Stephen Wurm
Encyclopedia
Stephen Adolphe Wurm was a Hungarian
-born Australia
n linguist
.
, the second child to the German-speaking
Adolphe Wurm and Hungarian-speaking
Anna Novroczky, and was christened Istvan Adolphe Wurm. His father died before Stephen was born.
Both his parents were multilingual and Wurm showed an interest in languages from an early age. Attending school in Vienna
and travelling to all parts of Europe during his childhood, Wurm spoke nine languages by the time he reached adulthood.
Wurm grew up stateless
, unable to take the nationality of either parent or of his country of residence, Austria
. This enabled him to avoid military service and attend university. He studied Turkic languages
at the Oriental Institute in Vienna, receiving his doctorate in linguistics and social anthropology in 1944 for a dissertation on the Uzbek language
.
In 1946 he married fellow student Helene (Helen) Maria Groeger, a specialist in African ethnography. He taught Altaic linguistics at the University of Vienna
until 1951.
After reading some works by S. H. Ray
, Wurm became interested in Papuan languages
and began a correspondence with the Revd Dr Arthur Capell
, lecturer in linguistics at the University of Sydney
. Wurm began teaching himself Tok Pisin
and Police Motu from books and took up a position in London. In 1954 the Wurms moved to Australia, where Capell had organised for Wurm a post in the Anthropology Department at the University of Sydney
. In 1957 the Wurms moved to Canberra where Stephen took up a post as Senior Fellow within the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
(RSPAS) at the new Australian National University
(ANU). That same year the Wurms received Australian citizenship. From this time on the main focus of Wurm's research was the study of the languages of New Guinea
, although he also carried out research on a number of Australian Aboriginal languages
. At the Australian National University he was Professor of Linguistics from 1968 to 1987. In tribute to the scholarship of the man, the journal Oceanic Linguistics titled an article on Wurm "Linguist Extraordinaire" (Oceanic Linguistics, 2002.41: 1).
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
-born Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n linguist
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
.
Biography
Wurm was born in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, the second child to the German-speaking
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Adolphe Wurm and Hungarian-speaking
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
Anna Novroczky, and was christened Istvan Adolphe Wurm. His father died before Stephen was born.
Both his parents were multilingual and Wurm showed an interest in languages from an early age. Attending school in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and travelling to all parts of Europe during his childhood, Wurm spoke nine languages by the time he reached adulthood.
Wurm grew up stateless
Statelessness
Statelessness is a legal concept describing the lack of any nationality. It is the absence of a recognized link between an individual and any state....
, unable to take the nationality of either parent or of his country of residence, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. This enabled him to avoid military service and attend university. He studied Turkic languages
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
at the Oriental Institute in Vienna, receiving his doctorate in linguistics and social anthropology in 1944 for a dissertation on the Uzbek language
Uzbek language
Uzbek is a Turkic language and the official language of Uzbekistan. It has about 25.5 million native speakers, and it is spoken by the Uzbeks in Uzbekistan and elsewhere in Central Asia...
.
In 1946 he married fellow student Helene (Helen) Maria Groeger, a specialist in African ethnography. He taught Altaic linguistics at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
until 1951.
After reading some works by S. H. Ray
Sidney Herbert Ray
Sidney Herbert Ray was a comparative and descriptive linguist who specialized in Melanesian languages. In 1892, he read an important paper, The languages of British New Guinea, to the Ninth International Congress of Orientalists. In that paper, he established the distinction between the...
, Wurm became interested in Papuan languages
Papuan languages
The Papuan languages are those languages of the western Pacific which are neither Austronesian nor Australian. The term does not presuppose a genetic relationship. The concept of Papuan peoples as distinct from Melanesians was first suggested and named by Sidney Herbert Ray in 1892.-The...
and began a correspondence with the Revd Dr Arthur Capell
Arthur Capell
Arthur Capell was an Australian linguist, who made major contributions to the study of Australian languages, Austronesian languages and Papuan languages.-Life:...
, lecturer in linguistics at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
. Wurm began teaching himself Tok Pisin
Tok Pisin
Tok Pisin is a creole spoken throughout Papua New Guinea. It is an official language of Papua New Guinea and the most widely used language in that country...
and Police Motu from books and took up a position in London. In 1954 the Wurms moved to Australia, where Capell had organised for Wurm a post in the Anthropology Department at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
. In 1957 the Wurms moved to Canberra where Stephen took up a post as Senior Fellow within the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
The Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies was founded in 1946 as an institute of advanced study at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.-History:...
(RSPAS) at the new Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
(ANU). That same year the Wurms received Australian citizenship. From this time on the main focus of Wurm's research was the study of the languages of New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, although he also carried out research on a number of Australian Aboriginal languages
Australian Aboriginal languages
The Australian Aboriginal languages comprise several language families and isolates native to the Australian Aborigines of Australia and a few nearby islands, but by convention excluding the languages of Tasmania and the Torres Strait Islanders...
. At the Australian National University he was Professor of Linguistics from 1968 to 1987. In tribute to the scholarship of the man, the journal Oceanic Linguistics titled an article on Wurm "Linguist Extraordinaire" (Oceanic Linguistics, 2002.41: 1).
Publications and collections of work
- New Guinea area languages and language study (3 volumes, Canberra: Pacific LinguisticsPacific LinguisticsPacific Linguistics is a non-profit publisher located at the Australian National University, Canberra, printing linguistic materials on the languages of Oceania and Southeast Asia. It was established in 1963, with Stephen Wurm as the founding editor. The current managing editors are Malcolm Ross,...
, 1975–1977; vol. 1 available here)
- Languages of Australia and Tasmania (The Hague: MoutonMoutonMouton may refer to:*Mouton fur, sheepskin that has been made to resemble beaver or seal*Mouton de Gruyter, scholarly publishing house*Château Mouton Rothschild, Bordeaux wine producer, formerly named simply MoutonPlaces:...
, 1972)
- Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger of Disappearing (2nd edition) (UNESCO Publishing, 2001, ISBN 978-92-3-103798-6)
- Suzanne Kite and Stephen Wurm. The Duungidjawu language of southeast Queensland: Grammar, texts and vocabulary (Canberra: Pacific LinguisticsPacific LinguisticsPacific Linguistics is a non-profit publisher located at the Australian National University, Canberra, printing linguistic materials on the languages of Oceania and Southeast Asia. It was established in 1963, with Stephen Wurm as the founding editor. The current managing editors are Malcolm Ross,...
, 2004, ISBN 0-85883-550-9)
- Stephen A. Wurm, Peter Mühlhäusler and Darrell T. Tryon (eds). Atlas of languages of intercultural communication in the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1996)