Viktor Porkhomovsky

Chief Researcher, Department of African Languages

PhD, Dr.habil., Prof.

Fellow of the Institute since 1971.

PhD thesis: "Historical consonantism of Kotoko languages". Moscow: Institute of Linguistics of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1973.

Dr. habil. thesis: "Principles of comparative-historical analysis of non-written languages and languages with recent written traditions (based on data from Chadic and Afrasian languages)". Moscow: Institute of Linguistics RAS, 1993.

In 1968, he graduated from the Institute of Oriental languages at Moscow State University (now the Institute of Asian and African Studies at Moscow State University). 1968-71 – postgraduate studies at the Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences.

1971 - till the present time ‑ research fellow at the Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences.

Viktor Porkhomovsky is a co-chairman of the RAS Working Group on the History of Standard Languages and a member of the Scientific Council on African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

He is a member of the editorial boards of the journals " Vostok [East] – Oriens", "Afrika und Übersee", "Linguistique arabe et sémitique", " De KEMI à BIRIT NARI. Revue Internationale de l’Orient Ancien", "Language in Africa".

He is a member of three specialized Dr.habil. thesis committees at the Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences (two committees) and the Institute of Asian and African Countries at Moscow State University.

He is a permanent co-chairman of the linguistic sections of the international conferences on African studies held every three years.

Research interests

comparative-historical linguistics, Afrasian (Semito-Hamitic), Semitic and Chadic comparative studies, genetic classification of languages, sociolinguistics, ethnolinguistics, Socotri language, Hausa language, standard languages and languages with recent written traditions, theory of translation, intercultural communication

Research areas

theory and history of comparative-historical linguistics; problems of genetic classification of Afrasian (Semito-Hamitic) and Semitic languages; reconstruction of the Afrasian verbal system; reconstruction of phonetics and vocabulary of Chadic, Semitic, and Afrasian languages; Afrasian etymological studies; language and culture of the island of Socotra, including field research on Socotra; sociolinguistic typology; language situation and language policy in African countries; typological studies of the Chadic languages; language norm and non-written languages; literary norm in the Hausa language; historical and typological analysis of Afrasian kinship terms and systems; development of the database and the program for automatic analysis of kinship terms and systems; strategies in translating Old Testament texts into African and European languages; interethnic contacts and conflicts in the Eastern countries; co-authorship in the development of article templates for the multi-volume encyclopaedic series "Languages of the World".

Viktor Porkhomovsky's scientific research is a significant contribution to Oriental linguistics. Suffice it to note his long-term participation in the collective work "Comparative-historical dictionary of Afrasian languages". He proposed a model of the evolution of the Afrasian verbal system, which allows for the first time to solve the problem of Semitic aspect system reconstruction at the proto-language level. In collaboration with Viktor Vinogradov and Antonina Koval, he developed a new model of sociolinguistic typology in situations of considerable ethnolinguistic diversity. His joint research with Vitaly Naumkin on the Socotri language and oral epic traditions of the island Socotra formed a new stage in Semitic studies. He is a leading person in the field of the history and theory of language standardization in the RAS Working Group on the History of standard languages. He has been co-chairing the group since 1989, recently with Irina Chelysheva. Together with Vladimir Sheshin, he developed the database and the program for automatic analysis of kinship terms and systems. In a long-term joint research on Bible translations with the French Prof. Philippe Cassuto, Viktor Porkhomovsky developed a typology of strategies of the Old Testament translations into different languages. The versatile scientific activity of Viktor Porkhomovsky receives recognition in our country and abroad that is confirmed by numerous invitations to give lectures and present reports at the world's leading scientific centers and universities.

Science Index

Selected publications

(full list of publications is available on the Russian-language version of the page)

