Heikki Paasonen (linguist)
Heikki Antinpoika Paasonen (January 2, 1865 Mikkeli - August 24, 1919 Helsinki) was a Finnish linguist and ethnographer best known for his research in the linguistics and folklore of Mokshas and Erzyas during his two research trips to Russia. His studies include works on Chuvash, Mishar Tatar, Meadow Mari and Khanty languages, which led to further discoveries in Finno-Ugric and Turkic studies. Biography. Paasonen's parents were merchants Anders Paasonen and Fredrika Matiskainen. He became a student at the Swedish-language lyceum in Mikkeli in 1881 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1888  and worked from the following year until 1890 as a researcher with the Mokshas and Erzyas. The subject of his dissertation in 1893 was Mordvinic phonetics. In 1894, Paasonen became a Doctor of Primus and Docent of Finno-Ugric Linguistics. Paasonen made research trips to the Finno-Ugric peoples, including Hungary, collecting linguistic and ethnographic material. In 1902 he became the Chief Inspector of the School Board, a professor of Finno-Ugric linguistics at the University of Helsinki from 1904 to 1919. Paasonen research and collections were published quite extensively and even after his death. For example, the collection Mordwinische  Volkslieder I-IV was published by Paavo Ravila from 1938 to 1947, and the Finno-Ugric Society has edited a dictionary of Mordvinic languages based on Paasonen's materials, which became the basis of lexicological research in these languages. Family. Paasonen's spouse since 1894 was Hungarian-born Mariska Paskay de Palásth (born 1951). Colonel Aladár Paasonen was their son. Their other children were Maria Aranka Gizela, Arvid and Ilona Anna.