Victor Egon Hanzeli, Sr. (1925 – April 23, 1991) was an American linguist and professor of Romance Languages and Literature at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. His pioneering 1969 book, ''Missionary Linguistics in New France'', is considered the best in its field. He spoke five languages.

Early life and education

Victor Hanzeli was born in Hungary in 1925. He started his academic studies at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

and went on to graduate from the

University of Budapest A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. In 1947, Hanzeli moved to France, and in 1951 he moved to the United States. He continued his studies at

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

where received his doctorate in French literature and linguistics. His 1961 dissertation is titled ''Early descriptions by French missionaries of Algonquian and Iroquoian languages: A study of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century practice in linguistics''.

Career

Hanzeli joined the

faculty in 1957. He was active in University affairs and over the course of his career, served in several different roles in addition to teaching. For five years he served as Chair of the Department of Romance Languages and Literature. He also served as Director of the Washington Foreign Language Program and coauthored a report to the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

on it. In addition to these academic roles, he was also President of the University's chapter of the

American Association of University Professors The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States that was founded in 1915 in New York City and is currently headquartered in Washington, D.C. AAUP membership inc ...

and served as faculty representative to the

Washington State Legislature The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the State of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 representatives, and the upper Washington State Senate, w ...

. Hanzeli was one of only a few academics (the most notable exception being

James Axtell James L. Axtell (December 20, 1941 - August 29, 2023) was an American historian. He was a professor of history at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Axtell, whose interests lie in American Indian history and the history ...

) to study role of linguistics in the activities of Catholic and Protestant missionaries among

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

populations. His 1969 book, ''Missionary Linguistics in New France'', is considered a pioneering study of missionary linguists in

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

. It is still considered the best in the field.

Personal life

Hanzeli married his wife, Eva, sometime before moving to France in 1947. They had five children: Victor Jr., of

Marysville, Washington Marysville is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States, part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The city is located north of Seattle, adjacent to Everett on the north side of the Snohomish River delta. It is the second-largest ci ...

; Beatrice, of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

; Tina Hodgins, of Olympia; Dennis, of Brier; and Gabriel, of

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. Hanzeli died on April 23, 1991, after a long illness.

Works

Dissertation

Articles and contributions

* * * * * *

Books

* * * * *

Translations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanzeli, Victor 1925 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American translators 20th-century American linguists American male non-fiction writers American social sciences writers Educators from Seattle Eötvös Loránd University alumni Historical linguists Hungarian emigrants to the United States Hungarian expatriates in Austria Hungarian expatriates in France Indiana University Bloomington alumni Linguists from Hungary Translators from Hungarian Translators to English University of Washington faculty