Viktor Porkhomovsky. 2018. Očerki po istoričeskoj i antropologičeskoj lingvistike [Essays on Historical and Anthropological Linguistics]. JaSK. Jazyki slavjanskoj kul’tury. Moscow, Vol. 1, 389 p, Vol. 2, 391 p.
Viktor Porkhomovsky. 1972. Istoričeskij konsonantizm jazykov kotoko. IJaz AN SSSR. Moscow. 88 p.
Vitaly Naumkin & Viktor Porkhomovsky. Očerki po ètnolingvistike Sokotry. Moscow: Nauka. Glavnaja redakcija vostočnoj literatury. 1981. 127 p.
Antonina Koval, Viktor Porkhomovsky, Viktor Vinigradov,. Sociolingvističeskaja tipologija. Zapadnaja Afrika [“Sociolinguistic typology. West Africa "]. Moscow: Nauka. 1984. 128 p. “Sociolingvističeskaja tipologija”. Moscow 2008. Izdaniye. ispravlennoe i dopolnennoe. Izdatel’stvo URSS, Knižnyj dom “Librokom”136 p.; 3 ed . 2009; 4 ed. 2014.
Victor Porkhomovsky. Afro-Asiatic overview, pp. 269-275. Ethio-Semitic, pp. 359-363 // “The Oxford Handbook of African Languages”. 1,104 pp. Ed. by Rainer Vossen and Gerrit J. Dimmendaal. Oxford Handbooks. Oxford University Press. 2020, New York.
Victor Porkhomovsky. " L’oral et l’écrit dans la perspective synchronique et diachronique " // Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. Comptes rendus des séances de l’année 2016 ; juillet - octobre. Pp.1229-1256. Paris. Diffusion de Boccard.Arts & Humanities Citation Index, Web of Science Core Collection. WOS Core.
Victor Porkhomovsky. Sociolinguistics and typology in African studies. // International seminar concerning current problems of linguistic research in African and Carribean countries. UNESCO, Paris, 1985. 18 pp.
Viktor Porkhomovsky & Uliya Suetina . Leksiko-semantičeskoe pole very v jazyke xausa // Logičeskij analiz jazyka. Ponjatie very v raznyx jazykax i kul’turax [The lexico-semantic field of faith in the Hausa language. // Logical analysis of the language. The concept of faith in different languages and cultures]. Moscow: Gnozis. 2019.
Philippe Cassuto & Viktor Porkhomovsky. Les stratégies de traduction de l’Ancien Testament dans les trois versions haoussa de la Bible : un problème d’interprétation ? // Topics in Chadic linguistics X. pp. 113-142. Papers from the 9th Biennial International Colloquium on the Chadic Languages. Villejuif, September 7-8, 2017/
Victor Porkhomovsky. Typology and reconstruction: A four-stage evolution model of the Semitic verbal system. P. 204-216 // Case and Mood Endings in Semitic Languages – Myth or Reality? Edited by Lutz Edzard, Manuel Sartori, Philippe Cassuto. 2018. Harrassowitz Verlag. Wiesbaden.
Philippe Cassuto & Viktor Porkhomovsky. [The interpretation of the Old Testament text through the prism of translation (according to the three versions of the Hausa Bible)]. // XIV konferencija afrikanistov 17–20 oktjabrja 2017. Sekcija jazykoznanija "Jazyki Afriki: tradicii i perspektivy". Moscow, Oktober 17 – 20 2017 Tezisy». P. 72-73. Moscow. Institut Afriki RAN. 2017
Viktor Porkhomovsky. “Čadskie i berberskie terminy rodstva v tipologičeskoj perspektive». // XXIX Meždunarodnyj Kongress po istočnikovedeniju i istoriografii stran Azii i Afriki «AZIJa I AFRIKA: NASLEDIE I SOVREMENNOST’ ”[ Chadic and Berber Kinship Terms in a Typological Perspective ”. // XXIX International Congress on Source Study and Historiography of Asian and African Countries "ASIA AND AFRICA: HERITAGE AND MODERNITY"]. June 21-23 2017. Materialy kongressa. Vol. 2. St.Peterburg: Izd-vo Studija “NP – Print”. 2017. P. 321-323
Victor Porkhomovsky. The Hausa Subjunctive in the Hamito-Semitic Context. // "Faits de langues. Revue de linguistique", № 47, 2016. Pp. 99-108. http://fdl.univ-lemans.fr/ . Referenced: ERIH
Philippe Cassuto & Viktor Porkhomovsky. Poèzija i filosofija v Biblii: Kniga Iova, glava "’otyot teluyot" [Poetry and Philosophy in the Bible: Book of Job, Chapter "’otyot teluyot"]. // Poètičeskij i filosofskij diskursy: istorija vzaimodejstvija i sovremennoe sostojanie. Ed. by Nataliya Azarova, Svetlana Bochaver. Мoscow: Kyl'turnaja revolucija. 2016. P. 7 – 25.
Viktor Porkhomovsky. “Hausa Subjunctive in Hamito-Semitic Context”. // 7th Biennale International Colloquium on the Chadic Languages. Hamburg University. 12-14 September 2013. Abstracts. Hamburg. 2013.
Dymitr Ibriszimow & Viktor Porkhomovsky. On cultural and language contacts in Mega-Chad area: kinship terms and systems. // XVe colloque du réseau Mega Tchad. “Echanges et communication dans le basin du lac Tchad”. 13-15 settembre 2012, Università degli studi di Napoli “L’Orientale”, Italia. Résumés des communications. P. 12.
Philippe Cassuto & Victor Porkhomovsky. " La Bible en route vers le Méga-Tchad, entre emprunts linguistiques et échanges entre langues " // XVe colloque du réseau Mega Tchad «Communication et échanges dans le bassin du lac Tchad » 13-15 settembre 2012, Università degli studi di Napoli « L’Orientale ».Napoli, 2012. Résumés des communications. Napoli, 2012. Pp.15-16.
