Szemerényi was born in London to Hungarian parents.[1] When the First World War began in 1914, he and his mother were expelled to Hungary; neither of them had ever seen the country before as his mother was born in Bonn and moved to London two years after she was born. His father was interned on the Isle of Man for the entirety of the war.[2] The family found patronage from the Countess Széchenyi and his mother began working for her in Budapest. When his father returned, he found gainful employment at the Hotel Gellért as the head waiter, due to his exceptional English.[1][2]: 8
In 1931, Oswald was made a fellow at Eötvös Loránd University based on the success of his primary examination.[2]: 10 There, he learned French, Sanskrit, Gothic, and Old Church Slavonic.[1][2]: 10 He received his Ph.D. in Indo-European linguistics[1] in 1936 and published his first book publication, Liquid Sonants in Latin, in 1941, edited by Gyula Laziczius [hu].[2]: 10–11 On 5 November 1940, he married Elizabeth Kövér in Beregszász (now Berehove, Ukraine).[2]: 12 During 1942, he was drafted and sent eastward to the Soviet border regions around Shostka, in modern-day Ukraine near the Russian border. There, he learned Russian and saw no combat; he later joked that his time in the war was "just a nice study leave to learn the [Russian] language".[2]: 12–13 In October of the same year, he received news that his wife had given birth to his son, Zoltán, who very quickly required a major surgery, leaving him with a massive scar. He was relieved of duty in August 1943.[2]
After the fall of Budapest in 1945, he was placed in charge of a university institute and had his apartment quartered for Russian medical personnel. Initially, he had supported the Hungarian Communist Party, believing that they could implement the rapid change that was necessary for Hungary after losing the war and that it would be ultimately a transient effort,[2] though he quickly became disillusioned and, by his own admission, never read any communist literature.[2]: 16 In 1948,[1] he moved to Italy, where he applied to have his British citizenship recognized for repatriation. This request was granted and he and his family moved to the United Kingdom in October 1948.[1][2]: 19–20 During his first years in the UK, he had several varied jobs, mostly working as a translator in various capacities as Cold War tensions increased. He worked as a translator for the BBC[1] in Caversham, Reading before moving to London to work for Reuters after beating out the reporters they had stationed in Hungary at the time.[2]: 20 Eventually, he resumed his intellectual pursuits professionally when in 1952, Otto Skutsch requested that he give a course in philology, with the understanding that it would later develop into a teaching post.[2]: 22 Ultimately, he was able to reestablish himself in academia, becoming the university chair for comparative philology at University College London in 1960.[1]
Selected bibliographyedit
1960 Studies in the Indo-European System of Numerals, Heidelberg
1964 Syncope in Greek and Indo-European and the Nature of Indo-European Accent, Napoli
1970 Einführung in die vergleichende Sprachwissenschaft, Darmstadt
1989 3., vollständig neu bearbeitete Auflage
1996 Introduction to Indo-European Linguistics, Oxford
^ abcdefghMorpurgo Davies, Anna (17 January 1997). "Obituary: Professor O. J. L. Szemerenyi". The Independent. London. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
^ abcdefghijklmnSzemerényi, Oswald (1991). Summing up a Life: Autobiographie und Schriftenverzeichnis. Freiburg im Breisgau: HochschulVerlag. ISBN3-8107-5056-5.
