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'''Zigmas Zinkevičius''' (4 January 1925 – 20 February 2018) was a Lithuanian [[academician]], [[Baltistics|baltist]], [[Linguistics|linguist]], linguistic [[historian]], [[dialectologist]], and the former [[Ministry of Education and Science (Lithuania)|Minister of Education and Science of Lithuania]] (1996–1998).{{Sfn|LRT.lt|2018}}{{Sfn|Bojtár|1999|p=54}} The [[professor]] was widely acclaimed as the most famous, productive and cited Lithuanian linguist of recent times.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stundžia |first=Bonifacas |date=2005 |title=Akademikui Zigmui Zinkevičiui – 80 |url=https://issuu.com/vu_lt/docs/1_022e1322f3f9b0 |journal=Universitas Vilensis |language=lt |issue=45 |access-date=2022-09-29}}</ref>{{Sfn|15min.lt|2015}}{{Sfn|Subačius|2018|p=413}} Zinkevičius authored over a hundred books, including the popular{{Sfn|Subačius|2018|p=413}} six-volume "History of the Lithuanian language" (1984–1994), and over a thousand articles, both in Lithuanian and other languages.{{Sfn|smsm.lrv.lt|2018}} His works concerned subjects such as dialectology, the [[Lithuanian language]]'s history as well as the history of its study, its historical grammar, [[onomastics]], and he reviewed many works of linguistics.{{Sfn|LRT.lt|2018}}{{Sfn|G. ž.|2018}} |
'''Zigmas Zinkevičius''' (4 January 1925 – 20 February 2018) was a Lithuanian [[academician]], [[Baltistics|baltist]], [[Linguistics|linguist]], linguistic [[historian]], [[dialectologist]], [[politician]], and the former [[Ministry of Education and Science (Lithuania)|Minister of Education and Science of Lithuania]] (1996–1998).{{Sfn|LRT.lt|2018}}{{Sfn|Bojtár|1999|p=54}} The [[professor]] was widely acclaimed as the most famous, productive and cited Lithuanian linguist of recent times.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stundžia |first=Bonifacas |date=2005 |title=Akademikui Zigmui Zinkevičiui – 80 |url=https://issuu.com/vu_lt/docs/1_022e1322f3f9b0 |journal=Universitas Vilensis |language=lt |issue=45 |access-date=2022-09-29}}</ref>{{Sfn|15min.lt|2015}}{{Sfn|Subačius|2018|p=413}} Zinkevičius authored over a hundred books, including the popular{{Sfn|Subačius|2018|p=413}} six-volume "History of the Lithuanian language" (1984–1994), and over a thousand articles, both in Lithuanian and other languages.{{Sfn|smsm.lrv.lt|2018}} His works concerned subjects such as dialectology, the [[Lithuanian language]]'s history as well as the history of its study, its historical grammar, [[onomastics]], and he reviewed many works of linguistics.{{Sfn|LRT.lt|2018}}{{Sfn|G. ž.|2018}} |
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Zinkevičius' work was well received, both in Lithuania and abroad, where he was elected as a foreign member of many academies: the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities]] from 1982, [[Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters]] from 1991, [[Latvian Academy of Sciences]] from 1995.{{Sfn|smsm.lrv.lt|2018}}{{Sfn|Sabaliauskas|2018}} He was an academician of the [[Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science]] since 1991 and a full member of the [[Lithuanian Academy of Sciences]] from 1990 to 2011, when he became an [[emeritus]] member.{{Sfn|smsm.lrv.lt|2018}}{{Sfn|Sabaliauskas|2018}} The professor was a member of the editorial boards of the Lithuanian Language Society ({{Lang-lt|Lietuvių kalbos draugija|label=no}}) and of the international periodicals "{{Ill|Baltistica|lt}}" and "Lituanistica".{{Sfn|LRT.lt|2018}} Zinkevičius created the theory about the three Lithuanian written languages at the beginning of Lithuanian writing.{{Sfn|Sabaliauskas|2018}} |
Zinkevičius' work was well received, both in Lithuania and abroad, where he was elected as a foreign member of many academies: the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities]] from 1982, [[Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters]] from 1991, [[Latvian Academy of Sciences]] from 1995.{{Sfn|smsm.lrv.lt|2018}}{{Sfn|Sabaliauskas|2018}} He was an academician of the [[Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science]] since 1991 and a full member of the [[Lithuanian Academy of Sciences]] from 1990 to 2011, when he became an [[emeritus]] member.{{Sfn|smsm.lrv.lt|2018}}{{Sfn|Sabaliauskas|2018}} The professor was a member of the editorial boards of the Lithuanian Language Society ({{Lang-lt|Lietuvių kalbos draugija|label=no}}) and of the international periodicals "{{Ill|Baltistica|lt}}" and "Lituanistica".{{Sfn|LRT.lt|2018}} Zinkevičius created the theory about the three Lithuanian written languages at the beginning of Lithuanian writing.{{Sfn|Sabaliauskas|2018}} |
