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Filipp Fyodorovich Fortunatov | |
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| Born | (1848-01-14)14 January 1848 Vologda, Russian Empire |
| Died | 3 October 1914(1914-10-03) (aged 66) |
| Burial place | Kosalma, Russian Empire 62°1′12″N34°7′12″E / 62.02000°N 34.12000°E /62.02000; 34.12000 |
| Alma mater | Imperial Moscow University |
| Occupation | Philologist |
| Employer(s) | Imperial Moscow University St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences |
| Organization | Moscow linguistic circle |
| Known for | |
| Spouse | Yulia Ivanovna |
Filipp Fyodorovich Fortunatov (Russian:Фили́пп Фёдорович Фортуна́тов; 14 January [O.S. 2 January] 1848 – 3 October [O.S. 20 September] 1914) was a Russianphilologist,Indo-Europeanist andSlavist, best known for establishing theFortunatov–de Saussure law.
Fortunatov was born inVologda in 1848. His father was the director of public schools inOlonets Governorate, and Fortunatov entered theOlonets provincial male gymnasium [ru] inPetrozavodsk, which was also overseen by his father.[1][2]
Following his father's retirement in 1863, the family moved toMoscow, where Fortunatov continued his studies at the2nd Moscow Gymnasium [ru]. Fortunatov then entered the Faculty of History and Philology ofImperial Moscow University in 1864.[3][2] During his time at the university, Fortunatov was influenced byFyodor Buslaev and his works oncomparative linguistics.[3] He graduated in 1868.[4] In 1871, Fortunatov andVsevolod Miller travelled toSuwałki Governorate, where they studiedLithuanian fairy tales and songs. After this trip, Fortunatov was sent abroad to Germany, France and England, spending two years abroad in total between 1871 and 1873. During the trip, Fortunatov attended lectures and also studied theVedas at theBritish Museum.[5] After his return to Moscow, Fortunatov completed hisMaster's degree in 1875.[4][2]
From 1876 onwards, Fortunatov began lecturing in the university.[2] In 1884, Fortunatov was made a part-time professor in the faculty at the Department of Comparative Linguistics and Sanskrit Language, and was promoted to a full-time professor two years later.[4]
While working at the Imperial Moscow University, Fortunatov became involved as acorresponding member in the Department of Russian Language and Literature of theSt. Petersburg Academy of Sciences in 1895.[6][2] By 1898, Fortunatov's studies had attracted him attention and fame, and he was offeredhonorarydoctorate degrees in Comparative Linguistics by both the Imperial Moscow University and theUniversity of Kiev,[7] and also elected as anacademician at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.[6]
During his tenure at the Imperial Moscow University, Fortunatov was made honorary professor in 1900 and an honorary member in 1902.[4] In 1902, Fortunatov left Imperial Moscow University and moved toSt. Petersburg,[2] working at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences as a full-time academician.[4] In 1904, Fortunatov headed a commission responsible for publishing recommendations regarding aRussian orthography reform, though the reform was shelved due to theRusso-Japanese War and1905 Russian Revolution.[8] In 1912, Fortunatov was made a member of the Board of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.[3]
In the final decades of his life, Fortunatov and his wife frequently spent their summers in theirdacha inKosalma [ru], a village about 40 km (25 mi) from Petrozavodsk. On 3 October 1914,[9] after returning to his dacha from a short walk, Fortunatov fell ill on his bed and died several hours later. He was buried in a local cemetery. Fortunatov's wife, Yulia Ivanovna, remained in Kosalma until her death in 1921, and was buried in the same cemetery.[2]
Fortunatov was the founder of theMoscow linguistic circle,[9] and the foremost representative of theNeogrammarian school in Russia.[10] His studies specialized in thephonetics of theIndo-European languages, emphasizing the importance of using a strict historical approach in studying phonetic changes. His works included studies on theSlavic languages,Sanskrit,Vedic Sanskrit,Greek,Armenian,Gothic and Lithuanian.[9] Through the Moscow linguistic circle, Fortunatov had immense influence on the subsequent generation of Russian and foreign linguists,[10] producing distinguished students likeAleksey Shakhmatov,Dmitry Ushakov,Nikolai Durnovo,Olaf Broch,Aleksandar Belić,Mikhail Pokrovsky,Johan August Lundell,Jiří Polívka andJ. J. Mikkola.[5][9] However, his international impact remained small due to his limited written works.[10]
In 1895, Fortunatov publishedOn Stress and Length in the Baltic Languages, where he established a law, now known asFortunatov–de Saussure's law, related tostress shift in theBaltic and Slavic languages.[9] A street in Petrozavodsk is also named after Fortunatov.[1]
