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{{short description|Danish linguist and philologist}}
{{Infobox academic
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| name               = Rasmus Rask
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| image              = Rasmus Rask2.jpg
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| birth_name         = Rasmus Christian Nielsen Rasch
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1787|11|22|df=y}}
| birth_place        = Brændekilde, Denmark
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1832|11|14|1787|11|22|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[Copenhagen]], Denmark
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| discipline         = [[Linguistics]], [[Philology]]
| sub_discipline     = [[Historical linguistics]]<br>[[Comparative linguistics]]
| movement           = <!-- Should match the ideological movement or denomination (for religious), "school" of thought etc. (e.g. "Anglican", "Postmodernist", "Socialist" or "Green" etc. -->
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| alma_mater         = [[University of Copenhagen]]
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'''Rasmus Kristian Rask''' ({{IPA|da|ˈʁɑsmus ˈkʰʁestjæn ˈʁɑsk|lang}}; born '''Rasmus Christian Nielsen Rasch''';<ref name="Nielsen" /> 22 November 1787 – 14 November 1832) was a Danish [[linguist]] and [[philologist]]. He wrote several grammars and worked on comparative [[phonology]] and [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]]. Rask traveled extensively to study languages, first to [[Iceland]], where he wrote the first grammar of [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], and later to [[Russia]], [[Persia]], [[India]], and [[Sri Lanka|Ceylon]] (now Sri Lanka). Shortly before his death, he was hired as professor of Eastern languages at the [[University of Copenhagen]]. Rask is especially known for his contributions to [[comparative linguistics]], including an early formulation of what would later be known as [[Grimm's Law]].<ref name="Nielsen" /><ref name="Leksikon" /> He was elected as a member to the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 1829.<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?year=1829;year-max=1829;smode=advanced;f1-date=1829|access-date=2021-04-07|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>

==Early life==
Rask was born to Niels Hansen Rasch and Birthe Rasmusdatter in the village of Brændekilde near [[Odense]] on the Danish island of [[Funen]]. His father, a [[smallholding|smallholder]] and tailor, was well-read and had a decently-sized book collection. As a child, Rask's scholastic abilities became apparent, and, in 1801, at the age of thirteen, he was sent to the [[Latin school]] in Odense, now known as the Odense Katedralskole. One of his friends from Latin school, Niels Matthias Petersen (1791–1862), who went on to be the first professor of [[North Germanic languages|Nordic languages]] at the University of Copenhagen, later remarked that "His short stature, his lively eyes, the ease with which he moved and jumped over tables and benches, his unusual knowledge, and even his quaint peasant dress, attracted the attention of his fellow students".<ref name="Nielsen">{{cite journal|last=Nielsen|first=Hans Frede|date=2008|title=Rasmus Kristian Rask (1787-1832): Liv og levned|trans-title=Rasmus Kristian Rask (1787-1832): His life|language=Danish|url=http://www.sdu.dk/~/media/Files/Om_SDU/Institutter/ISK/Forskningspublikationer/Rask/Rask%2028/Hans%20Frede%20Nielsen%20er%20frdigbehandlet2542.pdf|journal=Rask|publisher=Syddansk Universitet|volume=28|pages=25–42|access-date=2 July 2016}}</ref> At the Latin school, Rask's interest in [[Old Norse]] and [[Icelandic language]] and [[Icelandic literature|literature]] was awakened. His teacher, Jochum E. Suhr, loaned him a copy of [[Snorri Sturluson]]'s ''[[Heimskringla]]'' in Icelandic, and the rector, Ludvig Heiberg, gave him a new translation of the same work as a prize for his diligence. By comparing the original work and the translation, he was able to make an Icelandic vocabulary, cross-referencing the Icelandic words with cognates in [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Swedish language|Swedish]], [[German language|German]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and [[English language|English]]. In addition to Danish and [[Latin]], Rask studied [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[French language|French]] and German at Odense. An interest in [[orthography]] also led Rask to develop his own spelling system for Danish that more closely resembled its pronunciation, and it was at this time that he changed the spelling of his last name from "Rasch" to "Rask".

