Įž algos / Insigh s 245
NORBERT OSTROWSKI
Adomo Micke ičius Uni e si y o Poznań Resea ch a eas:
his o ical g amma o he Bal ic languages, compa a i e
his o ical linguis ics, and his o ical ypology.
This Regula ion shall en e in o o ce on he wen ie h day ollowing ha o i s publica ion in he O icial Jou nal o he Eu opean Union.
This is JANO OTRBSKIO GYVENIME, Membe o he Commission
The a icle consis s o wo pa s. The i s is a biog aphical one, co e ing Jano
O ębski's li e in Poznań a e Wo ld Wa II, and he second b ie ly discusses
he selec ions, he mos impo an wo ks by J. O ębski c ea ed du ing he
Poznań pe iod. The i s pa is based on Magdalena Gaw ońska-Ga s ka's shop
by Jan Szczepan O ębski. Li e and wo k (1889-1971) (2014).
1. The li e o Jan O ębski in Poznań
Acco ding o M. Gaw ońska-Ga s ka (2014: 9091), P o . J. O ębski came o Poznan in he au umn o
1945. A ha ime, eigh p o esso s om he o me S . Pe e 's Uni e si y in Vilnius, including J.
O ębski and he amous his o ian Hen yk Łowmiański, came o he Uni e si y o Poznań. The
beginning was ha d. The Ca dinal and his wi e, P incess Augus a o Poland, ga e him a small oom a
he Uni e si y o Poznań Ho el a 37 Ma ejko S ee . In he ho el, and in ac in he common oom,
one ki chen was used by 24 amilies. J. O ębski's oom had oom o wo beds and a able, he e
was no sepa a e ba h oom. As J. O ębski himsel w i es, "Fo wo mon hs I did no hink ha I
should do i " (Gaw ońska-Ga s ka 2014: 93). In he mean ime, he had aken wi h him nea ly en
housand books, which he had kep unpacked in he co ido , and many o hem had simply been
s olen. In 1947 he and his i s wi e, Aniela, mo ed in o a small wo- oom apa men on Rogalinsky
S ee , 8 Poznań, whe e he li ed un il his dea h. By he way, he apa men has been in cou o
se e al yea s. A i s , he e en los he case and was h ea ened wi h expulsion. Acco ding o M.
Gaw ońska-Ga s ka (2014: 94), J. O ębski was su ounded by he mili ia, and e en had his u ni u e
aken away, bu managed o sa e he apa men . 1 Au ho o such monumen al wo ks as S udia
nad począ kami społeczeńs wa i pańs wa li ewskiego (1931-1932) and Począ ki Polski, . I[…]VI
(1963-1985), Religia Słowian i jej upadek (w. VI[…]XII) (1979), P usy […] Li wa […] K zyżacy (1989) and k .
NORBERT OSTROWSKI
246 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXII This Regula ion shall en e in o o ce on he wen ie h day ollowing ha o i s publica ion in he O icial Jou nal o he Eu opean Union.
I is wo h alking abou he condi ions o J. O ębski's li e, because he liked hem
and i seems ha hey we e one o he easons why he la e c i icized Poznan so
much. J. O ębski began wo king a he Uni e si y o Poznan a he Sla onic
Ca hed al, whose o me head, P o . Hen yk Ułaszyn, did no e u n o Poznan
a e he wa . The dean o he Facul y o Humani ies o he Uni e si y o Poznań
( hen s ill he Uni e si y o Poznań, no he Uni e si y o Adam Mickiewicz) J.
laiškas, ašy as Vilniaus uni e si e o ek o iui. Šiame laiške dekanas ašo, kad
O ębski will no be able o gi e lec u es in Vilnius in he nea u u e because " he
wo k ela ed o he c ea ion o a new scien i ic chai , be doub ul, will no be held
he e" (Gaw ońska-Ga s ka 2014: 95). This means ha he au ho i ies o Vilnius
Uni e si y expec ed J. O ębski o e u n. I didn' wo k ou ha way. In 1947, he
Uni e si y o Poznań es ablished he Bal ic Chai o Philology, wi h i s
headqua e s a he Collegium Philosophicum in Ma ejko S ee (48-49). He wo ked
in he ca hed al:
• Czesław Kudzinowski, a s uden o J. O ębski om Vilnius S epona
• Zenon Sobie ajski (1947-1948) was a Sla ic and Polish schola om
Poznań. • Nina Bo owska (01-01-1953 - 13-08-1953 - un il his dea h in 1953);
• Michał Hasiuk (since 1953).
