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George Abraham GriersonBritish Indologist linguist and civil servant.
Date of Birth: 07.01.1851
Country:  Great Britain |
Content:
- Sir George Abraham Grierson
- Career in the Indian Civil Service
- Linguistic Contributions
- Honors and Legacy
- Order of Merit (1928)
Sir George Abraham Grierson
Early Life and EducationSir George Grierson was born into a prominent Dublin family in 1851. His father and grandfather were renowned typographers and publishers. Grierson received his education at St. Bees School in Cumberland and Trinity College, Dublin. As a mathematics student, he excelled in Sanskrit and Hindi translation, winning prizes.
Career in the Indian Civil Service
In 1871, Grierson joined the Indian Civil Service. He arrived in Bengal in 1873 and held various administrative positions, including Magistrate and Collector in Patna and later as Opium Agent in Bihar. Throughout his service, he dedicated himself to the study of languages.
Linguistic Contributions
In 1894-97, Grierson served as the "philological secretary" of the Asiatic Society in Calcutta. In 1898, he was appointed as the Director of the newly established Linguistic Survey of India. This position allowed him to move to England "for the convenience of consulting European libraries and scholars."
Grierson published extensively throughout his career, covering topics such as dialects and rural life in Bihar, Hindi literature, Bhakti, and linguistics. His first article appeared in 1877. In 1898, he initiated the Linguistic Survey, responsible for collecting data on 364 languages and dialects. The results were published in 19 volumes of the "Linguistic Survey of India," totaling nearly 8,000 pages. Norwegian linguist Sten Konow prepared the five volumes on non-Indo-European languages, while Grierson authored the majority of the remaining text. In addition to dictionaries, most languages and dialects included grammar and short texts.
Honors and Legacy
Sir George Grierson received several honors for his linguistic achievements, including:
Order of Merit (1928)
Order of the Indian EmpireKnighthood (1912)
Grierson's linguistic research and contributions played a significant role in the documentation and understanding of India's diverse languages and dialects. His work continues to be an invaluable resource for linguists and scholars today.
