Sergey Ozhegov: Google doodle on Russian linguist, lexicographer on his 120th birthday

Happy Birthday Sergey Ozhegov!!!

Google today celebrates the 120^th birthday of Sergey Ozhegov, Russian linguist, lexicographer, professor and author. He was born on this day in 1900 in the western Russian village of Kamennoe.

As a young teenager, Sergey Ozhegov relocated with his family to St. Petersburg, where he went on to pursue his undergraduate education. Following his passion for linguistics, Sergey Ozhegov began to compile a 'Russian Language Explanatory Dictionary' as well as a dictionary dedicated to the language playwright Aleksander Ostrovsky used in his work.

Between 1935 and 1940, Sergey Ozhegov contributed to Dmitry Ushakov's four-volume explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. After graduation, he passed down his expertise as a lettered university professor and spent years honing his early ideas into his magnum opus: the 'Dictionary of the Russian Language'.

Released in 1949, the first edition of Sergey Ozhegov's dictionary contained 50,000 words and quickly made an impact on Russia's logophiles. Soon, readers began to ask for even more Russian words and phrases to be added, and the accommodating Sergey Ozhegov attempted to address each request. He oversaw eight updated editions throughout his career, and modern versions of the influential reference have grown to include some 80,000 words!

Sergey Ozhegov also ran the Russian Language Institute as part of the Russian Academy of Sciences to oversee and advise on the correct spelling, grammar and pronunciation of the Russian language. His work was widely recognized in the Soviet Union and he was accorded burial at the Novodevichy Cemetery.

His dictionary alone didn't define his career; he also founded the Standard of Speech Center to provide language coaching for TV actors, and today the building where he lived carries on his legacy as the Russian Language Institute.

Google today dedicates a mesmerizing doodle to Sergey Ozhegov on his 120^th birthday.

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