Vilém Mathesius

Vilém Mathesius (3 August 1882, Pardubice – 12 April 1945, Prague) was a Czech linguist and literary historian, a scholar of English and Czech literature. His cousin was Bohumil Mathesius.

In 1912 he became the first professor of English language and literature at the Charles University. In 1926 he co-founded the Prague Linguistic Circle (Pražský lingvistický kroužek). He engaged in grammar, phonology and stylistics of English and Czech languages. He was further interested in general linguistics, language culture and general cultural issues. His works about word order and syntax can be labeled as pioneer projects.

Main works

• Dějiny literatury anglické I–II (The History of English Literature I–II)
• Čeština a obecný jazykozpyt (Czech Language and General Linguistics)
• Obsahový rozbor současné angličtiny (Content Analysis of Contemporary English)
• výbor Jazyk, kultura a slovesnost (anthology Language, Culture and Poetic Art)
• Nebojte se angličtiny

Vilém Mathesius is also an author of essays on cultural-political issues.

He is memorialized by the Vilém Mathesius Centre for Research and Education in Semiotics and Linguistics at the Charles University.