The Most Famous
LINGUISTS from Czechia
Top 5
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Czech Linguists of all time. This list of famous Czech Linguists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Bedřich Hrozný (1879 - 1952)
With an HPI of 59.06, Bedřich Hrozný is the most famous Czech Linguist. His biography has been translated into 35 different languages on wikipedia.
Bedřich Hrozný (Czech pronunciation: [ˈbɛdr̝ɪx ˈɦrozniː] ; 6 May 1879 – 12 December 1952), also known as Friedrich Hrozny, was a Czech orientalist and linguist. He contributed to the decipherment of the ancient Hittite language, identified it as an Indo-European language, and laid the groundwork for the development of Hittitology.
2. Vilém Mathesius (1882 - 1945)
With an HPI of 55.93, Vilém Mathesius is the 2nd most famous Czech Linguist. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Vilém Mathesius (Czech pronunciation: [ˈvɪlɛːm ˈmatɛːzɪjus], 3 August 1882 – 12 April 1945) was a Czech linguist, literary historian and co-founder of the Prague Linguistic Circle. He is considered one of the founders of structural functionalism in linguistics. Mathesius was the editor-in-chief of two linguistic journals, Travaux du Cercle Linguistique de Prague (“Works of the Prague Linguistic Circle”) and Slovo a slovesnost ("Word and Verbal Art"), and the co-founder of a third, Nové Athenaeum. His extensive publications in these journals and elsewhere cover a range of topics, including the history of English literature, syntax, Czech stylistics, and cultural activism. In addition to his work in linguistics, in 1912 he founded the department of English philology at Charles University, which was the first such department in Czech lands. He remained head of the department until 1939, when the Nazis closed all Czech universities. The department now exists as a branch of the Faculty of Arts, but it is called the "Department of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures."
3. Jan Mukařovský (1891 - 1975)
With an HPI of 53.76, Jan Mukařovský is the 3rd most famous Czech Linguist. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Jan Mukařovský (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjan ˈmukar̝ofskiː]; 11 November 1891 – 8 February 1975) was a Czech literary, linguistic, and aesthetic theorist. Mukařovský was professor at the Charles University of Prague. He is well known for his association with early structuralism as well as with the Prague Linguistic Circle, and for his development of the ideas of Russian formalism. Among other achievements, he applied ideas from Geneva linguist and semiotician Ferdinand de Saussure to the analysis of literary and artistic expression, systematically applying and extending the concept of linguistic function to literary works and their reception in different periods. Mukařovský had a profound influence on structuralist theory of literature, comparable to that of Roman Jakobson.
4. Julius Pokorny (1887 - 1970)
With an HPI of 49.16, Julius Pokorny is the 4th most famous Czech Linguist. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Julius Pokorny (12 June 1887 – 8 April 1970) was an Austrian-Czech linguist and scholar of the Celtic languages and of Celtic studies, particularly of the Irish language, and a supporter of Irish nationalism. He held academic posts in Austrian and German universities.
5. Milena Hübschmannová (1933 - 2005)
With an HPI of 44.15, Milena Hübschmannová is the 5th most famous Czech Linguist. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Milena Hübschmannová (1933-2005) was a Czech professor of Romani studies at Charles University of Prague. She was one of the leading experts on Romani society and culture, as well as Romani language. She founded the academic study program on the Roma at Charles University and actively opposed their assimilation into the greater culture. She wrote a Romani-Czech and Czech-Romani dictionary and collected many of the stories of the Roma, translating them for posterity. The program she founded was the first program worldwide to offer a degree program to undergraduates in Romani Studies.
People
Pantheon has 5 people classified as Czech linguists born between 1879 and 1933. Of these 5, none of them are still alive today. The most famous deceased Czech linguists include Bedřich Hrozný, Vilém Mathesius, and Jan Mukařovský. As of April 2024, 1 new Czech linguists have been added to Pantheon including Milena Hübschmannová.
Deceased Czech Linguists
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Bedřich Hrozný
1879 - 1952
HPI: 59.06
Vilém Mathesius
1882 - 1945
HPI: 55.93
Jan Mukařovský
1891 - 1975
HPI: 53.76
Julius Pokorny
1887 - 1970
HPI: 49.16
Milena Hübschmannová
1933 - 2005
HPI: 44.15
Newly Added Czech Linguists (2024)
Go to all RankingsOverlapping Lives
Which Linguists were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 5 most globally memorable Linguists since 1700.