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Then, in 1988–1991, Zinkevičius became the head of the Department of Baltic Philology.{{Sfn|LRT.lt|2018}}{{Sfn|Sabaliauskas|2018}} After Lithuania regained its independence, he also began lecturing at the [[Vytautas Magnus University]].{{Sfn|LRT.lt|2018}} He was the director of the Lithuanian Language Institute in 1995–1996.{{Sfn|LRT.lt|2018}}{{Sfn|Sabaliauskas|2018}} |
Then, in 1988–1991, Zinkevičius became the head of the Department of Baltic Philology.{{Sfn|LRT.lt|2018}}{{Sfn|Sabaliauskas|2018}} After Lithuania regained its independence, he also began lecturing at the [[Vytautas Magnus University]].{{Sfn|LRT.lt|2018}} He was the director of the Lithuanian Language Institute in 1995–1996.{{Sfn|LRT.lt|2018}}{{Sfn|Sabaliauskas|2018}} |
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⚫ | |||
⚫ | Zinkevičius tenured as Minister of Education and Science from |
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=== 21st century === |
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From 2001 to 2009, Zinkevičius was the Chairman of the Council of the [[Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Centre|Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Institute]].{{Sfn|Sabaliauskas|2018}} Zinkevičius was also the editor-in-chief of the {{Ill|Lithuania Minor Encyclopedia|lt|Mažosios Lietuvos enciklopedija}} (3 vols. 2000–06).{{Sfn|Sabaliauskas|2018}} While in his nineties, Zinkevičius still worked as many as 10-12 hours a day.{{Sfn|15min.lt|2015}} |
From 2001 to 2009, Zinkevičius was the Chairman of the Council of the [[Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Centre|Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Institute]].{{Sfn|Sabaliauskas|2018}} Zinkevičius was also the editor-in-chief of the {{Ill|Lithuania Minor Encyclopedia|lt|Mažosios Lietuvos enciklopedija}} (3 vols. 2000–06).{{Sfn|Sabaliauskas|2018}} While in his nineties, Zinkevičius still worked as many as 10-12 hours a day.{{Sfn|15min.lt|2015}} |
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⚫ | |||
⚫ | Zinkevičius tenured as Minister of Education and Science from December 10, 1996, to March 25, 1998, in [[Vagnorius Cabinet II]] and was a state consultant on education and science issues in 1998.{{Sfn|LRT.lt|2018}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaunas |first=Domas |date=1998 |title=Biography of Zigmas Zinkevičius |url=http://pirmojiknyga.mch.mii.lt/Asmenys/zinkevicius.en.htm |access-date= |website=pirmojiknyga.mch.mii.lt}}</ref> After Zinkevičius' death, Lithuania's prime minister in 1996–1999 [[Gediminas Vagnorius]] said that Zinkevičius "brought a different approach, a sincere, matter-of-fact, professional approach to education policy and forced others to step up" and described him as "very sincere, very benevolent and distinguished by high intelligence".{{Sfn|15min.lt|2018}} He was elected chairman of the [[Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party]] in 1999.<ref name="seimas" /> He resigned from the leadership of the party on November 17, 2000 in protest against the merger of the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party with the [[Christian Democratic Union (Lithuania)|Christian Democratic Union]] (KDS) led by [[Kazys Bobelis]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atsistatydina Lietuvos krikdemų lyderis |url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/atsistatydina-lietuvos-krikdemu-lyderis.d?id=119288 |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=DELFI |language=lt}}</ref> He became a member of the new {{Ill|Christian Democracy Party of Lithuania|lt|Lietuvos krikščioniškosios demokratijos partiją}} in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lietuvos krikščioniškosios demokratijos partija |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/lietuvos-krikscioniskosios-demokratijos-partija/ |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=www.vle.lt |language=lt}}</ref> |
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== Publications == |
== Publications == |
Revision as of 22:28, 23 January 2023
Zigmas Zinkevičius | |
---|---|
Born | Juodausiai, Lithuania | January 4, 1925
Died | February 20, 2018 | (aged 93)
Nationality | Lithuanian |
Occupations |
|
Known for | Linguistics, Baltistics, Dialectology, history of the Lithuanian language history of the study of the Lithuanian language, the historical grammar of the Lithuanian language, onomastics, recreation of Proto-Baltic |