The Depa men o Bela usian Philology was a scien i ic uni , i did no ha e i s
own s uden s, and i s s a lec u ed o s uden s o o he philological
special ies. The only s uden who go a mas e 's deg ee in he depa men
was N. Bo owska. In he same yea , he was appoin ed o he pos o P o esso
Po J. O ębskio edėju apo Czesławas Kudzinowskis i ka ed a egzis a o iki
o Linguis ics, which he held un il his e i emen on 30 Oc obe 1960, when i was
me ged wi h he Gene al Linguis ics Depa men , hen he Ins i u e (now he Ins i u e o Linguis ics).
As al eady men ioned, he Depa men o Bal ic Philology did no ha e i s own s uden s, i s s a
lec u ed o s uden s o o he philological special ies. F om he da a collec ed by M.
Gaw ońsko-Ga s ko (2014: 98-103) we lea ned ha in he academic yea s 1945-1946, J. O ębski
augh he "Old P ussian Language", he "Czy ań Dawnszych Li huanian Tex s", he "Czy ań
Sansk i ian Tex s" and he "Władka z języka ce wnosłowiańskiego". I is wo h paying a en ion
o how o en he wo d "coun ing" is used. J. O ębskis ga e p io i y o he analysis o he ex , 2
Dis inguished Li huanian schola (among o he hings, au ho o he Daukšos Pos ilės index) and
specialis o he Finnish language (au ho o he second dic iona y o Finnish-Polish languages). 3
The wo k "Wpływy słowiańskie na li ewską e minologię kościelną na pods awie Dic iona ium
Szy wida" by he au ho (S udia z ilologii polskiej i słowiańskiej 2, 1957) is s ill ele an oday.
Poznanės laiko a pis Jano O ębskio gy enime
Insigh s 247 ex was he exi poin . J. O ębskis also ead a lec u e on Sansk i and
he analysis o i s ex s in la e yea s. As a specialis in classical languages, in
1950-1951 he ead he In e p e a ion o he Language o he A chaic Tex s o he
Lacians (In e p e a ion o he Tex s o he A chaic La in Languages). Bu he
ocused mainly on he Bal ic languages, eading among o he s […]G ama yka języka
li ewskiego[…] ([…]Li huanian language g amma […]), […]Czy anie eks ów
ło ewskich[…] ([…]La ian language ex eading[…]), he linguis ic analysis o he
Daukšos Pos ilės, abou he his o y o he Bal ic languages and k . (ž .
Gaw ońska-Ga s ka 2014: 98[…]10). J. O ębskis was also in e es ed in Albanian
language. Wacławo Cimochowski, an Albanian, was he head o he disse a ion. In
1956, J. O ębskis p oposed ha he Uni e si y o Adom Micke ičius (a e S alin's
dea h, he Uni e si y o Poznan changed i s name o 4) c ea e he Depa men o
Ag icul u al Economics (Ug o inis ic Depa men ). J. O ębski a gued his p oposal
as ollows:
The es ablishmen o such a ca hed al would no hinde mo e se ious di icul ies,
since ou cen e has a specialis in his ield. Kudzinowskiego o az biblio eka (The
es ablishmen o a Tokyo chai did no cause any majo di icul ies, since ou
cen e al eady has a specialis in his ield, a Kudzinowsky lec u e , and a lib a y)
(Gaw ońska-Ga s ka 2014: 110).