Tatiana Kryuchkova & Victor. Porkhomovsky. Book review: “Encyclopaedia Aethiopica. Vol. 3. He-N”. // „Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft“. Band 161, Heft 2, 2011, pp. 473-474.
Philippe Cassuto & Victor Porkhomovsky. Anthropomorphic lexicon in the Hausa version of the Bible // “3rd International Conference on Hausa Studies – African and European Perspectives. Abstracts”. July 4-7, 2010, Napoli, Italy, pp. 6.
Viktor Porkhomovsky. “Hausa Subjunctive in Hamito-Semitic Context”. // 7th Biennale International Colloquium on the Chadic Languages. Hamburg University. 12-14 September 2013. Abstracts. Hamburg. 2013.
Dymitr Ibriszimow & Victor Porkhomovsky. On cultural and language contacts in Mega-Chad area: kinship terms and systems. // XVe colloque du réseau Mega Tchad. “Echanges et communication dans le basin du lac Tchad”. 13-15 settembre 2012, Università degli studi di Napoli “L’Orientale”, Italia. Résumés des communications. P. 12
Philippe Cassuto, Abdelaziz Idrissi, Victor Porkhomovsky. “Hausa version of the Bible: between Hebrew and Arabic” // WOCAL 6 – Cologne. The World Congress of African Linguistics. Institut für Afrikanistik – University of Cologne, 2009, pp. 74-75.
Victor Porkhomovsky. “Kinship terms in Chadic and Hamito-Semitic from a diachronic perspective”. // Fifth Biennial International Colloquium on the Chadic Languages. Universität Leipzig, 2009, p. 13.
Dymitr Ibriszimow, Victor Porkhomovsky, Valery Sheshin). AAKTS database and KinShIP computer programme for processing Afroasiatic kinship terms and systems. // “Topics in Chadic linguistics V. Comparative and descriptive studies”.. Rudiger Köppe Verlag. Köln. 2009, pp. 87-93.
Philippe Cassuto & Victor Porkhomovsky. Les dieux, le dieu et Dieu dans les versions massorétique et haoussa de la Bible . // « Studi Magrebini », Nuova Serie, vol. VII, Pp. 135-143. Napoli 2009. VIII Afro-Asiatic Congress. Ed. Sergio Baldi. ISSN 0585-4954.
Victor Porkhomovsky. Review article „Wolf Leslau. The verb in Mäsqan as compared with other Gurage dialects. Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz Verlag, 2004.“ // Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft. Band 159, Heft 1, 2009, S. 146-147.
Victor Porkhomovsky. Hamito-Semitic Aspect System: The Case of Semitic and Berber. // Ibriszimow, Dymitr, (ed.). Problems of Linguistic-Historical Reconstruction in Africa. “Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika”, Band 19, Dietrich Reimer Verlag. Berlin, 2008, pp. 155-173
Victor Porkhomovsky. La structure de la racine et la formation des mots dans la tradition sémitologique russe. // La formation des mots dans les langues sémitiques. Publications de l’Université de Provence. Aix-en- Provence, 2007. Pp. 45-52.
Victor Porkhomovsky. Études chamito-sémitiques comparées // École Pratique des Hautes Études. Section des sciences historiques et philologiques. « Livret-Annuaire. 17. 2001-2002. » Paris à la Sorbonne. 2003. Pp. 10-11.
Dymitr Ibriszimow & Victor Porkhomovsky. Etudes ethnolinguistiques en chamito-sémitique: termes et systèmes de parenté. // Les langues chamito-sémitiques (afro-asiatiques). Vol. 1. «Faits de langues », 26, Éditions OPHRYS, 2005. Pp. 269-291.
Victor. Porkhomovsky. Ethnicity and language as political factors // The Iranian journal of international affairs. Vol. IV, No 2, Summer 1992. Pp. 322-328.
Victor. Porkhomovsky. Ethnicity and language as political factors // Conference on the |transformation of the former USSR and its implications for the third world. Abstracts. March 2-4, 1992. Tehran-I.R. Iran. The Institute for Political and International Studies. Tehran, 1992.
Viktor Porkhomovsky (ed.) “Afrikanskoe istoričeskoe jazykoznanie” [ African Historical Linguistics]. Moscow: “Nauka”, Glavnaja redakcija vostočnoj literatury.1987. 568 p.
Victor Porkhomovsky. Sociolinguistics and typology in African studies. // International seminar concerning current problems of linguistic research in African and Carribean countries. UNESCO, Paris, 1985. 18 pp.
Viktor Porkhomovsky. 1982. Problemy genetičeskoj klassifikacii jazykov Afriki. // Teoretičeskie osnovy klassifikacii jazykov mira. Problemy rodstva [Problems of the genetic classification of African languages. // Theoretical basis of the classification of the languages of the world. Problems of kinship]. Moscow: “Nauka”. Pp. 195-257.

Participant in collective research projects

All publications of the collective projects, including series of collective monographs and materials of discussions and round-tables are available on the Russian-language version of the page.

For lecture courses and teaching activity as well as the list of papers presented at international conferences and congresses cf. the Russian-language version of the page.

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