M. A. Castrénin kielioppien kansainvälinen tausta

In this paper I discuss the international influences on the grammars that M. A. Castrén produced. Matthias Alexander Castrén is undoubtedly one of the most prominent researchers in the history of Uralic studies. His work includes nine grammars (eight published and one unpublished) of some twenty languages. He can also be credited for launching the scientific study of the Uralic languages. However, Castrén did not produce his grammars in a vacuum, but rather he was well educated in the modern linguistic theories of his time. More specifically, Castrén implemented the ideas of comparative grammar used also by such renowned linguists as Rasmus Rask, Jacob Grimm, and Franz Bopp. This paper examines the influence that linguistic ideas of the nineteenth century had on the descriptive choices Castrén made in his grammars. I examine the structure of Castrén’s grammars and compare them to other grammars of the time which Castrén knew. The analysis is confined to a rather general level discussing such phenomena as how parts of speech are described, and how inflection is presented. The analysis shows that in many cases, Castrén did not have one single model, but rather his work followed the general ideas of comparative grammar. This paper confirms that Uralistics has been an international field of study from its beginnings.