Paavo Ravila

He received his master's degree in philosophy 1924 and continued his education in Finno-Ugric languages at the University of Helsinki under professors Yrjö Wichmann, Frans Äimä and J. J.

He spent the rest of his career at the University of Helsinki, first as professor of Finno-Ugric linguistics from 1949 to 1956, then as rector from 1953 to 1956 and finally as chancellor from 1963 to 1968.

[3] Ravila's interests included the languages of the Mordvins and the Sami people; his doctoral dissertation, Das Quantitätssystem des seelappischen Dialektes von Mattivuono (1932), was based on material he collected on expeditions in the 1930s.

[2] He was among the few scholars in Finland between 1940 and 1965 who were interested in the international development of theoretical linguistics, and he presented the new ideas, such as the proto-language concept and transformational syntax, to Finnish audience.

In 1958, in a speech to the Finno-Ugrian Society, he suggested establishing a professorship in general linguistics at the University of Helsinki, which became a reality in 1966.