János Sajnovics

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The Demonstratio

János Sajnovics de Tordas et Káloz (12 May 1733 – 4 May 1785) was a Hungarian linguist and Jesuit. He is best known for his pioneering work in comparative linguistics, particularly his systematic demonstratation of the relationship between Sami and Hungarian.

Sajnovics was born in Tordas. He was a pupil of the astronomer and mathematician Maximilian Hell. When Hell planned an expedition to observe the transit of Venus in Vardø, northern Norway in June, 1769, he took Sajnovics with him. Hell had heard that the Hungarian and Lapp (Sami) languages were related and thought that Sajnovics, as a native Hungarian speaker, would be able to investigate the connection. He died, aged 51, in Pest.

Sajnovics published the results of his research in his Demonstratio idioma Hungarorum et Lapporum idem esse (1770), which was a breakthrough in the study of Uralic languages. Sajnovics's ideas were further developed by Samuel Gyarmathi.

Sources

Denis Sinor The Uralic languages: description, history and foreign influences (Brill, 1988)

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 40188647 LCCN: no2003111568 ISNI: 0000 0000 8375 2427 GND: 119438429 BNF: cb12246417w

Persondata
Name	Sajnovics, Janos
Alternative names
Short description	hungarian noble
Date of birth	1733
Place of birth
Date of death	1785
Place of death

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