Old Prussian

In English with two articles in German. "Zur Verbreitung der Pluraliatantum im Altpreußischen" has abstract in English. Description: 99 pages : 1 portrait ; 25 cm. Dr. philos. Terje Mathiassen (1938–1999) was Lecturer of Russian at the University of Oslo from 1971 to 1985, and Professor of Slavic and Baltic Linguistics from 1985 until his death in 1999. During his lifetime Professor Mathiassen published a large number of influential books and articles, including his doctoral dissertation Studien zum slavischen und indoeuropäischen Langvokalismus (1970; published 1974), Russisk grammatikk (1990; second, revised edition 1996), A Short Grammar of Lithuanian (1996) and A Short Grammar of Latvian (1997). Throughout his career, Professor Mathiassen took a keen interest in the only attested West Baltic language, namely Old Prussian, which died out around 1700. It was never in the ordinary sense a literary language, but there survive three sixteenth-century catechisms translated from German, and two word lists, one of about 1400, the other of the sixteenth century. The present book is a collection of Professor Mathiassen’s works on Old Prussian. It contains his previously unpublished “Outline of Old Prussian”, which was close to completion at the time of his death, the likewise previously unpublished article “Die Form altpreußisch dessimton in Stai Dessimton Pallaipsai”, and a reprint of his article “Zur Verbreitung der Pluraliatantum im Altpreußischen” (1998). Included in the volume are also a memorial article on Professor Mathiassen’s life and work, and a bibliography of his writings. …