Indo European philology historical and comparative 1969

William Burley Lockwood (13 April 1917 – 30 April 2012) was a ''Professor of Germanic and Indo-European Philology'' at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

from 1968 until his retirement in 1982.

Biography

After leaving school and spending some time working and travelling in England, Germany, Austria and the Balkans, he went to

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

and obtained First Class Honours in German in 1942, followed by a DipEd and M.A. at Bristol University, where he received a distinction in practical teaching. After working briefly in the German Department at Durham University in 1945, Lockwood taught at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

, during which time he also briefly taught as a Senior Lecturer in German at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

. As he left Birmingham, the university awarded him a D.Litt. on the basis of his many publications. In 1961 he received an invitation to the Chair of Comparative Philology at the

Humboldt-Universität 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 o ...

in East Berlin, the capital of the German Democratic Republic. 1961, however, was the year in which the Communist regime erected its infamous wall, and after four years of increasing disillusionment with the political climate he returned to the West. He settled in Dublin, intending to devote himself to his philological studies, including

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and

Germanic languages The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania and Southern Africa. The most widely spoken Germanic language, E ...

(especially Faroese) as well as Roman, Hellenic, Slavonic and Celtic (especially

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

) languages. A year later, however, he was invited to take up a specially established readership in Germanic and Indo-European philology at Reading. This readership was converted into a chair in 1968, and he remained at Reading until his retirement.W. B. Lockwood: On the Occasion of his Retirement, W. A. Coupe, 35 German Life and Letters 4, 281-286 (July 1982)

Selected publications

*The Faroese Bird Names (1961). *Historical German Syntax (1968). *Indo-European Philology: Historical and Comparative (1969). *A Panorama of Indo-European Languages (1972). *Languages of the British Isles Past and Present (1975). *An Informal History of the German Language (1965, 2nd edn. 1976). *German Today: The Advanced Learner's Guide (1987). *The Oxford Dictionary of British Bird Names (1984, 2nd edn. 1993). *Lehrbuch der modernen jiddischen Sprache (1995). *An Informal Introduction to English Etymology (1995). *An Introduction to Modern Faroese (1977, 4th edn. 2002).

References

1917 births 2012 deaths Alumni of the University of Manchester English writers Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Academics of the University of Birmingham Academics of the University of Reading {{UK-academic-bio-stub