Schuchardt grew up in Gotha. From 1859–1864, he studied in Jena and Bonn with many important linguists of the time, notably August Schleicher and Kuno Fischer in Jena, as well as Friedrich Ritschl and Otto Jahn in Bonn. In 1864, Schuchardt earned a doctorate with a dissertation entitled De sermonis Romani plebei vocalibus ('On the vowels of Vulgar Latin'). Based upon a perusal of "an incredible amount of texts never really considered before him",[1] it was subsequently published 1866-1868 in a three-volume German language edition as Der Vokalismus des Vulgärlateins (The Vowels of Vulgar Latin).
In 1876, Schuchardt became chair for Romance Philology at the University of Graz, with the help of Johannes Schmidt. He did field work in Wales (1875) and Spain (1879) where he collected material for his Celtic and Basque/Romance research. Schuchardt became interested in two new fields, creole and Basque linguistics, thereby becoming a respected forefather of both linguistic subdisciplines. He is also the first linguist to have promulgated seriously the idea that creole languages are in no way inferior to other languages.[citation needed] With his 1888 publication "Auf Anlass des Volapüks" he promoted the creation of a new auxiliary world language for all nations. In the same period (1885), he published an influential critique of the methods of the neogrammarians with the title "Über die Lautgesetze. Gegen die Junggrammatiker".
Schuchardt may be most eminent as a vascologist. In 1887, L.L. Bonaparte arranged Schuchardt's journey to the village of Sara (Labourd, Basses Pyrénées), where he did field work and seems to have learned Basque . Following this journey, he published numerous (>100!) works on Basque and Romano-Basque, but he never returned to the Basque Country. In various publications, Schuchardt discussed possible relationships of Basque with other language families—today Basque is known as a language isolate. Schuchardt firmly sided with the outdated viewpoint of the Vasco-Iberian hypothesis, in stark contrast to his earlier open-mindedness.
Similarly, in the discussion on ergativity, then-current, Schuchardt firmly defended the idea of the ergative construction as an obligatorily-passive clause (as opposed to a similarly questionable theory of the ergative construction being a nominalized clause). He thus specifically opposed Nikolaus Finck in Vienna with whom he had a scientific dispute in a succession of articles (e.g, N. Finck (1907), "Der angeblich passivische Charakter des transitiven Verbs", Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung41:209-282).
Late period
Although Schuchardt was invited to professorships in Budapest and Leipzig (around 1890), he refused to leave Graz. In 1900, however, Schuchardt retired early from his chair. Being then free from his teaching duties, he undertook extended trips to Southern Italy, Egypt, and Scandinavia. He built a villa in Graz (Johann Fux Gasse nr. 30) for himself and his extensive library, and named it 'Villa Malvine', after his beloved mother (Malvine von Bridel-Brideri).
The last two decades of his life, he worked predominantly on Basque. Disappointed by the "unjust peace" following World War I, Italian irredentism and French nationalism ('chauvinism'), he was no longer interested in Romance research, partly even giving up contacts with colleagues from these countries. In an article (Bekenntnisse und Erkenntnisse 1919), he gives some oral history insights into his youth and historic events of that time as well as his viewpoint of the outcome of World War I.
Schuchardt today
Hugo Schuchardt is one of the most eminent linguists of the Germanic tradition within Romance Philology. Today, of course, his contribution is mainly of historiographic interest. For the Basque community, he is one of the most eminent foreign scholars, beside Wilhelm von Humboldt and only few others.
His library became part of the university library of Graz; his 'Villa Malvine' hosted the Romance philology department for a long time, but is today an administrative building of the university. Researchers in Graz have constantly worked on Schuchardt ever since, among them Michaela Wolf and the linguist Bernhard Hurch (himself being a bascologist with a strong interest in historiography of linguistics) who compiled an online archive of the entire work of Schuchardt (see external links).
His most lasting contributions to modern linguistics, though, are the elaboration, with Johannes Schmidt, of the Wave Model of language change and his substantial work laying the foundations of modern creolistics.
