Jonas Juška (; 1815–1886) was a Lithuanian teacher and linguist. He studied the Lithuanian language and worked on publishing works by his brother the Catholic priest Antanas Juška.
Educated at Kražiai College and Kharkiv University, Juška as a Roman Catholic could not obtain a job in Lithuania and had to live in and work as a school teacher in various Russian cities (Mogilev, Novgorod, Saint Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Kazan). In 1852, Juška established contacts with professor Izmail Sreznevsky who introduced him to the Russian Academy of Sciences and encouraged Juška to study Lithuanian language. He produced several studies, including the first more detailed study of Lithuanian dialects in 1861. When his Lithuanian textbook was met with criticism in 1863, Juška stopped writing studies but continued to closely cooperate with his brother Antanas who was also interested in Lithuanian language and culture and spent his life collecting Lithuanian vocabulary, proverbs, and folk songs from the people. In 1867, Juška prepared the first booklet with 33 Lithuanian songs for publication. Due to the Lithuanian press ban, the Lithuanian words had to be transcribed in the Cyrillic script. In 1875, Juška moved to Kazan and became acquainted with professor Jan Baudouin de Courtenay. With his help, Juškas brothers managed to get a permit to print Lithuanian texts in the Latin alphabet at the University of Kazan and began preparing Antanas' works for publication in earnest. They also managed to get a special exemption from Tsar Alexander II of Russia to publish a wedding song collection at the Russian Academy of Sciences. Antanas died in 1880, and Jonas published four volumes of Lithuanian folk songs and a small part of the Lithuanian–Polish dictionary before his own death in 1886.
Biography
Early life and research
Juška was born in the village of near Žarėnai. His parents were landless Samogitian nobles – the family had to rent farms from others and frequently moved from one location to another. Juška had six brothers (two of them half-brothers) and helped them attain education – three became Catholic priests and the other three became doctors. He attended a Bernadine school in Dotnuva and was admitted to Kražiai College where he earned a living working as a superintendent in a students' dormitory. Jonas educated his younger brother Antanas and he was admitted to the third grade at Kražiai College. Jonas graduated with a gold medal in 1839. He sold the medal to support Antanas education. He could obtain a stipend to study at the University of Kazan but decided to wait a year hoping he could attend the University of Saint Petersburg. When those plans did not pan out, he enrolled into the History and Philology Faculty of Kharkiv University. Juška graduated in 1844. Though the university did not have a strong linguistic program, Juška became the first Lithuanian to receive specialized philological education in the Russian Empire.
As a Lithuanian he could not obtain a job in Lithuania due to Russification policies and for about four decades taught at various Russian educational institutions. He was first assigned to a gymnasium in Mogilev where he taught history and then to Novgorod (1851–1858) where he taught geography. In 1852, Juška established contacts with professor Izmail Sreznevsky and with his support and encouragement started more serious studies of the Lithuanian language. In 1858, he got an inspector position at a Cadet Corps school in Novgorod. However, the school closed in 1859 but he managed to transfer to a military school in Saint Petersburg. The pay at the military schools was better which was very important to Juška as he sponsored education of his two younger brothers. It also allowed him to establish closer contacts with various Russian linguists. Though brief, the Saint Petersburg period was the most productive period of Juška's research. To collect material for his studies, he traveled across Lithuania in 1858 and 1861 and collected at least a handful of songs. In 1862, Juška was reassigned to Kazan and participated in a four-member commission working on reforms of military schools. While working in various schools, Juška published several articles in the Russian press on the issues of education, including three articles in Russky Invalid in 1859–1860.
