The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Rask, Rasmus Christian
(räs´ms krs´tyän räsk) (KEY) , 17871832, Danish philologist. Rask was a major linguistic pioneer. He published one of the first usable Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic grammars (translated into English). Rask also produced much valuable work on the relationship of the Indo-European languages.