Mati Erelt (born 12 March 1941) is an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n linguist. Mati Erelt was born in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

. In 1965 he graduated from the University of Tartu with a degree in Estonian language and literature. He defended his doctoral dissertation there in 1981. From 1989 until 1991 he was a professor at Tallinn Pedagogical Institute (now,

Tallinn University Tallinn University (TLU; et, Tallinna Ülikool, ''TLÜ'') is a public research university in Estonia. Located in the centre of Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, Tallinn University is one of the three largest institutions of higher education ...

). From 1991 to 1995 he was a visiting professor at the Chair of Finno-Ugric Languages 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 ...

, and from 1995 to 2006. he was a professor at the Chair of Estonian at the University of Tartu. He is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Tartu and continues to work as a Senior Research Fellow. From 1997 until 2006 he was the chairman of

Mother Tongue Society Mother Tongue Society ( et, Emakeele Selts) is an Estonian organization that focuses on topics related to the Estonian language. The organization was established on 23 March 1920 at Tartu University. Nowadays, the organization is located in Tall ...

. He is married to linguist

Tiiu Erelt Tiiu Erelt (until 1962 Tiiu Kask; born on 20 April 1942 in Tallinn) is an Estonian linguist. In 1965 she graduated from Tartu State University with a degree in Finno-Ugric languages. Her main fields of research have been Estonian language related ...

Awards

* 2005:

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star ( et, Valgetähe teenetemärk; french: Ordre de l'Etoile Blanche) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic ...

, IV class * 2006: Medal of

Estonian Academy of Sciences Founded in 1938, the Estonian Academy of Sciences ( et, Eesti Teaduste Akadeemia) is Estonia's national academy of science in Tallinn. As with other national academies, it is an independent group of well-known scientists whose stated aim is to ...

* 2006: Big Medal of Tartu University () * 2008: Wiedemann Language Award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erelt, Mati Living people 1941 births Linguists from Estonia University of Tartu alumni Academic staff of the University of Tartu Academic staff of Tallinn University Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class