Otto jespersen biography

Otto Jesperson [je:] Otto Jespersen [ʌtˢo ˈjɛsb̥ɐsn̩] (July 16, - April 30, ) was a Danish linguist who specialized in the grammar of the English language. Otto Jesperson expressed his point of view on the problem of parts of speech, writing that it is customary to begin teaching grammar by dividing words into certain classes and by giving definitions to these classes. Some scholars, he writes, feeling the failure of such definitions, have been trying to solve the difficulty by the methods of examining the meaning of words, belonging to various classes, and coming to the conclusion that the only criterion should be the form of words. If form in the strictest sense were taken as the only test, we should arrive at the absurd result that must in English, being indeclinable, belonged to the same class as enough, for, then, the. Our only criterion justification for classing the verb must is that we recognize its usage in combinations like “I must go”, which is parralel to

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Parrot Time Magazine

Famed Danish linguist Otto Jespersen worked all his life not only in linguistics but also in reforms of language teaching, phonetic transcription and an international language. He is considered to be one of the most famous linguists.

His Life

Otto Jespersen

Jens Otto Harry Jespersen was born on 16 July, , in the town of Randers in Jutland, Denmark. His father was a district judge and his mother was the daughter of the clergyman. When his father died in , Jespersen and his family moved to Hillerød, Northern Zealand.

Young Jespersen was inspired by the work of Danish linguist Rasmus Rask, who had mastered over twenty-five languages and dialects, and so while he attended the public school of Frederiksborg, he taught himself some Icelandic, Italian, and Spanish using Rask's grammars guides. In , at the age of 17, Jespersen entered the University of Copenhagen, where he initially studied law, as his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had done. In his

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Otto Jespersen

For the Norwegian comedian, see Otto Jespersen (comedian).

Danish linguist (–)

Otto Jespersen
Jespersen, c.&#;
Born	()16 July Randers, Denmark
Died	30 April () (aged&#;82) Roskilde, Denmark
Occupation	Linguist

Jens Otto Harry Jespersen (Danish:[ˈʌtsʰoˈjespɐsn̩]; 16 July – 30 April ) was a Danish lingvist who specialized in the grammar of the English language. Steven Mithen described him as "one of the greatest language scholars of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries."^[1]

Early life

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Otto Jespersen was born in Randers in Jutland. He was inspired by the work of Danish philologist Rasmus Rask as a boy, and with the help of Rask's grammars taught himself some Icelandic, Italian, and Spanish.^[2] He entered the University of Copenhagen in when he was 17, initially studying law but not forgetting his language studies. In he shifted his focus completely to languages,^[3] and in earned his m