TEGNÉR, Esaias Henrik Vilhelm. Källstorp, Malmöhus län 13.1.1843 — Lund 21.11.1928. Swedish Orientalist and Linguist. Professor in Lund. Son of a minister, Kristoffer T., and Emma Sofia Kinberg, grandson of the poet Esaias T. (1782–1843). Matriculated from Lund in 1859 and began studies at local university. M.A. 1865 Lund. Ph.D. 1865 Lund, from 1865 PD of Islamic languages there. Now started Sanskrit and comparative IE linguistics. From 1872 Associate Professor of comparative Linguistics (adjunkt i jämförande språkkunskap) at Lund, and from 1879 Professor of Oriental Languages there. Retired in 1908. In 1884-1917 he was also member of the Bible translation Committee. In 1913-19 Editor-in-Chief of the great Swedish Dictionary of Swedish Academy. Married 1878 Märta Ehrenborg, both sons died young.
Sanskrit and IE studies remained an early interest and his main work Tegnér made in the fields of Semitic and Swedish linguistic. As a Semitic scholar he used the ideas of IE linguistics. In any case, he started Sanskrit teaching at Lund. His only printed contribution to IE studies remained unfinished and was only circulated as a private print.
Publications: Diss. De nunatione arabica. Lund 1865.
– Ninives och Babylons kilskrifter. 126 p. Stockholm 1875.
– De ariska språkens palataler. 40 p. Lund 1878.
– Much on linguistics, Biblical studies, Semitic languages and Swedish philology, mainly articles.
Sources: Lunds Univ. Matrikel 1924-25 (with bibliography); *briefly G. Holm, Lex. Gramm. 1996, 908; Studier tillegnade Esaias Tegnér. Lund 1918 contains a photo; photo also in Pedersen 1959, 280.
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