Notable work | History of the Lithuanian language (6 vols., published in 1984–1994) |
Zigmas Zinkevičius (4 January 1925 – 20 February 2018) was a Lithuanian academician, baltist, linguist, linguistic historian, dialectologist, politician, and the former Minister of Education and Science of Lithuania (1996–1998).[1][2] The professor was widely acclaimed as the most famous, productive and cited Lithuanian linguist of recent times.[3][4][5] Zinkevičius authored over a hundred books, including the popular[5] six-volume "History of the Lithuanian language" (1984–1994), and over a thousand articles, both in Lithuanian and other languages.[6] His works concerned subjects such as dialectology, the Lithuanian language's history as well as the history of its study, its historical grammar, onomastics, and he reviewed many works of linguistics.[1][7]
Zinkevičius' work was well received, both in Lithuania and abroad, where he was elected as a foreign member of many academies: the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities from 1982, Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters from 1991, Latvian Academy of Sciences from 1995.[6][8] He was an academician of the Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science since 1991 and a full member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences from 1990 to 2011, when he became an emeritus member.[6][8] The professor was a member of the editorial boards of the Lithuanian Language Society (no: Lietuvių kalbos draugija) and of the international periodicals "Baltistica " and "Lituanistica".[1] Zinkevičius created the theory about the three Lithuanian written languages at the beginning of Lithuanian writing.[8]
During the professor's 72-year academic career, he taught at Vilnius University for 45 years.[9] He was fluent in a number of languages, including English, German, Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and French.[10]
Early life
Zigmas Zinkevičius was born on 4 January 1925 in the Juodausiai village in Ukmergė district.[6] Zinkevičius fondly remembered his childhood, saying that
"I frequently visit Ukmergė. In my eyes, it is a bright city where I spent my childhood and the most beautiful days... The hometown cannot disappear from a human's memory".[7]
In 1939, after finishing the six-year school, he transferred to the gymnasium in Ukmergė.[7] In 1945, Zinkevičius entered the Faculty of History and Philology of Vilnius University.[7]
Academic career
Zinkevičius' academic career started in 1946,[1] from when he held the position of chief laboratory assistant at the Lithuanian Department of Vilnius University (VU) until 1950.[6] After finishing his studies in 1950,[8] he taught in VU and Vilnius Pedagogical Institute until 1956.[6] In 1955, Zinkevičius defended his thesis Lietuvių kalbos įvardžiuotinių būdvardžių istorijos bruožai (lit. Historical traits of adjective pronouns in Lithuanian language).[11] In 1956–1967, Zinkevičius was the docent at the Department of Lithuanian Language of VU.[6] He was also the deputy dean of the Faculty of History and Philology in 1956–1968.[7] In 1962–1964, he held the position of chief researcher.[6] In 1964–66, together with Aleksas Stanislovas Girdenis , Zinkevičius prepared a new classification of the dialects of the current Lithuanian language.[8] In 1967, he defended his doctoral thesis Lietuvių dialektologija (Lyginamoji tarmių fonetika ir morfologija) ("Lithuanian dialectology (Comparative phonetics and morphology of dialects)").[11] In 1967–1973, he received the position of professor at the Department of the Lithuanian Language.[6] He was the head of the Department of Lithuanian Language at the Faculty of Philology of Vilnius University in 1973–1988.[1][6]
Then, in 1988–1991, Zinkevičius became the head of the Department of Baltic Philology.[1][8] After Lithuania regained its independence, he also began lecturing at the Vytautas Magnus University.[1] He was the director of the Lithuanian Language Institute in 1995–1996.[1][8]
From 2001 to 2009, Zinkevičius was the Chairman of the Council of the Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Institute.[8] Zinkevičius was also the editor-in-chief of the Lithuania Minor Encyclopedia (3 vols. 2000–06).[8] While in his nineties, Zinkevičius still worked as many as 10-12 hours a day.[4]
Political career
