The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Aasen, Ivar Andreas

AASEN, Ivar Andreas, â′sen, ē′var än′drā-as, Norwegian philologist and poet: b. Orsten, 1 Aug. 1813; d. 1896. At first a botanist, he turned philologist and student of native dialects from motives of patriotic enthusiasm: his great aim was to construct from their older elements a new national language (“Landsmaal”), as a substitute for Danish, in pursuance of which end he published several valuable philological works and set going the nationalistic movement called “maalstrœv.” As a poet he produced ‘Symra,’ a collection of lyrics, and ‘Ervingen,’ a drama.