Nikolai Baskakov (linguist)

Nikolai Alexandrovich Baskakov (Николай Александрович Баскаков) (January 18, 1905 – July 18, 1996) was a prominent Soviet and Russian Turkologist, linguist, and ethnographer. He is best known for his extensive research and publications on the Turkic languages, particularly those spoken in the Soviet Union.

Baskakov dedicated his career to the description, classification, and study of Turkic languages. He authored numerous grammars, dictionaries, and comparative studies of Turkic languages, including but not limited to, the Karaim, Nogai, and Uighur languages. His work contributed significantly to the understanding of the historical development and relationships within the Turkic language family.

Baskakov held various academic positions throughout his career, including professorships at leading Soviet universities and research positions at institutes specializing in linguistics and ethnography. He supervised and mentored generations of Turkologists.

His major works include descriptive grammars of individual Turkic languages, etymological dictionaries, and works on the historical phonology and morphology of the Turkic languages. He was a proponent of the Altai language family hypothesis, which posits a genetic relationship between the Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic languages.

Baskakov's contributions to Turkology are widely recognized, and his publications remain essential resources for researchers in the field.