Now a ew wo ds abou J. O ębski's iew o Poznan. Poznań J. O ębski did no die his was
especially e iden a he end o his li e. He in ec ed his second wi e, Elena Samaniu , whom he
ma ied in 1955 o Ponia U szula Bielanowska, a he house on Rogaliński S ee , whe e he
O ębskys li ed, a supe iso desc ibes he as ollows: "Ano he woman, who did no know
Poznaniaków, someone old he ha she was om Ge many" (Gaw o-Ga s ka 2014: 128). Maybe
M s. U. Bielanowska wen oo a , bu he O h obskys wan ed o go back o Vilnius. In he book
(2014: 126) M. Gaw ońska-Ga s ka quo es a le e sen by J. O ębski o he Polish Minis e o
Educa ion on 27 Oc obe 1970 as ollows: "I wo k a e dawn, wi hou aining, mainly p epa ing
o p in ing hings ha ha e al eady been p in ed. [...] he las o ou impo an acciden s. The
Uni e si y o Vilnius p oposed ha we e u n o Vilnius wi h my wi e, objec ing o he
app op ia e accommoda ion, li ing and wo king condi ions. I'd like o p epa e o he dea h
be o e he p in ing p ess mo es a in o he Li huanian ield. To do his, we need he ma e ials o
he Li huanian Language Ins i u e in Vilnius. As I was old by P o . M. Hasiuk, he Sena e o he
Uni e si y o Poznań decided, when he news eached Poznań, ha he Minis y o Educa ion in
Wa saw had he idea o name Poznań Uni e si y
by he name o S alin.
NORBERT OSTROWSKI
248 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXII I ha e a place in he app op ia e
a angemen o books and use o he en i e lib a y. Finally, my wi e's heal h:
om iend o Poznań su e s om heuma ic illness. Tha 's why I accep ed he
p oposal om Vilnius and made he igh decisions. Since May, passpo s ha e
been issued o he mili ia. Because o he di icul ies a ising om he
anspo a ion o lib a ies and collec ions o phila elic wo ks, i is no possible
o anspo hem o ou o ces, and I ha e los he las one, we ha e changed
he decision and we a e le in he coun y. [...] Impo an e en s ha e occu ed
ecen ly. The Uni e si y o Vilnius o e ed me (w i en and o al) o e u n o
Vilnius wi h my wi e, p omising a sui able apa men , li ing and wo king
condi ions. I would like o p epa e e y ad anced Li huanian wo ks o he p ess
be o e I die. Fo ha pu pose, I need ma e ial om he Li huanian Language
Ins i u e. In my apa men in Poznań, because o i s na owness, o 25 yea s I
ha e no place o pu my books oge he p ope ly and I canno use my lib a y as
needed. Finally, my wi e's heal h: she has been su e ing om heuma ism since
he a i al in Poznań. The e o e, I accep ed his o e and ook he app op ia e
measu es. Since May, ou passpo s ha e been in he mili ia. Since he e we e
p oblems wi h he deli e y o he lib a y and phila elic collec ions ha we could
no o e come on ou own, and I ecen ly became ill, we changed ou decision and
s ayed in his coun y". (Gaw ońska-Ga s ka 2014: 126).
I was w i en by a man, no doub , ull o a ca d. Did you eel unde es ima ed?
He was one o he g ea es Polish speake s known ou side Poland. He is in i ed
o cong esses in Oslo, Naples, Hambu g, Be lin, P ague, B no. He augh he
his o y o Sla ic and Bal ic languages a he Uni e si y o Vienna. So he
ques ion is, whe e did his ca d come om? Was i jus he li ing condi ions,
he p oblems wi h he apa men and i s sho age ha made Poznan so e y
disappoin ed in J. O ębski? P obably no . The an i-wa and pos -wa yea s a e
he iumph o s uc u alism, hen he s a o Je zy Ku yłowicz shone, o
example. J. O ębski was a linguis o he olde gene a ion, mo e o a younge
g amma ian, and pe haps unning ou o ime, new linguis ic di ec ions wi h
which J. O ębski's iews as a younge g amma ian did no coincide, he
pe cep ion was one o he easons o his a es . In his las will and
es amen , da ed Decembe 4, 1968, he w o e: "I desi e o be bu ied in Wilno o in
he icini y o Wilno. Poznan was a place o o men o me, so I don' wan o
spend he es o my li e in Poznan. My will is o be bu ied in Vilnius o i s
su oundings. Poznan was a place o o men o me, so I don' wan o spend
e e ni y in Poznan.