Prehistory, History, and Historiography of Language, Speech, and Linguistic Theory. (Papers in Honor of Oswald Szemerényi) (Amsterdam/Philadelphia 1992)
Historical Philology. Papers in Honor of Oswald Szemerényi II (Amsterdam/Philadelphia 1992)
Comparative-Historical Linguistics: Indo-European and Finno-Ugric. Papers in Honor of Oswald Szemerényi III (Amsterdam/Philadelphia 1993)
oswald, szemerényi, native, form, this, personal, name, szemerényi, oswald, this, article, uses, western, name, order, when, mentioning, individuals, oswald, john, louis, szemerényi, hungarian, pronunciation, ˈsɛmɛreːɲi, september, 1913, december, 1996, hungar. The native form of this personal name is Szemerenyi Oswald This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals Oswald John Louis Szemerenyi FBA Hungarian pronunciation ˈsɛmɛreːɲi 7 September 1913 29 December 1996 was a Hungarian British comparative linguist and Indo Europeanist He is best known as the namesake of Szemerenyi s law an early sound law in the Proto Indo European language Oswald SzemerenyiSzemerenyi c 1979Born 1913 09 07 7 September 1913London United KingdomDied29 December 1996 1996 12 29 aged 83 Freiburg im Breisgau GermanyOccupation s linguist Indo EuropeanistKnown forSzemerenyi s lawSpouseElizabeth nee Kover m 1940 wbr Children1Biography editSzemerenyi was born in London to Hungarian parents 1 When the First World War began in 1914 he and his mother were expelled to Hungary neither of them had ever seen the country before as his mother was born in Bonn and moved to London two years after she was born His father was interned on the Isle of Man for the entirety of the war 2 The family found patronage from the Countess Szechenyi and his mother began working for her in Budapest When his father returned he found gainful employment at the Hotel Gellert as the head waiter due to his exceptional English 1 2 8 In 1931 Oswald was made a fellow at Eotvos Lorand University based on the success of his primary examination 2 10 There he learned French Sanskrit Gothic and Old Church Slavonic 1 2 10 He received his Ph D in Indo European linguistics 1 in 1936 and published his first book publication Liquid Sonants in Latin in 1941 edited by Gyula Laziczius hu 2 10 11 On 5 November 1940 he married Elizabeth Kover in Beregszasz now Berehove Ukraine 2 12 During 1942 he was drafted and sent eastward to the Soviet border regions around Shostka in modern day Ukraine near the Russian border There he learned Russian and saw no combat he later joked that his time in the war was just a nice study leave to learn the Russian language 2 12 13 In October of the same year he received news that his wife had given birth to his son Zoltan who very quickly required a major surgery leaving him with a massive scar He was relieved of duty in August 1943 2 After the fall of Budapest in 1945 he was placed in charge of a university institute and had his apartment quartered for Russian medical personnel Initially he had supported the Hungarian Communist Party believing that they could implement the rapid change that was necessary for Hungary after losing the war and that it would be ultimately a transient effort 2 though he quickly became disillusioned and by his own admission never read any communist literature 2 16 In 1948 1 he moved to Italy where he applied to have his British citizenship recognized for repatriation This request was granted and he and his family moved to the United Kingdom in October 1948 1 2 19 20 During his first years in the UK he had several varied jobs mostly working as a translator in various capacities as Cold War tensions increased He worked as a translator for the BBC 1 in Caversham Reading before moving to London to work for Reuters after beating out the reporters they had stationed in Hungary at the time 2 20 Eventually he resumed his intellectual pursuits professionally when in 1952 Otto Skutsch requested that he give a course in philology with the understanding that it would later develop into a teaching post 2 22 Ultimately he was able to reestablish himself in academia becoming the university chair for comparative philology at University College London in 1960 1 Selected bibliography edit1960 Studies in the Indo European System of Numerals Heidelberg 1964 Syncope in Greek and Indo European and the Nature of Indo European Accent Napoli 1970 Einfuhrung in die vergleichende Sprachwissenschaft Darmstadt 1989 3 vollstandig neu bearbeitete Auflage 1996 Introduction to Indo European Linguistics Oxford Richtungen der modernen Sprachwissenschaft 1971 Teil I Von Saussure bis Bloomfield 1916 1950 Heidelberg 1982 Teil II Die funfziger Jahre 1950 1960 Heidelberg 1972 Comparative Linguistics Current Trends of Linguistics 1977 Studies in the Kinship Terminology of the Indo European Languages Leiden 1980 Four Old Iranian Ethnic Names Scythian Skudra Sogdian Saka Vienna Scripta Minora selected essays in Indo European Greek and Latin edited by Patrick Considine and James T Hooker Innsbruck 1987 Vol I Indo European 1987 Vol II Latin 1987 Vol III Greek 1991 Vol IV Indo European Languages other than Latin and Greek 1991 1989 An den Quellen des lateinischen Wortschatzes Innsbruck 1991 Summing Up a Life 2 See also editSzemerenyi s lawReferences edit a b c d e f g h Morpurgo Davies Anna 17 January 1997 Obituary Professor O J L Szemerenyi The Independent London Retrieved 3 December 2023 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Szemerenyi Oswald 1991 Summing up a Life Autobiographie und Schriftenverzeichnis Freiburg im Breisgau HochschulVerlag ISBN 3 8107 5056 5 Prehistory History and Historiography of Language Speech and Linguistic Theory Papers in Honor of Oswald Szemerenyi Amsterdam Philadelphia 1992 Historical Philology Papers in Honor of Oswald Szemerenyi II Amsterdam Philadelphia 1992 Comparative Historical Linguistics Indo European and Finno Ugric Papers in Honor of Oswald Szemerenyi III Amsterdam Philadelphia 1993 External links edithttp titus uni frankfurt de personal galeria szemeren htm Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Oswald Szemerenyi amp oldid 1204332373, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
