Christian Karl Reisig (name sometimes given as Karl Christian Reisig; 17 November 1792 – 17 January 1829) was a German

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 ...

and

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

who was a native of Weißensee. Reisig studied

philology 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 ...

under Gottfried Hermann (1772–1848) at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

, afterwards furthering his studies at

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

(1812). From 1813 to 1815 he was a soldier in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, afterwards working as a lecturer at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

. In 1820 he relocated to the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...

as an associate professor, where in 1824 he became a full professor. Two of his better known students were Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl (1806–1876) and Friedrich Haase (1808–1867), the latter having published an edition of Reisig's ''Vorlesungen über lateinische Sprachwissenschaft'' (Latin Lectures on Linguistics) in 1839. Reisig died on 17 January 1829 in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

at the age of 36. Reisig was a classical philologist who is credited with developing a new branch of

linguistics Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...

known as "

semasiology Semasiology (from el, σημασία, ', "signification") is a discipline of linguistics concerned with the question "what does the word ''X'' mean?". It studies the meaning of words regardless how they are pronounced. It is the opposite of ono ...

". He introduced this new discipline because he felt that the study of word-meaning could not be adequately met within the constraints of

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

or syntax. He felt that semasiology would properly show the development of word-meanings in a logical and historical sense.

References

''Karl Christian Reisig''
translated biography @ Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie
Sprachtheorien der Neuzeit
by Peter Schmitter

External links

*Gildersleeve, Basil L. (1884)
"Friedrich Ritschl"
''The American Journal of Philology'', Vol. 5, No. 3 (1884), pp. 339–355; pages 344–5 contain a description of Reisig, who was Ritschl's teacher. 1792 births 1829 deaths People from Weißensee, Thuringia German philologists University of Halle faculty {{Germany-linguist-stub