Alfredo Trombetti

Alfredo Trombetti (16 January 1866 in Bologna – 5 July 1929 in Venice), was an Italian linguist active in the early 20th century.

Alfredo Trombetti
Portrait of Alfredo Trombetti
Born16 January 1866
Bologna, Italy
Died5 July 1929
Venice, Italy
NationalityItalian
OccupationLinguist
Academic background
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of Bologna
Main interestsComparative linguistics
Notable ideasMonogenesis

Career overview

Trombetti was a professor at the University of Bologna. He was a member of the Italian Academy.

He is best known as an advocate of the doctrine of monogenesis, according to which all of the world's languages go back to a single common ancestral language. His arguments for monogenesis were first presented in his book L'unità d'origine del linguaggio, published in 1905.[1] This doctrine is still extremely controversial.

Proposed etymologies

A selection of Trombetti's proposed global etymologies:[1]

MeaningRoot
to hear; earkul (kur)
waterma; wad (wad, wed, wod), ud
dogku (ku-ari, ku-ri, etc.)
hairtuk, suk
behind, backkata, taka
footganga; pat
earth (clay, ash)tu
dusttwar, tur (< tu 'earth')
womanna (nai)
man (person)ku, etc.
man (male)mar
egg (testicle)umu (mu-n, mu-r, etc.)

Selected works

References
  1. Trombetti, Alfredo. 1905. L'unità d'origine del linguaggio. Bologna: Luigi Beltrami.

See also
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