BC - Philology, Languages, and Linguistics

2006

BC — Philology, Languages, and Linguistics

Dtv Atlas Namenkunde: Vor-und Familiennamen im deutschen Sprachgebiet [Dtv Onomastics Atlas: First and Last Names in the German-Speaking Areas]. Konrad Kunze. 4th rev. and enlarged ed. München: Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, 2003. 255 p. ill. 24 cm. (dtv, 3266). ISBN 3-423-03266-9: EUR 15 [06-2-230]

The first edition of this work was published in 1998 and in 2005 it was published on CD-ROM (ISBN 3-89853-524-X: EUR 15). It bridges the gap between the local and regional and the more scholarly onomastics studies, exploring the origins and history of names in the German-speaking area, and providing information on variations in spelling, as well as on current onomastics research and data gathering methods. In addition to an index of names, there are indexes of people and things. A substantial list of works consulted is also provided. This edition is particularly rich in illustrative material: just under 150 maps show the geographical distribution of names in the German-speaking area; further illustrations aim to provide pictorial explanations of the origins and meanings of particular names. This is a competent, fact-based source that will be of value to a broad audience. It is already used in conjunction with teaching at several German universities. [wh/cjm]

Dictionnaire étymologique et historique du français [Etymological and Historical French Dictionary]. Ed. Jean Dubois, Henri Mitterand andAlbert Dauzat. [17], 893 p. 18 cm. Paris: Larousse, 2006. ISBN 978-2-03-583710-3: EUR 11.90 [06-2-230a]

An RREA Original Review by Sarah G. Wenzel (University of Chicago)

The work consists of brief entries, each of which supplies the earliest known use of the word, its derivation, and changes in meaning over time. It is based on the earlier Dauzat Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française [Etymological French-Language Dictionary] (Paris,1938, with subsequent reprinting and re-editions). While it lacks the extensive prefatory matter included in earlier editions, which include lists of prefixes and of Greek and Latin elements common to French words, it continues to include the bibliography of works used to trace etymologies. The most recent of these sources is from 2002. This edition includes 2,600 new words, notably such neologisms as “courriel” [“e-mail”] and “Internet.”

The editors assume that readers will know the current sense of the word, and as in the earlier work, no definition is supplied if the meaning is unchanged. In this revised edition, words deriving from common roots are grouped, which works generally well. Most such terms continue to share similar spelling. For example, under “militer,” one finds the etymology for “militant,” “militance,” and “militantisme.” The grouping is also comprehensible when all that is added is a prefix, e.g., “échanger,” which is found under “changer.” However, these clusters work less well when orthography varies. If one did not already know that “folie” or “follement” were related to “fou,” it is difficult to see how they would be found.

As an updated version of a standard reference work in a convenient format, this book would be an excellent choice as a desk reference or for a student. However, it would add little value to a library with a reference collection containing any recent edition of this work—or other comprehensive etymological dictionaries such as Alain Rey’s three-volume Dictionnaire historique de la langue française [Historical French-Language Dictionary] (Paris, 1998)—in addition to current dictionaries.

Reinhard Haupenthal: Bibliographie seiner Veröffentlichungen; Esperantologie, Interlinguistik [Reinhard Haupenthal: Bibliography of his Publications; Esperantology, Interlinguistics]. Collected by Hervé Vallon. Ed. Hermann Holzbauer. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2006. 142 p. ill. 24 cm. (Schriften der Universitätsbibliothek Eichstätt, 63). ISBN 978-3-447-05318-6; ISBN 3-447-05318-6: EUR 34.80 [06-2-231]

Die Esperanto-Übersetzungen von Reinhard Haupenthal [The Esperanto Translations by Reinhard Haupenthal]. Adolf Burkhardt. Transl. from the Esperanto by Annakris Szimkat. Schliengen: Edition Iltis, 2005. 40 p. 21 cm. ISBN 3-932807-41-3: EUR 6.60 [06-2-232]

In the last few decades, the name Reinhard Haupenthal appears frequently in publications on artificial languages, especially Esperanto and Volapük. Haupenthal, formerly a lecturer on Esperanto and linguistics at the University of the Saarland, has published many works about or in artificial languages, including Esperanto translations of German literature. This title is a revised version of a bibliography included in a 1998 festschrift published to celebrate Haupenthal’s 50th birthday. It has been updated to include works released through Oct. 31, 2005. The entries are arranged in chronological order by year and then by format within the year; all 854 titles are numbered and indexed. The publication also includes a chronology of Haupenthal’s life, a discography (of one title only), a list of the periodicals that he edited, a list of forthcoming publications, a bibliography, and an interview with the author, in which Haupenthal reveals his pessimism about the future of Esperanto. The foreword, accompanying text, and headings are all in Esperanto as well as German.

Those who are interested in Haupenthal’s translations from German into Esperanto should turn to the short bibliography by Adolf Burkhardt, who assembled the collection of the Deutsche Esperanto-Bibliothek [German Esperanto Library] in Aalen which is run by the Deutschen Esperanto-Bund [German Esperanto Alliance]. This title was originally published as part of a festschrift in celebration of another Esperantist. The bibliography is also available in Esperanto as Germana literaturo en traduko de Reinhard Haupenthal [German Literature Translated by Reinhard Haupenthal]. Much of this book is actually taken up by information about the translated authors. Footnotes refer to Esperanto translations by authors other than Haupenthal. The text includes discussions of translation theory and Haupenthal’s translation principles. There is also a list of 11 developers of artificial languages, most of whom were also active as translators. The bibliography itself, arranged into sections on fiction, non fiction, and forthcoming publications, is three pages long. [sh/rg]

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