Zinkevičius tenured as Minister of Education and Science from December 10, 1996, to March 25, 1998, in Vagnorius Cabinet II and was a state consultant on education and science issues in 1998.[1][12] After Zinkevičius' death, Lithuania's prime minister in 1996–1999 Gediminas Vagnorius said that Zinkevičius "brought a different approach, a sincere, matter-of-fact, professional approach to education policy and forced others to step up" and described him as "very sincere, very benevolent and distinguished by high intelligence".[13] He was elected chairman of the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party in 1999.[10] He resigned from the leadership of the party on November 17, 2000 in protest against the merger of the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party with the Christian Democratic Union (KDS) led by Kazys Bobelis.[14] He became a member of the new Christian Democracy Party of Lithuania in 2001.[15]
Publications
In Lietuvių dialektologija (1966), his most important work in dialectology, Zinkevičius presented the comparative phonetics and morphology of the Lithuanian dialects, which included 75 maps with the phonetic data of the dialects.[8] For this book, he received the LSSR state prize in 1968 and a Habilitated Doctor degree.[8]
His most important work for Lithuanian accentology is his work Iš lietuvių istorinės akcentologijos: 1605 katekizmo kirčiavimas (lit. From Lithuanian Historical Accentology: Accentuation of the 1605 Catechism) from 1975.[8] Zinkevičius was the editor-in-chief of the book Kalbos praktikos patarimai (1976, 1985).[8] In his 1977 book Lietuvių antroponimika: Vilniaus lietuvių asmenvardžiai 17 a. pradžioje (lit. Lithuanians' anthroponymics: Vilnius' Lithuanians' personal names in the early 17th century), Zinkevičius looked at more than 5,000 Lithuanian personal names and examined the process of the polonization of Lithuanian surnames.[8] Zinkevičius prepared textbooks for higher education, e.g. Lietuvių kalbos dialektologija (lit. The Lithuanian language's dialectology; 1978, 1994) and Lietuvių kalbos istorinė gramatika (lit. Lithuanian language's historical grammar; 2 vols. 1980–81).[8] The latter book was the first historical grammar of the Lithuanian language, which thoroughly examined the main issues of Lithuanian grammar.[8]
Zinkevičius researched and published the Yotvingian language dictionary "Pagan Dialects from Narew " (1983, 1985).[1][8] Zinkevičius wrote the monographs Rytų Lietuva praeityje ir dabar (lit. Eastern Lithuania in the past and now; 1993) and the Lietuvių kalbos istorija (lit. Lithuanian language's history; 1996, published both in Lithuanian and English).[8] He also authored books to popularize science, for example, Kaip žmonės išmoko rašyti (lit. How People Learned to Write; 1958), Lietuvių kalbos tarmės (lit. The Lithuanian language's dialects; 1968), Kalbotyros pradmenys (lit. Basics of Language research; 1969, 1980), Kalbininkas K. Būga (lit. Linguist K. Būga; 1981), Tautos kilmė (lit. Nation's origin; 2006).[8] He wrote the book Tautos kilmė together with others, and it was published in English and German in 2005 and Russian in 2006.[8] In addition, Zinkevičius is also the author of the following books (this list is not comprehensive):[8]
- Lietuvių poteriai (2000)
- Istorijos iškraipymai (2004)
- Krikščionybės ištakos Lietuvoje (2005)
- Lietuvių tautos kilmė (2005)
- Lietuvių tarmių istorija (2006)
- Lietuvių tarmių kilmė (2006)
- Senosios Lietuvos valstybės vardynas (2007)
- Lituanistikos (baltistikos) mokslas ir pseudomokslas (2007)
- Rašto kilmė (2007)
- Mažosios Lietuvos indėlis į lietuvių kultūrą (2008)
- Lietuvių asmenvardžiai (2009)
- Lietuvos vardas: Kilmė ir formų daryba (2010)
- Krikščioniško vardyno kelionė į Lietuvą (2010)
- Lietuviškas paveldas Suvalkų ir Augustavo krašto Lenkijoje pavardėse: polonizacijos apybraiža (2010)
- Šventasis Brunonas ir Lietuva (2010)
- Lietuviškas (baltiškas) paveldas Balstogės vaivadijos Lenkijoje pavardėse: slavizacijos apybraiža (2011)
- Ukmergės rajono gyvenviečių vardynas: pavadinimų kilmė (2011)
- Lietuvos senosios valstybės 40 svarbiausių mįslių (2011)
- Vilnijos lenkakalbių pavardės (2012)
- Lietuviai: praeitis, didybė, sunykimas (2013, 2014)
Zinkevičius has also published studies regarding the Lithuanian language in the writings of Martynas Mažvydas, Konstantinas Sirvydas, Mozerka Saliamonas Slavočinskis , Kristijonas Donelaitis and the Wolfenbüttel postil.[8] He also authored three autobiographies:[8]
- Kaip aš buvau ministras (1998)
- Prie lituanistikos židinio (1999)
- Po aštuonerių metų (2006)