==University years==
In 1808, Rask traveled to [[Copenhagen]] to continue his studies at the [[University of Copenhagen]], where he stayed in the [[Regensen]] dormitory. Although he was not particularly religious and even had expressed serious doubts, he signed up as a student of [[theology]], although in practice he simply studied the grammar of various languages of his own choosing.<ref name="Leksikon">{{cite web|author=<!--staff-->|title=Rasmus Rask|language=Danish|website=Leksikon|publisher=Gyldendal|access-date=3 July 2016|url=http://denstoredanske.dk/Sprog,_religion_og_filosofi/Sprog/Sprogforskeres_biografier/Rasmus_Kristian_Rask}}</ref> By 1812, he had systematically studied [[Sami languages|Sami]], Swedish, [[Faroese language|Faroese]], English, Dutch, [[Gothic language|Gothic]], [[Old English]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], and had started studies of German, French, [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Italian language|Italian]], Greek, Latin, [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Polish language|Polish]] and [[Czech language|Czech]], although Icelandic continued to be his main interest.

In 1809, he finished his first book, ''Introduction to the Icelandic or Old Norse Language'', which he published in Danish in 1811. It was a didactic grammar based on printed and manuscript materials accumulated by his predecessors in the same field of research. According to Hans Frede Nielsen, it exceeded anything previously published on the topic.<ref name="Nielsen" />

==Prize essay==
In 1811, the [[Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters]] put out a call for a prize essay on the topic of language history that would "use historical critique and fitting examples to illuminate the source whence the old Scandinavian tongue can be most probably derived, to explain the character of the language and the relations that it has had through the middle ages to the Nordic as well as Germanic dialects, and to accurately ascertain the basic tenets upon which all derivation and comparison of these tongues should be constructed."<ref name="Nielsen" />

In order to conduct research for the prize essay, Rask traveled to [[Sweden]] in 1812 with his friend Rasmus Nyerup. There, he studied Sami and [[Finnish language|Finnish]] in order to determine whether they were related to the Scandinavian languages. When he returned to Denmark, he was recommended to the [[Arnamagnæan Institute]], which hired him to edit [[Björn Halldórsson]]'s ''Icelandic Lexicon'' (1814), which had long remained in manuscript. From 1813 to 1815, Rask visited [[Iceland]], where he became fluent in Icelandic and familiarized himself with Icelandic literature and customs.

In 1814, while still living in Iceland, he finished his prize essay, "Investigation of the Origin of the Old Norse or Icelandic Language" (1818), in which he argued that Old Norse was related to the [[Germanic languages]], including Gothic, to the [[Baltic languages|Baltic]] and [[Slavic languages]], and even to Classical Latin and Greek, which he grouped together under the label Thracian. He further  hinted that [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Indo-Aryan languages]] might also be related.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Solodow |first=Joseph B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q6UgAwAAQBAJ |title=Latin Alive: The Survival of Latin in English and the Romance Languages |date=2010-01-21 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-48471-8 |pages=14 |language=en}}</ref> He also argued that the Germanic languages were not related to [[Basque language|Basque]], [[Greenlandic language|Greenlandic]], Finnish or the [[Celtic languages]] (on this last instance he was wrong, and he later acknowledged this). The academy accepted the essay but suggested that he could have spent more time comparing Icelandic with [[Persian language|Persian]] and other Asian languages. Because of this, Rask envisioned a trip to India to study Asian languages such as [[Sanskrit]], which was already being taught by philologists such as [[Franz Bopp]] and [[Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel|Friedrich Schlegel]] in Germany. In 1814, after returning from Iceland, Rask worked as a sub-librarian at the University of Copenhagen library.<ref name="Leksikon" />

==Travel to India and Ceylon==
In October 1816, Rask left Denmark on a literary expedition funded by the monarchy to investigate Asian languages and collect manuscripts for the University of Copenhagen library. He traveled first to Sweden, where he stayed for two years. During his time in Sweden, he took a short trip to [[Finland]] to study Finnish and published his ''Anglo-Saxon Grammar'' (1817) in Swedish.

That same year, he published the first complete editions of Snorri Sturluson's ''[[Prose Edda]]'' and the ''[[Poetic Edda]]''. The editions were bilingual, with the original Icelandic accompanied by his Swedish translations. In 1819, he left [[Stockholm]] for [[St. Petersburg]], [[Russia]], where he wrote the paper "The Languages and Literature of Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Finland," which published in German in the sixth volume of the ''Vienna Jahrbücher''. Leaving Russia, he traveled through [[Central Asia]] to [[Persian Empire|Persia]], where he stayed in [[Tabriz]], [[Tehran]], [[Persepolis]], and [[Shiraz, Iran|Shiraz]]. In about six weeks, he was said to have mastered enough Persian to be able to converse freely.

