Pisani, Vittore

Born Feb. 23, 1899, in Rome. Italian linguist specializing in Indo-European and general linguistics.

Pisani graduated from the University of Rome in 1922. He was a privatdocent at the University of Florence from 1933 to 1935, a professor at the University of Cagliari from 1935 to 1938, and a professor at University of Milan from 1938 to 1969. His chief works are devoted to the comparative and historical grammar of the Indo-European languages and to Indo-European etymology. Pisani sought to clarify the relationships between Indo-European language groups and between the various groups and their common source by using Italian neolinguistic concepts. He studied all ancient Indo-European languages, especially the Italic, and published works on Indology, Sanskrit, and the history of Latin. He also studied ancient and medieval Indian literature and did work in mythology, mainly Balto-Slavic.