Gerhard Doerfer (8 March 1920 – 27 December 2003) was a German
Turkologist, Altaicist, and philologist best known for his studies of the
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia ( Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turki ...
, especially
Khalaj.
Biography
Doerfer was born on March 8, 1920 in
Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was ...
(present-day
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...
) to postal official Franz Doerfer and Adina Doerfer (née Bruchmann). In 1928 his family relocated to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
.
Doerfer was forced to leave school in 1938 due to his opposition to the prevailing ideology. Following a period of unemployment he was conscripted into military service, where he served from 1938-1945. During this time he studied languages, including
Samoan. Doerfer was captured as a prisoner of war, and eventually returned to Berlin in 1946.
After release from captivity in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Doerfer studied off and on in Berlin, first at
Humboldt University of Berlin
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...
, and later at the
Free University of Berlin
The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...
. He took courses in Turkic and
Altaic languages
Altaic (; also called Transeurasian) is a controversial proposed language family that would include the Turkic, Mongolic and Tungusic language families and possibly also the Japonic and Koreanic languages. Speakers of these languages ar ...
under the guidance of
Karl Heinrich Menges
Karl Heinrich Menges (April 22, 1908 – September 20, 1999) was a German linguist known for his advocacy of the Altaic hypothesis. He was a faculty member at Columbia University in New York and subsequently at the University of Vienna.
Men ...
, as well as Islamic and Iranian Studies. He received his PhD on July 29, 1954 with the thesis ''Zur Syntax der Geheimen Geschichte der Mongolen'' (''On the Syntax of
the Secret History of the Mongols
''The Secret History of the Mongols'' (Middle Mongol: ''Mongɣol‑un niɣuca tobciyan''; Traditional Mongolian: , Khalkha Mongolian: , ; ) is the oldest surviving literary work in the Mongolian language. It was written for the Mongol royal fam ...
'').
From 1955–1957 Doerfer was an assistant professor in
Mainz University
The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stud ...
, where he performed editorial work on ''Philologiae turcicae fundamenta'', a multivolume work on Turkic languages and philology. From 1957-1960 he worked on a post-doctoral thesis, ''Türkische und mongolische Elemente im Neupersischen (Turkic and Mongolic elements in Modern Persian)'', while also lecturing 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 ...
. After the completion of this thesis he was qualified in the field of Turcology. This eventually expanded to Turkic and Altaic studies. In 1966 he became a non-tenured professor at the University of Göttingen.
Between 1968 and 1973, he conducted several expeditions to research the Turkic languages of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. This research led to one of the first descriptions of the
Khalaj language. Other expeditions focused on the
Oghuz languages of Persia, including the study of
Azerbaijani
Azerbaijani may refer to:
* Something of, or related to Azerbaijan
* Azerbaijanis
* Azerbaijani language
See also
* Azerbaijan (disambiguation)
* Azeri (disambiguation)
* Azerbaijani cuisine
* Culture of Azerbaijan
The culture of Azerbaijan ...
and Southern Oghuz varieties (including
Afshar), and the
Turkic varieties of
Khorasan
Khorasan may refer to:
* Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
* Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
.
In 1970 Doerfer was appointed a full professor of Turkic and Altaic Studies 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 ...
.
Doerfer became an
emeritus professor
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
in 1988. During his career, he served as a visiting professor at a number of institutions, including
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universi ...
(1966-1969),
Istanbul University
, image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg
, image_size = 200px
, latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis
, motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü
, mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future
, established = 1453 1846 1933
...
(1975-1976), and the
University of Mainz
The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stud ...
(1994).
in 1975–1976, Doerfer served a tour of a Visiting Professor at
Istanbul University
, image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg
, image_size = 200px
, latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis
, motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü
, mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future
, established = 1453 1846 1933
...
. In his extensive and multi-faceted studies, Doerfer investigated
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...
n and
Turkic elements in
Persian language, culture, and folklore, wrote his four-volume ''Türkische und mongolische Elemente im Neupersischen'' (1963–75), and contributed greatly to the study of Persian-Turkic language contacts (1967).
Doerfer served as the executive president of the Societas Uralo-Altaica from 1975-1979, as the president of the Deutsch-Türkische Gesellschaft until 1990.
Doerfer dismissed the validity of the Altaic language family concept. He argued that the words and features shared by Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic were cultural borrowings, and that any other similarities should be attributed to chance resemblances. He further states that if all three languages were genetically connected, the comparative language losses over time should be random instead of being limited to the geographical fringes of the family.
Awards and honors
* Three Festchrifts in honor of his 65th, 70th, and 75th birthdays,
including:
**
**
* Honorary member,
Turkish Language Association
The Turkish Language Association ( tr, Türk Dil Kurumu, TDK) is the regulatory body for the Turkish language, founded on 12 July 1932 by the initiative of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and headquartered in Ankara, Turkey. The Institution acts as the ...
* Honorary member,
Kőrösi Csoma Society
* Honorary member,
Societas Uralo-Altaica, 1988
* Honorary doctorate,
University of Szeged
, mottoeng = Truth. Bravery. Freedom.
, established =
, type = Public research university
, founder = Emperor Franz Joseph I
, affiliation = European University Association, Science Without Borders, Confucius Institute
, budget = US$220 m ...
, 1992
Selected works
*1954 ''"Zur Syntax der Geheime Geschichte der Mongolen"'' (The syntax of the Secret History of the Mongols), ZDMG 113, 1963, S.87-111.
*1963 ''"Der Numerus im Mandschu"'' (The number in the Manchu), Wiesbaden
*1963 ''"Bemerkungen zur Verwandtschaft der sog. altaische Sprachen"'', (Remarks on the relationship of the so-called Altaic languages), In Gerhard Doerfer, Türkische und mongolische Elemente im Neupersischen, Bd. I: Mongolische Elemente im Neupersischen, 1963, 51–105, Wiesbaden, Franz Steiner Verlag.
*1963–1975 ''"Türkische und mongolische Elemente im Neupersischen"'', Bd. I-IV, Wiesbaden, Franz Steiner Verlag, 1963–1975.
*1967 ''"Türkische Lehnwörter im Tadschikischen"'' Wiesbaden
bhandlungen für die Kunde des Morgenlandes XXXVII, 3
*1973 ''"Lautgesetze und Zufall: Betrachtungen zum Omnicomparativismus"'', Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft 10.
*1974 ''"Ist das Japanische mit den altaischen Sprachen verwandt?"'' Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 114.1.
*1985 ''"Mongolo-Tungusica"''/Tungusica. 3, Wiesbaden, Otto Harrassowitz
*1988 ''"Grundwort und Sprachmischung : eine Untersuchung an Hand von Korperteilbezeichnungen"'', Munchener ostasiatische Studien, vol.47, Stuttgart, Franz Steiner Verlag
*
References
External links
Gerhard Doerferat
WorldCat
WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doerfer, Gerhard
1920 births
2003 deaths
Tungusologists
Linguists of Turkic languages
German philologists
20th-century philologists
German expatriates in Turkey