He also published the four-volume book Rinktiniai straipsniai (lit. Selected articles) in 2002–2004, containing his articles that were published in the Lithuanian press.[8] He also prepared the Kazimieras Būga's Rinktiniai straipsniai (lit. Selected articles; 3 vols. 1958–61 and an index volume in 1962) and the book Kazimieras Būga: Gyvenimas ir darbai (lit. Kazimieras Būga: Life and Work; 1979).[8] Together with others, he also created the Lietuvių kalbos vadovėlį IX–XI klasei (lit. Lithuanian language textbook for classes IX–XI), which was first published in 1971 and was re-printed a third time in 1997.[8]
Reception and legacy
The Lithuanian linguist Zigmas Zinkevičius is highly acclaimed in international sources, where he is described as an "excellent linguistic historian of the greatest professional repute",[16] "eminent",[17] and "great Lithuanian scholar".[18] On the topic of Polish-Lithuanian relations, in his book Vilnijos lenkakalbių pavardės (lit. Surnames of the Vilnius Region's Polish-speakers), Zinkevičius emphasized that today Lithuanians and Poles should coexist in a nice way, but that this could only happen if the relations and history of both nations were based on the truth.[19] He has said that
"They need to look at history correctly, recognizing that Lithuanians are not descended from Polish-speakers, but on the contrary: local Polish-speakers descend from Lithuanian-speaking people."[19]
On his 90th birthday in 2015, Zigmas Zinkevičius said: "I saw many governments, but I never changed my views, which made me disliked by those who changed them. This is how I am, this is how I will die, I wish everyone every success".[4] Vytautas Landsbergis, the honorary chairman of the Homeland Union at the time, congratulated Zinkevičius on his birthday with the following words:
"I want to say, dear academician, that your name and the name of Lithuania are connected. Lithuania is a nation, and the basis of the nation is language. You have done immeasurable work in this area. May God give you the strength to increase the large pile of books about Lithuania".[4]
Other notable people in Lithuania, such as the contemporary President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius, Deputy Speaker of the Seimas Irena Degutienė, sent representatives to also congratulate Zinkevičius.[4] The contemporary Minister of Education and Science Dainius Pavalkis emphasized that Zinkevičius' scientific work made Lithuania famous in the world and thanked Zinkevičius for his strengthening of the Lithuanian schools in southeastern Lithuania while he was a minister: "You achieved that all residents of this region who want to learn Lithuanian could do so."[4] Professor Romualdas Baltrušis , Zinkevičius' childhood friend, recalled the years of Soviet occupation were was hard for Zinkevičius:
"It's good that that ideology did not penetrate your works. With the power of the spirit, you maintained seriousness and calmness and did not ignore the dangerous events for Lithuania, defending it from those trying to damage the language and national self-expression."[4]
Zigmas Zinkevičius is the focus of the documentary film Zigmas Zinkevičius. Pamilęs lietuvių kalbą (lit. Zigmas Zinkevičius. Having fallen in love with the Lithuanian language) created by director Algirdas Tarvydas in 2015.[8][a]
Relations with the Polish minority in Lithuania
Zinkevičius in 1988 became a member of the nationalist organization Vilnija (lit. 'Vilnius Region')[20], which main goal was to lithuanize the Vilnius region as soon as possible[20], and was described as anti-Polish.[21] Members of the organization included: Kazimieras Garšva (chairman), Alvydas Butkus, Romualdas Ozolas or Arnoldas Piročkinas.[22]
During his tenure as Minister of Education and Science, he helped intensify the policy of Lithuanianization of the Polish minority living in Lithuania.[23] In doing so, he proclaimed the thesis that there are no Poles in Lithuania, only "polonized Lithuanians" or so-called "locals" (Lithuanian: čiabuviai), and should be restored to the Lithuanian nation.[23][24][25] Zinkevičius explained that they are not aware of who they really are because they have lost their true identity, and it is the task of every Lithuanian to strive to relituanize these confused people.[26] Zinkevičius also promoted the thesis that the language spoken by Poles in Lithuania was not Polish, but a separate language that had nothing in common with the language spoken in Poland.[23] He is also the author of the so-called "wicz" theory, according to which Lithuanian Poles whose surnames end in "-wicz" are actually ethnic Lithuanians, who constitutes separate ethnicity.[23][24]
