Ernst Håkon Jahr (born 4 March 1948) is a Norwegian linguist with about 230 publications, including about 50 books. He is currently (2012) dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education at the University of Agder. He was born in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, and took his cand.philol. (PhD) degree at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

in 1976, and his dr.philos. (i.e., Dr. hab.) degree at the

University of Tromsø The University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway ( Norwegian: ''Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet''; Northern Sami: ''Romssa universitehta – Norgga árktalaš universitehta'') is a state university in Norway a ...

in 1984. He worked as an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

at the

from 1976, as professor of Scandinavian linguistics from 1986. In 1999 he moved to Agder University College, where he served as rector from 2000 to 2007. He was succeeded in August 2007, only one month before the University College became the

University of Agder The University of Agder (), formerly known as Agder College and Agder University College, is a public university with campuses in Kristiansand and Grimstad, Norway. The institution was established as a university college (Scandinavia), univer ...

. He biographised the linguist Clara Holst in the book ''Clara Holst – kvinnelig pionér i akademia i Norge'' (2006). He is a member of the

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (, DKNVS) is a Norway, Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The society's Protector is King Harald V of ...

and the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick University in Christiania was establis ...

and several foreign academies. In 2002, he initiated the establishment and was elected the president of the Agder Academy of Sciences and Letters, which 2011 has 220 elected members from Agder, Norway outside Agder and from abroad. He is elected member of eight academies in Norway and abroad. Jahr holds an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from the

Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań The Adam Mickiewicz University (; Latin: ''Universitas Studiorum Mickiewicziana Posnaniensis'') is a research university in Poznań, Poland. Due to its history, the university is traditionally considered among Poland's most reputable institution ...

and from the

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

. In 2008 he was proclaimed a Knight, First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav. In 2011, he was awarded the Swedish Academy's Nordic Prize, known as the 'little Nobel'.

Selected bibliography

This is a list of his most notable works: *''Talemålet i skolen'' (1984) *''Utsyn over norsk språkhistorie etter 1814'' (1989) *''Den store dialektboka'' (ed., 1990) *''Innhogg i nyare norsk språkhistorie'' (1992) *''Nordnorske dialektar'' (ed., 1996)

References

1948 births Living people Linguists from Norway Academic staff of the University of Tromsø Academic staff of the University of Agder Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Rectors of universities and colleges in Norway Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters Linguists of Eskaleut languages {{Norway-linguist-stub