References
Bossong,Georg. 1984: "Wilhelm von Humboldt y Hugo Schuchardt: dos eminentes vascólogos alemanes." in: Arbor 467/468: 163-182
Meijer, Guus & Pieter Muysken. 1977: "On the beginnings of pidgin and creole studies: Schuchardt and Hesseling." In: Albert Valdman (ed.) Pidgin and creole linguistics, 21-45. Bloomington: Indiana University Press
Schuchardt, Hugo. 1928: Hugo Schuchardt-Brevier: Ein Vademecum der allgemeinen Sprachwissenschaft. Ed. by Leo Spitzer, rev. 2nd ed. (1st ed., 1922). Halle/Saale: Niemeyer
Schuchardt, Hugo. 1979: The ethnography of variation: Selected writings on pidgins and creoles. Edited and translated by T.L. Markey; Introduction by Derek Bickerton. Ann Arbor: Karoma
Vennemann, Theo & Terence H. Wilbur. 1972: "Schuchardt, the neogrammarians, and the transformational theory of phonological change." Four essays by H. Schuchardt. Ed. by Th. Vennemann & T.H. Wilbur. Frankfurt/M. (= Ling. Forsch. 26)
Notes
^"--[being] a work upon which our knowledge of the phonetic changes in Late Latin is still ultimately established." Cit. József Herman: "Spoken and written Latin in the last centuries of the Roman Empire. A contribution to the linguistic history of the western provinces", In: Roger Wright (ed.), Latin and the Romance languages in the Early Middle Ages, pp. 29-43, Routledge, London 1990 ISBN0-415-05606-3
External links
Online archive of Schuchardt's works at the University of Graz (in German)
hugo, schuchardt, hugo, ernst, mario, schuchardt, february, 1842, gotha, thuringia, april, 1927, graz, styria, eminent, german, linguist, best, known, work, romance, languages, basque, language, mixed, languages, including, pidgins, creoles, lingua, franca, me. Hugo Ernst Mario Schuchardt 4 February 1842 Gotha Thuringia 21 April 1927 Graz Styria was an eminent German linguist best known for his work in the Romance languages the Basque language and in mixed languages including pidgins creoles and the Lingua franca of the Mediterranean Contents 1 In Germany 2 Moving to Graz Austria 3 Late period 4 Schuchardt today 5 References 6 Notes 7 External linksIn Germany EditSchuchardt grew up in Gotha From 1859 1864 he studied in Jena and Bonn with many important linguists of the time notably August Schleicher and Kuno Fischer in Jena as well as Friedrich Ritschl and Otto Jahn in Bonn In 1864 Schuchardt earned a doctorate with a dissertation entitled De sermonis Romani plebei vocalibus On the vowels of Vulgar Latin Based upon a perusal of an incredible amount of texts never really considered before him 1 it was subsequently published 1866 1868 in a three volume German language edition as Der Vokalismus des Vulgarlateins The Vowels of Vulgar Latin In 1870 Schuchardt was promoted to professor habilitation at the University of Leipzig and in 1873 he became professor of Romance philology at the University of Halle which was then a stronghold of the neogrammarians Meanwhile Schuchardt primarily worked on traditional topics in Romance philology with a strong historic orientation but also developed an interest in language contact and language mixing as found in mixed languages and creole languages Moving to Graz Austria EditIn 1876 Schuchardt became chair for Romance Philology at the University of Graz with the help of Johannes Schmidt He did field work in Wales 1875 and Spain 1879 where he collected material for his Celtic and Basque Romance research Schuchardt became interested in two new fields creole and Basque linguistics thereby becoming a respected forefather of both linguistic subdisciplines He is also the first linguist to have promulgated seriously the idea that creole languages are in no way inferior to other languages citation needed With his 1888 publication Auf Anlass des Volapuks he promoted the creation of a new auxiliary world language for all nations In the same period 1885 he published an influential critique of the methods of the neogrammarians with the title Uber die Lautgesetze Gegen die Junggrammatiker Schuchardt may be most eminent as a vascologist In 1887 L L Bonaparte arranged Schuchardt s journey to the village of Sara Labourd Basses Pyrenees where he did field work and seems to have learned Basque Following this journey he published numerous gt 100 works on Basque and Romano Basque but he never returned to the