On February 3, 2015, he was one of 60 signatories of an open letter addressed, among others, to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė and members of the government, in which he demanded that the Polish minority party LLRA be excluded from the government coalition and that the party's deputies be stripped of their seats in the Seimas.[27] The open letter says that the reason for this exclusion is that the LLRA's representatives in the Seimas and the European Parliament constantly disparage Lithuania before the international community when they claim that they are persecuted for speaking Polish, discriminated against and that Lithuania violates international law, among other claims.[27]
On August 28, 2015, he published an open letter addressed to the Minister of Education Juozas Bernatonis protesting a planned reform allowing Poles in Lithuania to spell their names in their native language.[28] One of the arguments put forth by Zinkevičius is that, based on the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, citizens do not have the right to write their names in unofficial languages in official documents, because passport entries must be understable to the majority of the country's citizens, and therefore must be written in the national language.[28]
His policies and views provoked protests from the Polish minority.[23]
American historian Theodore R. Weeks regards Zigmas Zinkevičius as a flagship example of a trend in Lithuanian historiography and linguistics that depicts the Vilnius region as always Lithuanian. According to him, Zinkevičius in his book Eastern Lithuania in the Past and Now "wishes to argue for the eternal Lithuanian nature of the region, a viewpoint that no historical or linguistic methods seem likely to support."[29] He also defines Zinkevičius' approach as "historical-linguistic ethnocentrism".[30] He emphasizes that he tends to ignore the actual ethnographic data and national self-identification of the inhabitants, in favor of promoting the thesis of the unchanging Lithuanian nature of the region.[30] Polish researcher Robert Boroch is of a similar opinion, in his review of Zinkevičius' work The History of the Lithuanian Language emphasized that "the weakness of the work is the lack of objectivity, mixing ideology and scientific facts"[31]. He describes the Zinkevičius' thesis about the lack of connection between the Polish language used in Lithuania and the one used in Poland as "wrong, because differences in pronunciation cannot be a distinctive feature sufficient to distinguish a given language", and his position as "justified only from the propaganda point of view", which aims to put the Polish language in Lithuania in the position of "a secondary and dying language".[31]
Awards
In 1994, Zinkevičius, as the professor of VMU, was awarded the regalia of an Honorary Doctor.[1] For his services to Lithuania in 1995, Zinkevičius was awarded the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, 3rd Class.[8][1] He was also the laureate of the international Herder Prize in 1994 and the Lithuanian Science Advancement Award in 1995.[1] In addition, he was awarded the title of Honorary Doctorate of the University of Latvia.[1] In 2015, on July 6, the Lithuanian Statehood Day, Zinkevičius was awarded the Commander's Grand Cross of the Order for Merits to Lithuania by president Grybauskaitė.[32][8]
Personal life and family
Zigmas Zinkevičius was always a practising Roman Catholic.[11] His wife was Regina Zinkevičienė and they had two children, Laima Zinkevičiūtė and Vytautas Zinkevičius.[1][33]
Death
On 20 February 2018, Zigmas Zinkevičius died in hospital, surrounded by his family.[1] He was buried in the Antakalnis cemetery on February 23.[9][34]
The contemporary president Dalia Grybauskaitė, when expressing her condolences on his death, said that Lithuania lost an outstanding linguist:
"The fundamental scientific works of the long-time Vilnius University professor made it possible to learn about the past of our language and nation, to understand its origin, to strengthen Lithuanianness and national self-esteem".[13]
The contemporary Minister of Education and Science Jurgita Petrauskienė said:
"Lithuania and the entire educational community lost an authoritative linguist, dialectologist, researcher of Baltistics, a great person. A bright memory of his personality also remains: a prominent scientist and at the same time a modest, benevolent, very hardworking and respectful person".[6]
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p LRT.lt 2018.
