Georg Valentin von Munthe af Morgenstierne (2 January 1892 – 3 March 1978) was a Norwegian professor 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 ...

with the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

(UiO). He specialized in

Indo-Iranian languages The Indo-Iranian languages (also Indo-Iranic languages or Aryan languages) constitute the largest and southeasternmost extant branch of the Indo-European language family (with over 400 languages), predominantly spoken in the geographical subre ...

Studies

During the years 1923 to 1971, Morgenstierne carried out fieldwork in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Iran. In 1924, he undertook the first of his two major linguistic expeditions. He arrived in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

with a personal letter of introduction to the

King of Afghanistan This article lists the heads of state of Afghanistan since the foundation of the first modern Afghan state, the Hotak Empire, in 1709. History The Hotak Empire was formed after a successful uprising led by Mirwais Hotak and other Afghan trib ...

, from the

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingd ...

. Together with studying the languages, Morgenstierne collected remarkable scientific materials from the culture of the regional people, like images, movies from pre- Islamic

ceremonial dance Ceremonial dance is a major category or classification of dance forms or dance styles, where the purpose is ceremonial or ritualistic. It is related to and overlaps with sacred dance and ecstatic dance. Definition History Description ...

s and sound recordings from nearly extinct languages. The materials are available in his database at the

National Library of Norway The National Library of Norway ( no, Nasjonalbiblioteket) was established in 1989. Its principal task is "to preserve the past for the future". The library is located both in Oslo and in Mo i Rana. The building in Oslo was restored and reopened ...

Writings

His publications
listed in BIBSYS * Report on a Linguistic Mission to Afghanistan. Instituttet for Sammenlignende Kulturforskning, Serie C I-2. Oslo. * Report on a Linguistic Mission to North-Western India by Georg Morgenstierne

References

External links

National Library of Norway

in the National Library of Norway site Linguists from Norway 1892 births 1978 deaths University of Oslo faculty Indo-Europeanists Linguists of Indo-European languages Indologists Iranologists Linguists of Iranian languages Linguists of Indo-Aryan languages 20th-century linguists Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy {{Norway-writer-stub

Studies

Writings

Further reading

References

External links