Vol.2, No 6, 1999 pp. 61 - 64
In memoriam
ACADEMICIAN PAVLE IVIĆ
(December 1, 1924 - September 19, 1999)
Academician Pavle Ivić, the distinguished expert in Serbian and world linguistics, passed away on September 19, 1999 in Belgrade, where he was born on December 1, 1924. He received his elementary and secondary education in Subotica and Belgrade, in which he completed the Gymnasium in 1943. In 1945, he enrolled in the Department of Serbian Language and Yugoslav Literature at the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade. Upon having graduated in 1949, and up to 1953, he worked as a research fellow at the Institute of Serbian Language. He was awarded a doctorate (by defending his dissertation "Govor Galipoljskih Srba" ) in Belgrade in 1954. His teaching career started within the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad (as an assistant professor from 1954, then, from 1959 as an associate, and from 1964 a full professor). It ended in Belgrade, with the Faculty of Philology, where he was teaching in the period from 1972 to 1975, when he retired due to his poor health. Professor Ivić was elected a corresponding member of the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts in 1972, and he became its regular member in 1978. He was also a member of seven foreign academies of science (Russian, American, Austrian, Polish, Macedonian, Slovenian, and Norwegian). He was an honorary member of the American Linguistic Society and a doctor honoris causa of the Columbus State University (Ohio, USA), as well as a member of the International Standing Committee of Linguists and the Linguistic Society in Paris. In the academic 1985-1986 year he was the chairman, and in 1986-1987 the vice-chairman of the European Linguistic Society. Professor Ivić was elected vice-president of the European Association of Dialectologists. An Order with the Golden Wreath, a July 7th Prize and a Special "Vuk Karadžić" Award for the Life Accomplishment are only a part of numerous acknowledgements that he received. Academician Pavle Ivić was fluent in French, German, English, Russian, Dutch and Hungarian, and he could also communicate in all the other Slavic and most of the European languages. During his remarkably rich scholarly career, he had been lecturing at over 60 universities in America, Europe, Asia and Australia. 
His scientific opus contains more than 600 treatises published in over 20 countries in all the major world languages. Fundamental linguistic projects in the country and abroad are associated with his name, as well as the membership and editorship in leading domestic and foreign journals. He was noticeably successful in editing Srpski dijalektološki zbornik, Zbornik Matice srpske za filologiju i lingvistiku, Onomatološki prilozi , and Prilozi proučavanju jezika. He was a member of the Editorial Boards of the Magazine ??????? ??????????? (Moscow), Srpski književni glasnik, Južnoslovenski filolog, etc. and the editor-in-chief of significant editions, such as "Sabrana dela Vuka Karadžića" , "Studije o Srbima"  and "Izabrana dela Aleksandra Belića" .
For many years he had been conducting capital linguistic projects and heading several councils of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (the Inter-Academic Board for Dialect Atlases, the Council of Onomastics, the Board for the Etimološki rečnik srpskog jezika ). He was the vice-president of the Board for the Research of Kosovo and Metohija and a member of some more Academy councils (the Council for the Rečnik srpskohrvatskog književnog i narodnog jezika SANU ; the Council for the History of Serbs in Croatia; the Chilandari Council; the Old-Slavic Board). Academician Ivić had also been a member of some inter-academic boards that were terminated in 1991 (for phonetics and phonology; for lexicography; for orthographic and orthoepic research). Academician Ivić was the president of the "Srpski sabor" from its foundation in 1991, as well as of the pan-academic and omni-university Council for the Serbian Language Standardization, founded on December 12th 1997. The great scientist particularly participated in the largest international linguistic projects. He was the member of the Editorial Board and the Directorium of the European Linguistic Atlas (ALE), one of the vice-presidents of the Balto-Slavic Department of ALE, as well as the member of the Editorial Board and the International Commission of the General Slavic Linguistic Atlas (OLA).
The most important works of Ivić are the following: Dijalektologija srpskohrvatskog jezika  (1956), O govoru Galipoljskih Srba  (1957), Die serbokroatischen Dialekte (1958), Accent in Serbocroatian (with I. Lehiste, 1963), O Vukovom Rječniku iz 1818. godine  (1966), Srpski narod i njegov jezik  (1971), Dečanske hrisovulje  (with M. Grković, 1976), Fonološki opisi srpskohrvatskih/hrvatskosrpskih, slovenačkih i makedonskih govora obuhvaćenih OLA  (co-author and editor, 1981), Pravopis srpskohrvatskih ćirilskih povelja i pisama XII i XIII veka  (with V. Jerković, 1981), Paleografski opis i pravopis Dečanskih hrisovulja  (with V. Jerković, 1982), Word and Sentence Prosody in Serbocroatian (with I. Lehiste, 1986), O jeziku nekadašnjem i sadašnjem  (1990), Izabrani ogledi I-III  (1991), Jezički priručnik  (with I. Klajn, M. Pešikan and B. Brborić, 1991), Banatski govori šumadijsko-vojvodjanskog dijalekta I-II  (with. Ž. Bošnjaković and G. Dragin, 1994, 1997), Prozodija reči i rečenice u srpskohrvatskom jeziku  (with I. Lehiste, 1996), Pregled istorije srpskog jezika  (1998), Rasprave, studije, članci, 1. O fonologiji  (1998), Roman Jakobson and the Growth of Phonology (1965).