- ^ Bojtár 1999, p. 54.
- ^ Stundžia, Bonifacas (2005). "Akademikui Zigmui Zinkevičiui – 80". Universitas Vilensis (in Lithuanian) (45). Retrieved 2022-09-29.
- ^ a b c d e f g 15min.lt 2015.
- ^ a b Subačius 2018, p. 413.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k smsm.lrv.lt 2018.
- ^ a b c d e G. ž. 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac Sabaliauskas 2018.
- ^ a b Karosas 2018.
- ^ a b Zigmas Zinkevičius Archived 2008-10-25 at the Wayback Machine. Central Election Committee. Retrieved on 2008-08-18
- ^ a b c Voverienė 2020.
- ^ Kaunas, Domas (1998). "Biography of Zigmas Zinkevičius". pirmojiknyga.mch.mii.lt.
- ^ a b 15min.lt 2018.
- ^ "Atsistatydina Lietuvos krikdemų lyderis". DELFI (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2023-01-23.
- ^ "Lietuvos krikščioniškosios demokratijos partija". www.vle.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2023-01-23.
- ^ Bojtár 1999, p. 189.
- ^ Boroch 2004, p. 262.
- ^ Bammesberger 2005.
- ^ a b Grinevičiūtė 2018.
- ^ a b Jundo-Kaliszewska 2013, p. 236.
- ^ Budryte 2005, p. 163.
- ^ Jundo-Kaliszewska 2013, p. 237.
- ^ a b c d e Jundo-Kaliszewska 2013, p. 234.
- ^ a b Jundo-Kaliszewska 2019, p. 111.
- ^ Danjoux 2002, pp. 274–275.
- ^ Donskis 2005, p. 31.
- ^ a b "Mokslo ir kultūros atstovai reikalauja mesti iš koalicijos lenkus". DELFI (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2023-01-20.
- ^ a b kalbininkas, Prof akad Zigmas Zinkevičius. "Z. Zinkevičius. Lietuvos piliečių pavardes rašyti lenkiškomis raidėmis – nesąmonė". DELFI (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2023-01-20.
- ^ Weeks 2015, pp. 231–232.
- ^ a b Weeks 2015, p. 232.
- ^ a b Boroch 2004Wydaje mi się jednak, że słabością pracy jest brak obiektywizmu, mieszanie ideologii i faktów naukowych lit. 'However, it seems to me that the weakness of the work is the lack of objectivity, mixing ideology and scientific facts'.
- ^ BNS 2015.
- ^ Glebavičiūtė 2015.
- ^ Venckutė 2018, p. 356.
Bibliography
Articles
- smsm.lrv.lt (21 February 2018). "In memoriam akademikui Zigmui Zinkevičiui" [In memoriam to academician Zigmas Zinkevičius]. Ministry of Education and Science (Lithuania) (in Lithuanian).
- LRT.lt (14 March 2018). "Atsisveikinama su velioniu kalbininku Z. Zinkevičiumi" [Farewell to the late linguist Z. Zinkevičius]. LRT.lt (in Lithuanian).
