Arnold Chikobava (Georgian: არნოლდ ჩიქობავა; March 14 (26), 1898 – November 5, 1985) was a Soviet Georgian linguist and philologist best known for his contributions to Caucasian studies and for being one of the most active critics of Nicholas Marr's controversial monogenetic "Japhetic" theory of language.[1]
Chikobava was born in the small village of Sachikobavo in Samegrelo, western Georgia (then part of Imperial Russia). He graduated from the recently established Tbilisi State University in 1922 and earned a degree there, later serving as a docent (1926–33) and professor (1933-85). For years, he headed the Department of Caucasian Studies at Tbilisi State University (1933–60), and the Department of Ibero-Caucasian languages at the Institute of Linguistics in Tbilisi (1936–85). The institute, briefly directed by Chikobava from 1950 to 1952, now bears his name. In 1941, he became one of the founding members of the Georgian Academy of Sciences and was elected to its Presidium from 1950 to 1963. For his prolific work, he was awarded numerous Soviet and international prizes and titles.[2] He authored a series of Georgian dictionaries and influential works on the structure and history of Caucasian languages.
Most of his fame, however, came through his criticism of Marr's speculative linguistic theory that had been adopted, for a while, as an official ideology by Soviet scholars. While most of Marr's opponents came under heavy pressure from the Soviet authorities, Chikobava benefited from his friendship with the First Secretary of the Georgian Central Committee, Kandid Charkviani, and continued his attacks against Marr's hypotheses. Finally, he sent his report to Joseph Stalin; he met Stalin personally in 1950. Soon, Stalin denounced Marr's theory in his famous Pravda article on linguistics (one ghostwriter was, most probably, Chikobava himself).[3][4]
Chikobava died in Tbilisi at the age of 87. He was buried on the grounds of Tbilisi State University.
^Tuite, K. (2008). "The Rise and Fall and Revival of the Ibero-Caucasian Hypothesis" (PDF). Historiographia Linguistica. 35 (1): 23–82. doi:10.1075/hl.35.1-2.05tui.
^Mikaberidze, Alexander (ed., 2007), Chikobava, Arnold. Dictionary of Georgian National Biography. Accessed on July 3, 2007.
^Dahrendorf, Ellen (2005), The Unknown Stalin, p. 205. I.B.Tauris, ISBN 1-85043-980-X.
^Smith, Graham (1998), Nation-building in the Post-Soviet Borderlands: The Politics of National Identities, p. 178. Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-59968-7.
ArnoldChikobava (Georgian: არნოლდ ჩიქობავა; March 14 (26), 1898 – November 5, 1985) was a Soviet Georgian linguist and philologist best known for his...
"bourgeois science", but also had numerous detractors, most notably ArnoldChikobava. The theory finally fell into disrepute and was largely discarded after...
the ethnonym to either Gargareans or to Gelae (Ivane Javakhishvili, ArnoldChikobava). Versions connecting ghalghai to the legendary figure Gha/Galga or...
between 1950 and 1964, by a team of linguists under the direction of ArnoldChikobava. Georgian has a word derivation system, which allows the derivation...
Georgian and Caucasian Linguistics (Akaki Shanidze, Giorgi Akhvlediani, ArnoldChikobava and others), Oriental and Classical Philology (Grigol Tsereteli, Simon...
public figures including Simon Janashia, Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, ArnoldChikobava, were taught in this school. One of the important landmarks of the...
volumes and contains nearly 115,000 words. The editor in chief was ArnoldChikobava. It was produced from 1950 until 1964, and about 150 scientists worked...
Dictionary, consisting of 129755 records, is the joint project of ArnoldChikobava Institute of Linguistics and Language Modeling Association. The project...
the Laz by Silvia Kutscher. Kartvelian Languages Department of the ArnoldChikobava Institute of Linguistics, Georgian Academy of Sciences Arthur Holmer...
went on to study linguistics as an aspirant (graduate student) under ArnoldChikobava at Tbilisi State University, defending her candidate's thesis in 1949...
followers was Valerian Borisovich Aptekar, and one of his opponents was ArnoldChikobava. In 1950 Marr's theories were criticized in a discussion in Pravda...
Henry Hathaway, American film director, producer (d. 1985) March 14 – ArnoldChikobava, Georgian linguist (d. 1985) March 15 – Gardner Dow, American college...
president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1895) ArnoldChikobava, Georgian linguist (b. 1898) November 6 – Sanjeev Kumar, Indian actor...
Commissar for Nationalities, read a letter by ArnoldChikobava criticizing the theory. He "summoned Chikobava to a dinner that lasted from 9 p.m. to 7 a...
scientists and public figures as George Akhvlediani, E. Metreveli, ArnoldChikobava, T. Uturgaidze, G. Zhordania, Zurab Sarjveladze, S. Gachechiladze,...
in Greek mythological narratives about Colchis; others, among them ArnoldChikobava, see it as derived from the name still given to Mingrelian people in...
linguists. Among linguists who resisted Marrism were Boris Serebrennikov, ArnoldChikobava, Rachia Acharyan, and Grikor Kapantsyan. In 1950 he was denounced by...
that held that the languages were Indo-European (one member being ArnoldChikobava). That grew into an ideological issue, with support for Japhetism being...
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