Otto Jespersen

Lore & Background

Otto Jespersen was born in Randers, Jutland, to Jens Bloch Jespersen and Sophie Caroline Bentzien, one of nine children. After his father's death, the family moved to Hillerød, where his Jutland accent was ridiculed. Inspired by the works of philologist Rasmus Rask, he taught himself Icelandic, Italian, and Spanish as a boy. He entered the University of Copenhagen in 1877 to study law, but shifted focus to languages after working as a stenographer and teaching. He studied under linguists Karl Verner, Hermann Möller, and Vilhelm Thomsen, and was influenced by the ideas of Darwin, Mill, and Spencer through Harald Høffding. Jespersen passed his Skoleembedseksamen in 1887, then traveled to London, Oxford, Leipzig, and Paris, meeting phoneticians and linguists. He returned to Copenhagen in 1888, completed his doctoral dissertation on the English case system in 1891, and became Professor of English at the University of Copenhagen in 1893, serving until 1925. He was Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 1904 to 1906 and Rector of the university from 1920 to 1921.

Reader's Guide

Jespersen's significance lies in his practical, functional approach to language, grounded in common sense and liberal humanism. He was a leading figure in the reform of language teaching, co-founding the Scandinavian group 'Quousque Tandem' in 1886, which advocated the direct method of teaching spoken language informed by phonetics, opposing theoretical grammar and translation exercises. His work on English grammar remains influential, and he was a radical campaigner for educational reform, including the removal of Latin as a compulsory subject. Jespersen's legacy endures through his contributions to historical phonetics and language pedagogy, and his role in shaping modern linguistics.

Did You Know?

• Jespersen taught himself Icelandic, Italian, and Spanish as a boy using Rasmus Rask's grammars.
• He worked as a stenographer for the Danish parliament from 1880 to 1887.
• He was the third President of the Modern Humanities Research Association, for 1920–21.
• Jespersen succeeded in having Latin removed as a compulsory minor subject at the University of Copenhagen.