Elmer H. Antonsen (17 November 1929 – 25 August 2008) was an American philologist who specialized in

Germanic studies Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary t ...

. Antonsen was born in

Glens Falls, New York Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census. The name was given by Colonel Johannes Glen, the falls ref ...

on 17 November 1929. He earned degrees in German at

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Col ...

where he took the B.A. degree, and then at

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...

where he studied under

Ernst Alfred Philippson Ernst Alfred Philippson (6 April 1900 – 9 August 1993) was an American philologist who specialized in Germanic studies. Biography Ernst Alfred Philippson was born in Mönchengladbach, Germany on 6 April 1900 to a prominent Jewish family. He was ...

for his doctorate. He taught

German Studies German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German h ...

Germanic Philology Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary te ...

and

Germanic Linguistics Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary tex ...

at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...

in the 1960s before moving back to the University of Illinois to eventually rise to Full Professor. He was visiting professor at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded i ...

in 1988. He retired in 1996, and was awarded professor emeritus status. He was a known expert on

runology Runology is the study of the Runic alphabets, Runic inscriptions and their history. Runology forms a specialized branch of Germanic linguistics. History Runology was initiated by Johannes Bureus (1568–1652), who was very interested in the ling ...

. Antonsen died in

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the 38th-most populous municipality in Illinois. It ...

on 25 August 2008.

Selected works

* ''A Concise Grammar of the Older Runic Inscriptions'', (Max Niemeyer Verlag, Tübingen 1975) * ''The Grimm Brothers and the Germanic Past'', Antonsen, Elmer, James W. Marchand and

Ladislav Zgusta Ladislav Zgusta (20 March 1924 in Libochovice – 27 April 2007 in Urbana, Illinois) was a Czech-American historical linguist and lexicographer, who wrote one of the first textbooks on lexicography. He was a professor of linguistics and classics at ...

(eds.), (John Benjamins, Amsterdam 1990) * ''STAEFCRAEFT: Studies in Germanic Linguistics'', Antonsen & Hock (eds.), (John Benjamins, Amsterdam 1991) * ''Runes and Germanic Linguistics'', (Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin/New York 2002) * ''Elements of German: Phonology and Morphology'', (University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa 2007)

Sources

* Bernard Mees: "Elmer Antonsen as a Runologist." In: Mindy MacLeod, Marco Bianchi, Henrik Williams (Hrsg.): ''Reading Runes: Proceedings of the Eighth International Symposium on Runes and Runic Inscriptions'', Nyköping, Sweden, 2–6 September 2014. Institutionen för nordiska språk vid Uppsala universitet, Uppsala 2021, 109–124. * Wilfried Kürschner: ''Elmer H. Antonsen''. In: ''Linguistenhandbuch A–L'', Günter Narr Verlag, Tübingen 1997,
S. 15f. with a photo
1929 births 2008 deaths American philologists Germanic studies scholars Germanists Professors of German in the United States Linguists of Germanic languages Old Norse studies scholars People from Glens Falls, New York Runologists University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty 20th-century philologists Linguists from the United States {{US-linguist-stub