August Ferdinand Bernhardi (24 June 1769 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

– 1 June 1820 in Berlin) was a German

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

. After studying philosophy in

Halle an der Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anh ...

, in 1791 Bernhardi became a teacher at the Friedrichwerderschen Gymnasium in Berlin and in 1808 became the institution's headmaster. In 1815 he joined the Marcher

Consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

and the Academic Examination Committee. Shortly before his death he was named the headmaster of the Friedrich Wilhelms Gymnasium. In 1799 Bernhardi married

Sophie Tieck Sophie Tieck (28 February 1775 – 1 October 1833), later known as Sophie Bernhardi or Sophie von Knorring, was a German Romantic writer and poet. Her role as a writer of the Romantic period was overshadowed by her brother Ludwig and her first ...

, the younger sister of

Ludwig Tieck Johann Ludwig Tieck (; ; 31 May 177328 April 1853) was a German poet, fiction writer, translator, and critic. He was one of the founding fathers of the Romantic movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Early life Tieck was born in B ...

, however, the marriage broke down in 1805.Sophie Tieck
FemBio.org, retrieved 4 February 2014 This relationship brought him into Romantic circles, associated with people such as Friedrich and

August Wilhelm Schlegel August Wilhelm (after 1812: von) Schlegel (; 8 September 176712 May 1845), usually cited as August Schlegel, was a German poet, translator and critic, and with his brother Friedrich Schlegel the leading influence within Jena Romanticism. His trans ...

, Ludwig Tieck and others. This prompted him to write and publish works on linguistics, as well as satirical writings about Berlin society and literary life. Bernhardi also contributed to literary journals and

almanac An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and othe ...

s (such as '' Athenäum'' and ''Europa''), and wrote some stories and poems in the romantic style, the most well-known of which is ''Der Löwe in Florenz'' (The Lion in Florence). Bernhardi, however, achieved renown and recognition first and foremost through his linguistic research and had significant influence on famous linguists such as

Wilhelm von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt (, also , ; ; 22 June 1767 – 8 April 1835) was a Prussian philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of the Humboldt University of Berlin, which was named afte ...

and

Franz Bopp Franz Bopp (; 14 September 1791 – 23 October 1867) was a German linguist known for extensive and pioneering comparative work on Indo-European languages. Early life Bopp was born in Mainz, but the political disarray in the Republic of Mai ...

. He was the father of the historian

Theodor von Bernhardi Theodor is a masculine given name. It is a German form of Theodore. It is also a variant of Teodor. List of people with the given name Theodor * Theodor Adorno, (1903–1969), German philosopher * Theodor Aman, Romanian painter * Theodor Blueg ...

and grandfather of the Prussian general

Friedrich von Bernhardi Friedrich Adam Julius von Bernhardi (22 November 1849 – 11 July 1930) was a Prussian general and military historian. He was a best-selling author prior to World War I. A militarist, he is perhaps best known for his bellicose book ''Deutschland ...

Works

*''Vollständige lateinische Grammatik'' (Complete Latin Grammar) 1795-1797 *''Vollständige griechische Grammatik'' (Complete Greek Grammar) 1797 *''Bambocciaden'' (Bambocciatas) 1797-1800 *''Sprachlehre'' (Grammar) 1801-1803 *''Anfangsgründe der Sprachwissenschaft'' (Fundamentals of Linguistics) 1805 *''Die Versuche und Hindernisse Karls'' (The Trials and Tribulations of Karl) 1808 *''Ansichten über die Organisation der gelehrten Schulen'' (Observations on the Organisation of Academic Schools) 1818

Literature

*Bräuer, Joachim (1921): ''August Friedrich Bernhardi, der Sprachphilosoph der älteren Romantik'' (August Friedrich Bernhardi, the Linguistic Thinker of the Early Romantics) *Blücher, Max (1923): ''A. F. Bernhardis Leben und Schriften'' (A. F. Bernhardi's Life and Works) *Horstmann, Wilhelm (1926): ''August Ferdinand Bernhardi 1769–1820 als Pädagoge'' (August Ferdinand Bernhardi 1769-1820 as a Pedagogue) * Fiesel, Eva (1927): ''Die Sprachphilosophie der deutschen Romantik'' (The Linguistics Thoughts of the German Romantics) *Wild-Schedlbauer, Roswitha (1990): ''Einleitung zu A. F. Bernhardi'' (Introduction to A. F. Bernhardi) *Hurch, Bernhard (2000): ''Bernhardi und Humboldt und die Asymmetrie der Prosodie'' (Bernhardi and Humboldt and the Asymmetry of Prosody)

References

External links

*
Text of Der Löwe in Florenz (The Lion in Florence)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernhardi, August Ferdinand 1769 births 1820 deaths Linguists from Germany Writers from Berlin People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg University of Halle alumni German male writers