants Anders Paasonen and Fredrika Matiskainen. He became a student at the Swedish-language lyceum in Mikkeli in 1881 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1888 and worked from the following year until 1890 as a researcher with the

and Erzyas. The subject of his dissertation in 1893 was Mordvinic phonetics. In 1894, Paasonen became a Doctor of Primus and Docent of Finno-Ugric Linguistics. Paasonen made research trips to the Finno-Ugric peoples, including Hungary, collecting linguistic and ethnographic material. In 1902 he became the Chief Inspector of the School Board, and professor of Finno-Ugric linguistics at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

from 1904 to 1919. Paasonen's research and collections were published quite extensively, even after his death. For example, the collection ''Mordwinische Volkslieder I-IV'' was published by Paavo Ravila from 1938 to 1947, and the Finno-Ugric Society has edited a dictionary of Mordvinic languages based on Paasonen's materials, which became the basis of lexicological research in these languages.

Family

Paasonen's spouse since 1894 was Hungarian-born Mariska Paskay de Palásth. Colonel Aladár Paasonen was their son. Their other children were Maria Aranka Gizela, Arvid and Ilona Anna.Heikki Paasonen on geni.com
/ref> He died in Helsinki in 1919.

Works

*Heikki Paasonen. ''Matkakertomus mordvalaisten maalta'', SUSA XVII, 3. Helsinki 1890 *Heikki Paasonen. ''Die Türkischen Lehnwörter im Mordwinischen''. Helsingfors, 1897 *Heikki Paasonen. ''Mordvinische Lautlehre''. Helsingfors, Druckerei der Finnischen Litteraturgesellschaft, 1903 *Heikki Paasonen. ''Die finnisch-ugrischen s-laute''. Helsinki, Société finno-ougrienne, 1918 *Heikki Paasonen. ''Beiträge zur Aufhellung der Frage nach der Urheimat der finnisch-ugrischen Völker''. Turku, Turun Suomalaisen Yliopiston Kustantama, 1923 *Heikki Paasonen; Kai Donner. ''Ostjakisches Wörterbuch, nach den Dialekten an der Konda und am Jugan''. Helsingfors, Société finno-ougrienne, 1926 *Heikki Paasonen. ''Mordvalaiset, Suomen suku II''. Helsinki 1928 *Heikki Paasonen; M E Evsevʹev; ''Mordwinische Volksdichtung''. Helsinki, Suomalais-ugrilainen Seura, 1938-1981 *Heikki Paasonen. ''H. Paasonens Ost-Tscheremissisches Wörterbuch''. Helsinki, Suomalais-ugrilainen Seura, 1948 *Heikki Paasonen. Eino Karahka; Martti Räsänen. ''Gebräuche und Volksdichtung der Tschuwassen''. Helsinki, Suomalais-ugrilainen Seura, 1949. *Heikki Paasonen. ''Çuvaş sözlüğü''. İstanbul : İbrahim Horoz Basımevi, 1950. *Heikki Paasonen. ''Mordwinische Chrestomathie mit Glossar und grammatikalischem Abriss''. Helsinki, Suomalais-ugrilainen Seura, 1953 *Heikki Paasonen. Eino Karahka. ''Mischärtatarische Volksdichtung''. Helsinki, Suomalais-ugrilainen Seura, 1953 *Heikki Paasonen; T Janurik. ''Tschuwaschisches Wörterverzeichnis''. Szeged: Universitas Szegediensis de Attila József Nominata, 1974 *Heikki Paasonen; Kaino Heikkilä; Paavo Ravila; Martti Kahla. ''Mordwinische Volksdichtung Bd. 5''. Helsinki, Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura 1977 *''Mordwinische Volksdichtung. Gesammelt von Ignatij Zorin, Durchgesehen u. transkribiert von Heikki Paasonen, übers. von Kaino Heikkilä u. Paavo Ravila, Herausgeg von Martti Kahla. V. Band''. SUST 161. Helsinki 1977, Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura. *''Mordwinische Volksdichtung. Gesammelt on Ignatij Zorin, Durchgesehen u. transkribiert von Heikki Paasonen, übers. von Kaino Heikkilä u. Paavo Ravila, Herausgeg von Martti Kahla. VI. Band''. SUST 162. Helsinki 1977, Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura. *Heikki Paasonen. Edith Vértes. ''H. Paasonens südostjakische Textsammlungen''. Helsinki, Suomalais-ugrilainen Seura, 1980 *Heikki Paasonen; Kaino Heikkilä; Hans-Hermann Bartens; A P Feoktistov; G I Ermushkin; Martti Kahla. ''H. Paasonens Mordwinisches Wörterbuch''. Helsinki, Suomalais-ugrilainen seura, 1990-1996 *Heikki Paasonen; Edith Vértes. ''H. Paasonens surgutostjakische Textsammlungen am Jugan''. Helsinki, Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, 2001

Literature

*Федотов М. Р. ''Исследователи чувашского языка'' / М.Р. Федотов. — 2. изд., доп. — Чебоксары, 2000. —

Sources

*Ilmari Heikinheimo: ''Biography of Finland''. Helsinki: Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö, 1955. Page 566.
Heikki Paasonen on worldcat.org

References

External links

Heikki Paasonen in kansallisbiografia.fiHeikki Paasonen. Big Soviet Encyclopedia. 1st edition, Volume 43, Moscow, 1926—1947Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона. ЭСБЕ. Россия, Санкт-Петербург, 1890—1907National Library of FinlandFinno-Ugrian Society