14.1, All: Obituary: Tine Logar

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LINGUIST List:  Vol-14-1. Sun Jan 5 2003. ISSN: 1068-4875.

Subject: 14.1, All: Obituary: Tine Logar

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1)
Date:  Sat, 4 Jan 2003 02:52:10 -0500 (EST)
From:  "Donald F. Reindl" <dreindl at indiana.edu>
Subject:  Obituary: Tine Logar (1916-2002)

-------------------------------- Message 1 -------------------------------

Date:  Sat, 4 Jan 2003 02:52:10 -0500 (EST)
From:  "Donald F. Reindl" <dreindl at indiana.edu>
Subject:  Obituary: Tine Logar (1916-2002)



The following obituary appeared in the Slovenian daily newspaper
"Delo" on 4 January 2003.

"Tine Logar 1916-2002", by Vera Smole

	On Christmas Eve at the age of 87, a true patriot, beloved
professor, academician, researcher and interpreter of the most
intimate expression of national existence, the great dialectologist
and Slovenian historical linguist, Dr. Tine Logar, passed away. To
take one's farewell on such a family-oriented holiday may be seen as
fitting for one to whom family was sacred in the deepest sense of this
word. Professor Logar dedicated himself to two families: his own and
his spiritual family. This included all of us that -- alongside him or
with him -- have lived for his and our great love: for the Slovenian
language in its historical and dialectal roots.
	Tine Logar was born on 11 February 1916 into a large farming
family in Horjul. After his exit exams from the secondary school in
Ljubljana, in 1935 he enrolled at the Department of Slavic Languages
at Ljubljana's Academy of Arts, from which he graduated in 1940. He
then taught for a short time and, on the threshold of World War II,
completed his doctorate in June 1941 under his mentor, Fran
Ramovs. With a completed education and a passionate love for Slovenian
culture, he joined the Liberation Front (OF), but was betrayed and
interned in a prison camp.  Although near death himself, he instilled
his fellow internees with courage and, despite the apparent
hopelessness of the situation, enlightened them and prepared them for
a new and more just life. The new authorities initially rewarded him
with an expert's position in the Slovenian Ministry of Education but,
soon after he returned to linguistics in 1947 at Ramovs' request, they
committed an unpardonable wrong against him when the Bureau of
Propaganda (Informbiro) condemned him and sent him to [the prison camp
at] Goli Otok and then to the mines in Bosnia. His sturdy peasant
background, his love of his native country and his own young family,
as well as his unbending will and faith in justice, supported him in
body and spirit. It was only deep in his soul that bitterness
remained, without a desire for revenge, but only with great concern
for his personal justice. His decade of work at the Institute for the
Slovenian Language at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
(SAZU, 1947-1958), despite the bitter interruption of 1949-1950,
marked the first high point of his research. In his recording of
locations for the Slovenian Linguistic Atlas (SLA) he walked and
bicycled across the majority of Slovenian territory, attuned his ear
to the diversity of dialectal features, defined their boundaries,
interpreted them in a versatile manner, gave an account of them, and
discovered for himself and others the richness contained in the
dialects of Slovenian.
	Logar, a born educator, truly came into his own as a lecturer
in dialectology and Slovenian historical grammar at the Faculty of
Arts, from 1958 -- when he became an assistant professor -- until
1978, when he retired as full professor. Logar became professor
emeritus in 1984, lectured until 1986, and during his retirement
oversaw a number of master's and doctoral degrees. Despite his
administrative duties (he was the chairman of the Department of Slavic
Languages and Literatures and also served as the deputy dean and dean
of the Faculty of Arts, 1968-1970), through seminar and degree work
with his students he continued collecting material for the SLA, was a
regular lecturer, organized seminars for Slavic linguists from abroad
on multiple occasions, spoke at Slavics conferences at home and
abroad, delivered guest lectures at numerous European universities,
and edited professional publications. The entire time he remained
closely connected with the Institute for the Slovenian Language, be it
as a colleague, a project leader, the director of the dialectology
division, or a member or the president of its scientific council. In
1972 Logar became a corresponding member and, in 1981, an ordinary
member of SAZU; from 1986 onwards he was also a corresponding member
of the Yugoslav Academy of Arts and Sciences -- the current Croatian
Academy of Arts and Sciences.
	Logar is best known for his book _Slovenksa narecja_
(Slovenian Dialects, 1975), which in 1993 was supplemented by
cassettes with audio recordings of selected dialects and the _Karta
slovenskih narecij_ (Map of Slovenian Dialects), coauthored with
Rigler, which was first published in 1983. His selected contributions
from professional journals are published in the collection
_Dialektoloske in jezikovnozgodovinske razprave_ (Discussions on
Dialectology and Historical Linguistics, 1996). As the coauthor of the
scientific and critical edition of the _Brizinski spomeniki_ (The
Freising Fragments, 1992), he capped his achievement by producing a
sound recording of the manuscript in 1994. His work in helping create
the SLA at all levels of its preparation was valued. Of inestimable
value was his exceptionally dependable field data, which he personally
gathered in over 200 locations in Slovenia and bordering regions --
and in an additional 350 with the help of his students. This has long
been an inexhaustible source for many dialect, etymological and other
studies and at the same time it charged the younger generation with
the task of publishing one of the fundamental linguistic works of the
nation: a linguistic atlas.
	Tine Logar had a gentle character that only became aroused
when discussing dialects, and perhaps sometimes politics; he softened
at the mention of his children, and especially his grandchildren, and
with deep gratitude recalled his wife and parents. To us, his
students, he devoted his friendly goodwill and care for our
professional growth and personal happiness. There were no formalities
between us, and therefore the human ties that with our professor's
death become the stuff of memories are all the stronger.

(Trans. Donald F. Reindl)




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