- Sabaliauskas, Algirdas (25 April 2018). "Zigmas Zinkevičius". vle.lt (in Lithuanian).
- Karosas, Gintaras (22 February 2018). "Įžymiausio Lietuvos kalbininko atminimui: Z.Zinkevičius (1925-01-04 – 2018-02-20)". Respublika.lt (in Lithuanian).
- G. ž. (21 August 2018). "Mirė Ukmergės garbės pilietis Zigmas Zinkevičius". Gimtoji Žemė (in Lithuanian).
- 15min.lt (20 February 2018). "Netekome akademiko Zigmo Zinkevičiaus" [We lost academician Zigmas Zinkevičius]. 15min.lt (in Lithuanian).
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - 15min.lt (7 January 2015). "90-metį švenčiantis kalbininkas Zigmas Zinkevičius: „Niekada nekeičiau savo pažiūrų"" [Linguist Zigmas Zinkevičius celebrating his 90th birthday: "I have never changed my views"]. 15min.lt (in Lithuanian).
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - BNS (6 July 2015). "Prezidentūroje įteikti valstybės apdovanojimai" [State awards were presented at the Presidency]. 15min.lt (in Lithuanian).
- Glebavičiūtė, Loreta (10 February 2015). "Lietuvišką žodį iškėlęs. Kalbininko Zigmo Zinkevičiaus 90 metų jubiliejui paminėti" [He who elevated the Lithuanian word. To commemorate the 90th anniversary of linguist Zigmas Zinkevičius.]. Voruta (in Lithuanian).
- Voverienė, Ona (17 January 2020). "Gyvenimas, skirtas lietuvybei ir tėvynei Minint prof. habil. dr. akademiko Zigmo Zinkevičiaus 95-ąsias gimimo metines". Aidas (in Lithuanian).
- Grinevičiūtė, Agnė (21 February 2018). "Profesorius Z. Zinkevičius – pralenkęs laiką ir savo mokytojus" [Professor Z. Zinkevičius – ahead of time and his teachers]. LRT.lt.
Books, journals and theses
- Bammesberger, Alfred (Summer 2005). "Mapping the position of Lithuanian in the Twenty-first century". Lituanus. 51 (2). ISSN 0024-5089.
- Bojtár, Endre (1999). Foreword to the Past: a Cultural History of the Baltic People. Central European University Press. ISBN 963-9116-42-4.
- Boroch, Robert (2004). "Review of: Zigmas Zinkevičius, The History of the Lithuanian Language" (PDF). Pamiętnik Literacki (in Polish). 1.
- Budryte, Dovile (2005). Taming Nationalism?: Political Community Building in the Post-Soviet Baltic States. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 0-7546-3757-3.
- Danjoux, Olivier (2002). L'Etat, c'est pas moi: Reframing citizenship(s) in the Baltic republics (PhD). Department of Political Science, Lund University.
- Donskis, Leonidas (2005). Identity and freedom. Mapping Nationalism and Social Criticism in Twentieth-Century Lithuania.
- Jundo-Kaliszewska, Barabara (2019). Zakładnicy historii Mniejszość polska w postradzieckiej Litwie [Hostages of history. Polish minority in post-Soviet Lithuania] (in Polish). Łódź.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Jundo-Kaliszewska, Barbara (2013). "Etnolingwistyczna istota nacjonalizmu litewskiego i antypolonizm Litwinów na przełomie lat osiemdziesiątych i dziewięćdziesiątych XX w." [The ethnolinguistic essence of Lithuanian nationalism and the anti-Polonism of Lithuanians at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s]. Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Historica. 91.
- Subačius, Giedrius (2018). "In memoriam: Zigmas Zinkevičius (1925–2018)". Archivum Lithuanicum (in Lithuanian). 20. ISSN 1392-737X.
- Weeks, Theodore R. (2015). Vilnius Between Nations 1795-2000. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press.
- Venckutė, Regina (2018). "ZIGMAS ZINKEVIČIUS (1925 01 04–2018 02 20)" (PDF). Baltistica (in Lithuanian). LIII (2). doi:10.15388/Baltistica.53.2.2354.