Basque Country In various publications Schuchardt discussed possible relationships of Basque with other language families today Basque is known as a language isolate Schuchardt firmly sided with the outdated viewpoint of the Vasco Iberian hypothesis in stark contrast to his earlier open mindedness Similarly in the discussion on ergativity then current Schuchardt firmly defended the idea of the ergative construction as an obligatorily passive clause as opposed to a similarly questionable theory of the ergative construction being a nominalized clause He thus specifically opposed Nikolaus Finck in Vienna with whom he had a scientific dispute in a succession of articles e g N Finck 1907 Der angeblich passivische Charakter des transitiven Verbs Zeitschrift fur vergleichende Sprachforschung 41 209 282 Late period EditAlthough Schuchardt was invited to professorships in Budapest and Leipzig around 1890 he refused to leave Graz In 1900 however Schuchardt retired early from his chair Being then free from his teaching duties he undertook extended trips to Southern Italy Egypt and Scandinavia He built a villa in Graz Johann Fux Gasse nr 30 for himself and his extensive library and named it Villa Malvine after his beloved mother Malvine von Bridel Brideri The last two decades of his life he worked predominantly on Basque Disappointed by the unjust peace following World War I Italian irredentism and French nationalism chauvinism he was no longer interested in Romance research partly even giving up contacts with colleagues from these countries In an article Bekenntnisse und Erkenntnisse 1919 he gives some oral history insights into his youth and historic events of that time as well as his viewpoint of the outcome of World War I Schuchardt today EditHugo Schuchardt is one of the most eminent linguists of the Germanic tradition within Romance Philology Today of course his contribution is mainly of historiographic interest For the Basque community he is one of the most eminent foreign scholars beside Wilhelm von Humboldt and only few others His library became part of the university library of Graz his Villa Malvine hosted the Romance philology department for a long time but is today an administrative building of the university Researchers in Graz have constantly worked on Schuchardt ever since among them Michaela Wolf and the linguist Bernhard Hurch himself being a bascologist with a strong interest in historiography of linguistics who compiled an online archive of the entire work of Schuchardt see external links His most lasting contributions to modern linguistics though are the elaboration with Johannes Schmidt of the Wave Model of language change and his substantial work laying the foundations of modern creolistics References EditBossong Georg 1984 Wilhelm von Humboldt y Hugo Schuchardt dos eminentes vascologos alemanes in Arbor 467 468 163 182 Meijer Guus amp Pieter Muysken 1977 On the beginnings of pidgin and creole studies Schuchardt and Hesseling In Albert Valdman ed Pidgin and creole linguistics 21 45 Bloomington Indiana University Press Schuchardt Hugo 1928 Hugo Schuchardt Brevier Ein Vademecum der allgemeinen Sprachwissenschaft Ed by Leo Spitzer rev 2nd ed 1st ed 1922 Halle Saale Niemeyer Schuchardt Hugo 1979 The ethnography of variation Selected writings on pidgins and creoles Edited and translated by T L Markey Introduction by Derek Bickerton Ann Arbor Karoma Vennemann Theo amp Terence H Wilbur 1972 Schuchardt the neogrammarians and the transformational theory of phonological change Four essays by H Schuchardt Ed by Th Vennemann amp T H Wilbur Frankfurt M Ling Forsch 26 Notes Edit being a work upon which our knowledge of the phonetic changes in Late Latin is still ultimately established Cit Jozsef Herman Spoken and written Latin in the last centuries of the Roman Empire A contribution to the linguistic history of the western provinces In Roger Wright ed Latin and the Romance languages in the Early Middle Ages pp 29 43 Routledge London 1990 ISBN 0 415 05606 3External links EditOnline archive of Schuchardt s works at the University of Graz in German Hugo Schuchardt in the German National Library catalogue Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hugo Schuchardt amp oldid 1149282625, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