5 O ębski was an a id phila elis .
Poznanės laiko a pis Jano O ębskio gy enime
Insigh s 249 o he Inspec ion
J. O ębski was bu ied no in Poznan, bu in Puszczykowe, a pic u esque own
nea Poznan, o which he mo ed a he end o his li e. J. O ębski wan ed o
dona e his p edecesso 's house in Pa ilnya (Kolonia Wileńska, K yniczna s ee 5)
o he Li huanian Academy o Sciences, as w i en in he a o emen ioned will:
[…]na własność naczelnej ins y ucji naukowej w Wilnie, a więc Li ewskiej
Akademii Nauk, k ó a by u ządziła w nim jakiś pos e naukowy [...][…] ([…] he basic
scien i ic ins i u ion in Vilnius, i.e. he Li huanian Academy o Sciences, so ha a
sui able scien i ic depa men could be es ablished he e […]).
2. Academic ac i i ies o Jan O ębski in Poznań
J. O ębskis w o e almos 350 wo ks on Indo-Eu opean, ancien Indian philology,
classical philology, Sla ic, Polish and, o cou se, Bal ic philology, especially Li huanian
philology. A eal wo k i an. He e I would like o d aw a en ion o wo, in my opinion,
he mos impo an shops o J. O ębski, c ea ed du ing his Poznan pe iod. The
i s […] is Lingua Posnaniensis, a jou nal ounded by J. O ębskis and edi ed by he
i s nine issues. The i s olume was published in 1949, and i is su icien o
men ion only he au ho s who sen he a icles o he i s olume: Holge
Pede sen, Ch is ian S ang, Jānis Endzelins, Eino Nieminen, Václa Machek, om
Poland: Zdzisław S iebe , Wacław Cimochowski and Tadeusz Milewski, who had
al eady begun o ake an in e es in ypology and Ame ican Indian languages. In he
i s olume, J. O ębski himsel e iewed Spech De U sp ung de idg. Deklina ion,
Ben enis eo O igines o he o ma ion o names in Indo-Eu opean and
Rozwadowski's S udy o he names o Sla ic wo ds. In he second olume, H.
Pede senas, J. O ębskis (who w o e he a icle "The o ma ion o place names in
Li huania"), E ns as F aenkelis, V. Geo gie as, V. Machekas, and T. Milewskis
published hei a icles. The a icles in he magazine ained p ac ically all he ime.
languages and wen beyond he bounda ies o Indo-Eu opeanism. In he second
olume appea ed an a icle by T. Milewski "The s uc u e o he ph ase in he
indigenous languages o No h Ame ica". The hi d olume con ained a icles by J.
O ębski, V. Macheko, J. Endzelyno, E. F aenkel, and E. Nieminen. In he ou h
olume, H. Pede sen w o e abou he Hi i e language, and in he i h olume,
Johannes F ied ich, a p ominen Ge man o ien alis , w o e abou he Luwian
language. In he same i h olume, Jonas Balčikonis published an a icle abou he
o igin o he e b o be used. This is he bes e ymology o his e b I know, which,
un o una ely, seems o ha e been comple ely o go en by cu en e ymologis s.
Also in he i h olume, an Windekens w o e abou pelagics; and J. O ębskis on
he old P ussian onomas ics. T. Milewski compa ed he phonological sys ems o he
Caucasian and No h Ame ican Indian languages. In addi ion o J. Balčikonio, o he Li huanians also sen hei a icles. Appea ed in he se en h olume

NORBERT OSTROWSKI
250 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXII
wo ks o Li huanian emig an s: Leona do Damb iūno on he ac i i ies in he
Li huanian language and P ano Ska džis on ly. I 's a double and a b u. he jackal. I is
sa e o say ha he e has ne e been a magazine o his le el, he highes le el in
he wo ld, in Poland, and p obably no anymo e, al hough Lingua Posnaniensis i sel
goes back o his day. And inally he magnum opus, he li e wo k o J. O ębski,
h ee olumes o he G amma o he Li huanian Language. F om he g amma ical
ex , i can be lea ned ha J. O ębskis planned o w i e a ou h olume dedica ed
o he syn ax o he Li huanian language. This is wha J. O ębski w o e in he i s
olume o he p e e m (XI p.): […]Tom IV will include he lesson and he lesson. Tha
ac ion equi es a special e o . You go i s , and he p esen a ion is a
con empo a y li e a y language. A he ime, he language indica es ha i is jus in
he ange o composi ion, wi h ew de ails, ul ima ely no comp ehensi e. Be o e
he au ho o his G amma o he Li huanian language becomes he e is no need o
indica e, and some imes e en he es ablishmen o s anda ds in he scope o he
composi ion […] is no necessa y and unnecessa y. In he second place, he au ho 's
composi ion o he Li huanian spelling o he p esen a ion in he ou h olume o
he de elopmen o he Li huanian composi ion in he e i o y o he ci y ( he
ou h olume co e s he syn ax. This sec ion equi es special e o s. Fi s o all,
he syn ax o he cu en Li huanian language needs o be p esen ed. Meanwhile,
his language has, especially in he a ea o syn ax, many unclea de ails ha would
no be ully unde s ood. The au ho o he g amma o his Li huanian language has
no only o show, bu also o es ablish no ms in he ield o syn ax […] asks ha a e
undesi able and un a o able. Secondly, he au ho o he Li huanian language syn ax in he ou h olume mus show he le e o he Li huanian language syn ax om he e y beginning.