In 1820, he traveled from [[Bushehr]], Persia to [[Mumbai]], India (then called Bombay), and during his residence there, he wrote (in English) "A Dissertation on the Authenticity of the [[Zend language|Zend Language]]" (1821).<ref>[https://www.thewire.in/article/history/rasmus-rask-a-dane-in-bombay-200-years-ago/ Rasmus Rask: A Dane in Bombay 200 Years Ago]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The Wire</ref> From Bombay, he traveled through India to [[Sri Lanka]] (then called Ceylon), arriving in 1822. Soon afterwards, he wrote (in English) "A Dissertation respecting the best Method of expressing the Sounds of the Indian Languages in European Characters".

==Return to Denmark==
[[File:Kbh_Rasmus_Rask_1.jpg|thumb|200px|Rasmus Rask's grave at [[Assistens Cemetery (Copenhagen)|Assistens Cemetery]], Copenhagen. Inscriptions in Danish, Arabic<!--The Arabic inscription reads: الحق أبلج والباطل لجلج-->   , Icelandic written in runes and Sanskrit. The  Arabic text means: "Right is clear and falsehood is stammering." The Danish text means: "Our fatherland we owe all we can accomplish." The Icelandic runic text means: "If you wish to become perfect in knowledge, you must learn all the languages, and yet, do not neglect your native tongue or speech." The Sanskrit text means: "There is no friend greater than industry. He who does not work withers."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://rasmusraskskolen.aula.dk/vores-skole/sprogforskeren-rasmus-rask | title=Sprogforskeren Rasmus Rask &#124; rasmusraskskolen }}</ref>]]

Rask returned to Copenhagen in May 1823, bringing a considerable number of manuscripts in Persian, Zend, [[Pali]] and [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]] for Copenhagen libraries. In 1825, he was appointed a professor of literary history, and in 1829, and as a librarian at the University of Copenhagen. In 1831, just a year before his death, he was appointed professor of Eastern languages at the University of Copenhagen.<ref name="Nielsen" /><ref name="Leksikon" />

After his return to Denmark, Rask published ''Spanish Grammar'' (1824), ''Frisian Grammar'' (1825), ''Essay on Danish Orthography'' (1826), ''Treatise respecting the Ancient Egyptian Chronology'' (1827), ''Italian Grammar'' (1827), and ''Ancient Jewish Chronology previous to Moses'' (1828). He also published ''A Grammar of the Danish Language for the use of Englishmen'' (1830) and oversaw [[Benjamin Thorpe]]'s English translation of his ''A Grammar of the Anglo-Saxon Tongue'' (1830).

==Death==
He died of tuberculosis in Copenhagen in 1832, at Badstuestræde 17, where a plaque commemorating him is found. He is buried in [[Assistens Cemetery (Copenhagen)|Assistens Cemetery]] in Copenhagen.<ref name="Nielsen" /> He bequeathed his manuscripts to his brother, who sold the Old Norse-Icelandic materials to the [[Arnamagnæan Commission]] in Copenhagen, which still holds them.<ref>Hufnagel, Silvia, 'The Library of the Genius: The Manuscript Collection of Rasmus Christian Rask', ''Tabularia: Sources écrites des mondes normands.  Autour des sagas: manuscrits, transmission et écriture de l’histoire'' (17 November 2016), {{doi|10.4000/tabularia.2666}}.</ref>

==Accomplishments==
Rask was the first to show the relationship between the ancient Northern and the Western and Eastern [[Germanic languages]], as well as to show their relationship with the [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], [[Slavonic language|Slavonic]], Greek and Latin languages. He formulated the first working version of what would later be known as "[[Grimm's Law]]" for the transmutation of [[consonant]]s in the transition from the old [[Indo-European languages]] to Germanic, although he only compared Germanic and Greek, as [[Sanskrit]] was unknown to him at the time.