As a confirmed enthusiast of youthfully animated curiosity, associated with unusual memory and unique erudition, Professor Ivić showed success in several scientific fields: comparative Slavic studies, linguistic geography, linguistic typology, Serb(ocroat), South-Slavic and general Slavic dialectology, phonology and phonetics, historical linguistics, onomastics, lexicography, standardization, language planning and linguistic policy, etc. Having been of dignified attitude and well-measured words, he acquired enormous reputation in the country and abroad by his crystal-clear thoughts and conclusions that he recorded so precisely. He has practically been the first to introduce the structural method in our linguistic research, and he did it scrupulously, never letting any current fashion to impress him. Having had such an attitude towards the latest trends in science, as well as having respected the positive heritage of the traditional linguistics, in his interpretation of linguistic facts Ivić found out the solutions that significantly enriched the doctrine of global linguistics. Therefore, for example, the phonology is richer for the worldwide-accepted Ivić's law on the behavior of distinctive characteristics in closed phonological systems. His contemplation on the typology problems of dialectal differentiation brought about a serious broadening of the perspectives of world linguistics. No other scientists, either his predecessors or contemporaries, could penetrate so deeply into the very essence of the Serbian language. He greatly surpasses others by his profound comprehension of problems, by the firm foundations of theoretical starting points and rigorism of his scientific analysis and by the universality and finality of his conclusions. Ivić's abundant work is characterized by a combination of unsurpassed erudition, the abilities of refined analysis, lucid perception and exceptional intuition. Perfect mastery of the subject material and clarity of ideas back up Ivić's superior narration, unique ease of expression and his recognizable style of light elegance.
The basic activities of academician P. Ivić, the central figure in the Serbian linguistics of the second half of this century, are reflected in the dialectology and the history of language. He is the most comprehensive, most prolific, most modern, most creative and innovative researcher and interpreter of Serbian dialects. The first systematical review of Serbian vernaculars was produced by him. His deep and successful penetration into the most secluded spots of both historical and modern dialectology has remained unparalleled so far. Professor Ivić knew how to use even meager data to resolve intricate perplexities tied to the origins of the contemporary Serbian dialectal mosaic and to reconstruct the former, pre-migration, picture of numerous vast areas. He had acted in the manner of an experienced erudite way back in the early period of his brilliant scientific career. Even some of his student papers have endured the semicentennial check of the scientific criticism. It appeared, for example, that the fundaments of the modern Serbian dialectology had been laid in his seminar paper. Moreover, the high position that academician Ivić occupies among European dialectologists is confirmed by the fact that he was entrusted to prepare the entry dialect for the fifteenth edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica.
It is ultimately the merit of Professor P. Ivić that now we have a totally clear vision of the Serbian phonological system development from the Proto-Slavic epoch to the present times. He was the first to enlighten thoroughly the problem of Serbo-Croat linguistic relations existing in the period from the middle of the previous century to the latest breakup. He demonstrated how the Croats, having adopted the completed Vuk Karadžić's model of the standard language, had got relieved of their horizontal bilingualism that had been lasting for several centuries, and how they had overcome regional differentiation in the language and literature. Ivić showed in details the chronology of the Croat national conscience expansion amongst the Catholics who did not speak Slovenian. In the field of the Serbian standard language history, he was the first to point out the fact that Vuk had reformed the language of Dositej and not the Church-Slavic-Serbian literary language. To put it in brief, in all the fields of his interest, academician Pavle Ivić placed the traits unreachable at least for this generation.
By the death of Professor Ivić, the Serbian nation lost one of its greatest minds. The great scientist joined the pleiad of Serbian excellers, the most prominent descendants of the nation. Pavle Ivić would always, in any world whatsoever, be shoulder to shoulder with Djura Daničić, Jovan Cvijić, Ljuba Stojanović and Aleksandar Belić. In the sphere of linguistics, our times shall long be remembered after him. The Serbian linguistics is greatly impoverished by his departure, yet, however, a monumental work remains after him to teach and instruct the generations to come.

Slobodan Remetić