So O ębski's g amma had o combine diach onici y and synch onici y, and ha 's
wha i eally is. P o esso M. Hasiuk, a e ca e ully e iewing and ansla ing he
books and documen s o J. O ębski in he lib a y o Vilnius Uni e si y, ound no hing.
P o . J. O ębski was unable o implemen hese plans. O maybe somewhe e in he
lib a y o Vilnius Uni e si y he e is a leas ma e ial o a plan o he ou h olume
o he "G amma o Li huanian Language"? To w i e he g amma , J. O ębski was
o e ed he Pańs wowe Wydawnic wo Naukowe om Wa saw, bu he spi i us
mo ens was he amous Sla is Tadeus Leh zas-Spławińskìs. The Wi-Fi is on. Nauka o
Pi miausia bu o išleis as ečiasis omas Nauka o o mach (1956), paskui pi ma-
głoskach (1958) and only a he end he second Nauka o budowie wy azów (1965). Finally,
J. O ębskis wo ked on he second olume. I was a esponse o P ana Ska dja's
wo d wo k. These wo books a e s ill an example o anyone who wan s o engage in
his o ical wo k in Li huanian. J. O ębski's g amma […] is a wo k ha a ha ime
had no equal. I is wo h no ing ha he i s olume o he academic g amma o he
Li huanian language was published only in 1965, when he las olume o J. O ambski
was al eady in he publishing house "Inno a ion Insigh s 251." Today, J. O ębski's
Poznanės laiko a pis Jano O ębskio gy enime
g amma is s ill e y in luen ial. I mysel s udy he his o y o he Li huanian
language, and J. O ębski's g amma is a eal sou ce o ma e ial o my wo k. O
cou se, some o i may seem old- ashioned, and i is, bu he wo k is s ill imp essi e.
The au ho 's educa ion and e udi ion we e imp essi e. And i was w i en by a man
who could no use he Li huanian dic iona y himsel . I hope ha he e will come a ime
when J. O ębski's g amma will be eissued, bu i will be a c i ical edi ion, wi h
commen s, as is done wi h o he ancien w i ings. In 2009 he Ox o d English
T ansla ion o Jacobus Wacke nagel's Vo lesungen übe Syn ax was published. I is
p ecisely because i is a c i ical ice c eam ha he book has acqui ed a new alue. I
is o be hoped ha his will one day be he case wi h
The g amma o J. O ębski.
In he ield o li e a u e
The Magdalen o Gaw oń-Ga s ka 2015: Jan Szczepan O ębski was bo n in he
illage o Gaw oń-Ga s ka Magdalena. Li e and wo k (1889-1971). Poznań: Wydawnic wo Rys (English: Ci y o he Dawn) is a ci y in Poland.
Deli e ed on 18 May 2015
NORBERT OSTROWSKI
The Ins i u e o Linguis ics, he Facul y o
Linguis ics o he Uni e si y. This is Adama
Mickiewicza in Poznan. The Commission
he e o e concludes ha he aid is compa ible wi h he in e nal ma ke wi hin he meaning o A icle 107 (3) (c) o he T ea y.