TRAUTMANN, Felix Kurt Reinhold. Königsberg 16.1.1883 — Jena 4.10.1951. German IE and Slavic Linguist. Professor in Leipzig and Jena. Son of a merchant. In 1889-1900 at Gymnasium in Königsberg. In 1900 started study of exegesis at Königsberg, but in 1901 moved to Freiburg i.Br. to study modern languages. Under the Germanist F. Kluge he interested in linguistics. In 1901-02 studied Germanistics at Königsberg, 1902-03 IE at Berlin (W. Schultze) and 1903-06 IE under Bezzenberger at Königsberg. Ph.D. there 1906. Further studies under Wackernagel at Göttingen. PD 1907 Göttingen, for IE, taught also Slavic. From 1911 eo. Professor of comparative Linguistics at German University of Prague, also here taught Slavic. Austrian citizen 1911, during the war army interpreter of Russian and Polish in 1915-17. From 1920 ord. Professor der slav. Philologie und vgl. Sprachwissenschaft, German University of Prague, but soon (1921) ord. Professor für slavische Sprachen und Landeskunde at Königsberg. From 1926 ord. Professor für slavische Philologie at Leipzig. As a specialist of West Slavic languages he was suspicious to the Nazis, who censored his writings. To keep his position he joined the NSDAP in 1937 and therefore lost it in 1945. His Slavic Institute was destroyed during the war. In 1947 he was rehabilited and in 1948 called to the new chair of Slavic Philology at Jena. In 1949-51 Head of the Slavic Institute of D.A.W. in Berlin. Married 1909 Helene Berath, 2 daughters.
Trautmann was a noted scholar of Slavic languages and literature. During his early years he also worked on IE, including some Indo-Iranian. He travelled in Russia in 1908, 1925 and 1932, in Poland 1927, in Czechoslovachia 1929 and in Yugoslavia 1930.
Publications: Diss. Germanische Lautgesetze in ihrem sprachgeschichtlichen Verhältnis. 69 p. 1906; hab. diss. Die altpreussische Sprachdenkmäler. 32+470 p. Göttingen 1910.
– “Etymologien”, BB 29, 1904, 307-311 and often, other articles on IE in BB, KZ, etc.; Gesamtregister zu den BB Bd. I–XXX, 1907.
– On Indo-Iranian: “Avest. urvaϑa”, KZ 42, 1909, 331; “Skr. √kṣubh”, KZ 43, 1910, 109; “Skr. kacchū”, KZ 43, 1910, 153 & 300.
– Die alttschechische Alexandreis mit Einl. und Glossar. 30+166 p. Heidelberg 1916; Polnisches Lesebuch. 6+178 p. Göttingen 1920.
– Baltisch-slavisches Wörterbuch. 8+382 p. Göttingen 1923; Die slavischen Völker und Sprachen. 168 p. Lp. 1947; Kurzgefasste russische Grammatik. 153 p. Göttingen 1947; Altrussisches Lesebuch. Lp. 1949, 2nd ed. 151 p. Wb. 1969.
– Die altpreussischen Personennamen. . 8+204 p. Göttingen 1925; Die wendischen Ortsnamen. 266 p. 1939 confiscated by censor, appeared Neumünster 1950; Die Elb- und Ostseeslavischen Ortsnamen. 187+119+277 p. A.D.A.W. 1947:4, 1947:7 & 1953:7. B. 1948-56 (3. Index by H. Schall).
– Die altrussische Nestorchronik Povest’ vremennych let. In Übers. hrsg. 22+302 p. Lp.; Die Volksdichtung der Grossrussen. 1. Das Heldenlied (die Byline). 11+446 p. Heidelberg 1935; Zu Form und Gehalt der Novellen Turgenjews. 96 p. A.S.A.W. 44:3. Lp.1942; Altrussische Helden- und Spielmannslieder. 132 p. Lp. 1948; Turgenjew und Tschechow. 1948; Die altrussische Nestorchronik in Auswahl. Hrsg. 79 p. Lp. 1948; other works and articles on Slavic languages and literature.
– German translations of Gogol, Tšehov, Turgenev, and Russian poetry.
Sources: E. Eichler, “R.T. und die deutsche Slawistik”, SSAW 125:1, 1984, with bibliography and photo; *E. Fraenkel & W.K. Matthews, Slavonic and East European Review 31, 1952, 251-254; Wikipedia.
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