Zigmas Zinkevičius
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Zigmas Zinkevičius (January 4, 1925 in Juodausiai, Ukmergė district) is the leading Lithuanian linguist-historian, and a professor at Vilnius University. He has contributed to studies in the history of languages, onomastics and other areas. Zigmas Zinkevičius is a recipient of the Herder Prize, which was presented to him in 1994. Zinkevičius is the author of 30 academic books and several hundred scientific publications in various languages.
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[edit] Biography
After graduating from the gymnasium at Ukmergė in 1945, he enrolled in Vilnius University. He studied linguistics until 1950. From 1956 to 1962, Zinkevičius was Dean of the Faculty of History and Philology of Vilnius University. Together with his colleagues, he established a new classification of Lithuanian language dialects. In 1973 Zinkevičius took a new position at Vilnius University as chairman of the Lithuanian language department, and has been serving since 1988 as chairman of the Baltic Philology department. From 1996 to 1998 he served as Lithuanian Minister of Education and Science.
Zigmas Zinkevičius has, since 1982, been a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities; since 1991, of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, and since 1995, a member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences and the Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Sciences. He is fluent in a number of languages, including English, German, Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Belorussian, and French.
Zinkevičius was embroiled in controversy in 1997, stemming from his publicly-stated proposition that Polish-language instruction in Lithuanian schools be abolished. He has published a book discussing this experience: Kaip Aš Buvau Ministru (When I was a Minister).
[edit] Awards and prizes
Zigmas Zinkevičius has received these awards and prizes:
- The Commander's Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, 1995
- Kazimieras Būga prize, 1995
- Herder Prize, 1994
[edit] Publications
- The History of the Lithuanian Language. Vilnius: Science and Encyclopedia Publishers, 1996
- Lietuvių kalbos istorine gramatika. Vilnius: Mokslas, 1980-1981
- New Data on Resolving the Puzzle of the Wolfenbüttel Postilla. Studies in Baltic and Indo-European Linguistics, Baldi, Philip and Pietro U. Dini (eds.), 2004