By 1822, he knew twenty-five languages and dialects, and he is believed to have studied twice as many. His numerous philological manuscripts were transferred to the Royal Danish Library at Copenhagen. Rask's [[Anglo-Saxon language|Anglo-Saxon]], Danish and Icelandic grammars were published in English editions by Benjamin Thorpe, [[Þorleifur Repp]] and [[George Webbe Dasent]], respectively. Rask influenced many later linguists, and in particular [[Karl Verner]] carried on his inquiries into comparative and historical linguistics.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=287936|pages=91–93|last1=Dodge|first1=D. K.|title=Verner Dahlerup: Nekrolog över Karl Verner (book review)|volume=18|issue=1|journal=The American Journal of Philology|year=1897|doi=10.2307/287936}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Antonsen|first=Elmer H.|date=1962|title=Rasmus Rask and Jacob Grimm: Their Relationship in the Investigation of Germanic Vocalism|journal=Scandinavian Studies|volume=34|issue=3|pages=183–194}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
* ''Vejledning til det Islandske eller gamle Nordiske Sprog'' (Introduction to the Icelandic or Old Norse Language), 1811; English translation published 1843
* ''Angelsaksisk sproglaere tilligemed en kort laesebog'' (Grammar of the Anglo-Saxon Tongue: With a Praxis), 1817; English translation published 1830
* ''Undersøgelse om det gamle Nordiske eller Islandske Sprogs Oprindelse'' (Investigation of the Origin of the Old Norse or Icelandic Language), 1818 (prize essay)
* ''Singalelisk Skriftlære'' (Sinhala Orthography), 1821
* ''Spansk Sproglære'' (Spanish Grammar), 1824
* ''Frisisk Sproglære'' (Frisian Grammar), 1825
* ''Dansk Retskrivningslære'' (Danish Orthography), 1826
* ''Om Zendsprogets og Zendavestas Ælde og Ægthed'' (On the Age and Authenticity of the Zend language and the Zend [[Avesta]]), 1826
* ''Italiænsk Formlære'' (Italian Grammar), 1827 <!-- Note to readers of Danish: he spelled "italiensk" with an "æ"! -->
* ''Den gamle Ægyptiske Tidsregning'' (Ancient Egyptian Chronology), 1827
* ''Vejledning til Akra-Sproget på Kysten Ginea'' (Introduction to the Accra language on the Guinea Coast)<!--= Ghana / Gold Coast-->, 1828 <!--note to readers of Danish: the spelling using "å" is Rask's original spelling -->
* ''Den ældste hebraiske Tidsregning indtil Moses efter Kilderne på ny bearbejdet og forsynet med et Kart over Paradis'' (Ancient Jewish Chronology previous to Moses according to the Sources newly reworked and accompanied by a Map of Paradise), 1828
* ''A Grammar of the Danish language for the use of Englishmen'', 1830
* ''Ræsonneret lappisk Sproglære'' (Reasoned Sami Grammar), 1832
* ''Engelsk Formlære'' (English Grammar), 1832

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Rask, Rasmus Christian}}

==External links==
* {{Internet Archive author|sname=Rasmus Rask}}
* Rask's ''[http://www.pratyeka.org/rask/ Singalesisk Skriftlære] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107224054/http://www.pratyeka.org/rask/ |date=2020-01-07 }}'' online
* Google book link to ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Pz9cAAAAMAAJ&q=anvisning+till+isl%C3%A4ndskan+eller+nordiska Anvisning till Isländskan eller Nordiska Fornspråket]''
* {{Cite Nuttall|wstitle=Rask, Rasmus Christian |short=x}}

{{Danish Golden Age}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rask, Rasmus Christian}}
[[Category:1787 births]]
[[Category:1832 deaths]]
[[Category:Old Norse studies scholars]]
[[Category:19th-century Danish linguists]]
[[Category:19th-century Danish philologists]]
[[Category:Icelandic language]]
[[Category:Linguists of Indo-European languages]]
[[Category:Linguists of Germanic languages]]
[[Category:Germanic studies scholars]]
[[Category:Linguists of English]]
[[Category:Translators from Old Norse]]
[[Category:Linguists of Eskaleut languages]]
[[Category:Historical linguists]]
[[Category:Linguists of Sámi]]
[[Category:Balticists]]
[[Category:Linguists of Eskimo–Uralic languages]]
[[Category:19th-century Danish translators]]
[[Category:People from Odense Municipality]]
[[Category:International members of the American Philosophical Society]]