Petras Būtėnas (27 June 1896 – 4 October 1980) was a
Lithuanian linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
and public figure. His work was very important in the research of Lithuanian culture.
Early life
He had a younger brother .
Interwar
From 1919 to 1923, he was a volunteer soldier of the
Lithuanian Army
The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Navy, the Lithuanian Air Force and the Lithuanian Special Operations Force. In wartime, the Lithuan ...
. Since 1920, he studied at the and since 1922 in the University of Lithuania. In 1930, Būtėnas graduated from
Vytautas Magnus University
Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) (, VDU) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university.
Initially it was known as the University of Lithuania, but ...
. He was a student of
Kazimieras Būga
Kazimieras Būga (; November 6, 1879 – December 2, 1924) was a Lithuanian linguist and philologist. He was a professor of linguistics, who mainly worked on the Lithuanian language.
He was born at Pažiegė, near Dusetos, then part of the Russ ...
,
Jonas Jablonskis
Jonas Jablonskis (; 30 December 1860, in Kubilėliai, Šakiai district – 23 February 1930, in Kaunas) was a distinguished Lithuanian linguist and one of the founders of the standard Lithuanian language. He used the pseudonym ''Rygiškių Jonas'' ...
and
Juozas Balčikonis. From 1925 to 1944, Būtėnas worked as a teacher in
Panevėžys
Panevėžys () is the fifth-largest List of cities in Lithuania, city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, eighth-most-populous city in the Baltic States. it occupies with 89,100 inhabitants. As defined by Eu ...
. He taught in the town's teachers' seminary until 1936. Since 1939, he was a member of the
Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science.
World War II
The Soviet authorities imprisoned Būtėnas from July 1940 to January 1941 in the Panevėžys Prison. Together with others, he published the weekly ''Išlaisvintasis panevėžietis'' ('The liberated Panevėžian') in 1941.
During 1941–1944, he was the director of
Panevėžys Boys' Gymnasium. He left for Germany in 1944.
In emigration
He organized courses for Lithuanian teachers and lead those courses in 1945–1948. In 1946, he prepared a summary for the Lithuanian language teachers' courses and gymnasium. From 1945 to 1948, he edited the newspaper ''Lietuvių informacija'' ('Lithuanian information'), and in 1946–1948, the magazine ''Žingsniai'' ('Steps'). Būtėnas moved to the US in 1949. He worked in the newspaper ''Keleivis'' ('Passenger') and in the editorial office of the
Lithuanian Encyclopedia.
Academic work
Būtėnas researched
Lithuanian ,
accentuation
In linguistics, and particularly phonology, stress or accent is the relative emphasis or prominence given to a certain syllable in a word or to a certain word in a phrase or sentence. That emphasis is typically caused by such properties as i ...
, and ancient ethnically Lithuanian territories. He contributed to the preparation of ''Lietuvių kalbos žodyno'' (Lithuanian Dictionary), to which he contributed more than 8,000 words. He collected
folklore
Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
and prepared ''Lietuvių tautotyros žinių ir senienų rinkimo programą'' (Lithuanian Ethnography Knowledge and Antiquities Collection Program) in 1925. Būtėnas collected material for research on old Lithuanian
toponymy
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper na ...
.
Bibliography
Books
*
Kirčio ir
priegaidės žinios (1926)
* Trumpas
linksnių mokslas praktiškam lietuvių kalbos reikalui (1929)
* Lietuvių kalbos
prielinksnių mokslas teorijai ir praktikai (1930)
* Priežodžio ir
patarlės gyvenimas (1930)
* Lietuvių kalbos akcentologijos vadovėlis mokyklai ir gyvenimui (1931)
* Augštaičių tarmės akuojančios pašneklės sienos (1932)
Articles
1956
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1957
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1962
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1963
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1964
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1965
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1966
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1967
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1968
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1970
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1971
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Awards
* 1935 – 4th Class of the
Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas
The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas is the Lithuanian Presidential Award which was re-instituted to honour the citizens of Lithuania for outstanding performance in civil and public offices. Foreign nationals may also be awarded this O ...
.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Būtėnas, Petras
Balticists
1896 births
1980 deaths
Linguists from Lithuania
Historical linguists
Lithuanian editors
Lithuanian lexicographers
Linguists of Lithuanian
Lithuanian refugees in the United States