Prof. Dr. h.c. Hans Josef Vermeer (24 September 1930 – 4 February 2010), was a
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
**Ger ...
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 ...
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 stu ...
in
Germersheim
Germersheim () is a town in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, of around 20,000 inhabitants. It is also the seat of the Germersheim (district), Germersheim district. The neighboring towns and cities are Speyer, Landau, Philippsburg, Karlsru ...
and held a chair in Translation Studies at
Heidelberg University
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
. After his retirement, he became a visiting professor at national and international universities. In his final years, he returned to the universities of
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
and Heidelberg. On 17 January 2010, just before his death, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Mainz.
Life and academic career
Hans Vermeer was born in Iserlohn in 1930. In 1950 he completed his secondary education in the same town. That same year, he took up an undergraduate degree in English and Spanish translation at Heidelberg University, which he completed in 1952. In 1953, after spending some time in Portugal at the
University of Lisbon
The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; pt, Universidade de Lisboa, ) is a public research university in Lisbon, and the largest university in Portugal. It was founded in 2013, from the merger of two previous public universities located in Lisbon, th ...
, he obtained an undergraduate degree in
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
translation as well. A year later, he received his graduate degree in Portuguese translation and interpreting. From 1954 to 1962 he taught Portuguese at the Department of Translation and Interpreting at Heidelberg University. In 1962, he was awarded a PhD degree from Heidelberg University for his dissertation on adjectival and verbal color terms in Indo-European languages and the issue of their translation. From 1962 to 1964, he taught languages of South Asia such as
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
at the Department of Modern Languages in Heidelberg. In 1968 he achieved ''Habilitation'' by completing a postdoctoral thesis on the structure of Central South Asian languages, contributing to the
sprachbund
A sprachbund (, lit. "language federation"), also known as a linguistic area, area of linguistic convergence, or diffusion area, is a group of languages that share areal features resulting from geographical proximity and language contact. The lang ...
issue. From 1968 to 1970, he worked as an assistant professor at the Department of Linguistics at Heidelberg University. In 1970, he transferred to the University of Mainz, Faculty of Translation and Interpreting Studies, Linguistics and Cultural Studies, where he would hold the Chair of General and
Applied Linguistics
Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field which identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems. Some of the academic fields related to applied linguistics are education, psychology, communication rese ...
until 1983. From 1984 to 1992, he was Chair Professor of General Translation Studies with Special Reference to Portuguese at Heidelberg University. In 1992, he retired from his chair but continued teaching. He was also appointed visiting professor at a number of universities:
University of Innsbruck
The University of Innsbruck (german: Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck; la, Universitas Leopoldino Franciscea) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669.
...
(1999-2002),
Boğaziçi University
Boğaziçi University ( tr, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi), also known as Bosphorus University, is a major research university in Istanbul, Turkey. Its main campus is located on the European side of the Bosphorus, Bosphorus strait. It has six facult ...
in Istanbul (2002-2003) and
Okan University
Istanbul Okan University is a private university in Istanbul, Turkey.
History
The university was founded by Okan Culture, Education, and Sports Foundation in 1999 and began its academic life in 2003–2004.
Since the 2006–2007 academic year, ...
, also located in Istanbul (2004-2007). He returned to the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting Studies, Linguistics and Cultural Studies at the University of Mainz as a visiting professor in 2008.
Vermeer is best known for establishing
skopos theory
Skopos theory (German: ''Skopostheorie''), a theory in the field of translation studies, employs the prime principle of a purposeful action that determines a translation strategy. The intentionality of a translational action stated in a translati ...
, but published widely on a variety of topics in linguistics,
translation
Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...
and
interpreting
Interpreting is a translational activity in which one produces a first and final target-language output on the basis of a one-time exposure to an expression in a source language.
The most common two modes of interpreting are simultaneous inter ...
. He authored more than 80 articles, chapters and books. In 2012, a special issue of mTm was published to commemorate his work and life. In addition to his achievements in academia, Hans Vermeer was a translator for Portuguese, French and
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
,''Ipuinak. Baskische Erzählungen''. Frankfurt am Main, IKO-Verlag für Interkulturelle Kommunikation, 1991. and worked as an interpreter for Portuguese.
Selected works
*''Adjektivische und verbale Farbausdrücke in den indogermanischen Sprachen mit ē-Verben. Ein Beitrag zur Frage der Wortarten und zum Problem der Übersetzbarkeit''. Heidelberg, Julius Groos, 1963.
*(with Heinz Walz and Heinrich Klebes) ''Sprache und Entwicklungshilfe: Bedeutung und Möglichkeit der Vermittlung von Sprachkenntnissen und Auslandskunde an deutsche Fachleute im Rahmen der Entwicklungshilfe für Afrika und Asien''. Heidelberg, Julius Groos, 1963.
*(with Aryendra Sharma) '' Einführung in die Grammatik der modernen Hindi. Studienausgabe''. Heidelberg, Julius Groos, 1963.
*''Untersuchungen zum Bau zentral-süd-asiatischer Sprachen: Ein Beitrag zur Sprachbundfrage''. Heidelberg, Julius Groos, 1969.
*''Einführung in die linguistische Terminologie''. Darmstadt, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1971.
*''Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft: Eine Einführung''. Freiburg, Rombach, 1972.
*Ein Rahmen für eine allgemeine Translationstheorie. ''Lebende Sprachen'' 23:3, 1978, pp. 99–102.
*''Aufsätze zur Translationstheorie''. Heidelberg, 1983.
*(with Katharina Reiß) ''Grundlegung einer allgemeinen Translationstheorie''. Tübingen, Niemeyer, 1984. Translated into English by Christiane Nord as ''Towards a general theory of translational action: Skopos theory explained''. English reviewed by Martina Dudenhöfer. Manchester, St. Jerome, 2013.
*What does it mean to translate? ''Indian Journal of Applied Linguistics'' 13, 1987, pp. 25–33.
*Skopos and commission in translational action. In ''Readings in translation theory'', edited by Andrew Chesterman. Helsinki, Oy Finn Lectura, 1989, 173-187. Translated into English by Andrew Chesterman.
*(with Heidrun Witte) ''Mögen Sie Zistrosen? Scenes & frames & channels im translatorischen Handeln''. Heidelberg, Julius Groos, 1990.
*''Skizzen zu einer Geschichte der Translation - Band 1; Band 2''. Frankfurt am Main, IKO-Verlag für Interkulturelle Kommunikation, 1991.
*Describing nonverbal behaviour in the Odyssey: Scenes and verbal frames as translation problems. In ''Advances in nonverbal communication: Sociocultural, clinical, esthetic and literary perspectives'', edited by Fernando Poyatos. Amsterdam/Philadelphia, John Benjamins, 1992, 285-299.
*''A skopos theory of translation (some arguments for and against)''. Heidelberg, TEXTconTEXT, 1996.
*Translation and the "meme". ''Target - International Journal of Translation Studies'' 9:1, 1997, pp. 155–166.
*Starting to unask what translatology is about. ''Target - International Journal of Translation Studies'' 10:1, 1998, pp. 41–68.
*''Das Übersetzen in Renaissance und Humanismus (15. und 16. Jahrhundert) – Band 1: Westeuropa; Band 2: Der deutschsprachige Raum, Literatur und Indices''. Heidelberg, TEXTconTEXT, 2000.
*Skopos and commission in translational action. In ''The translation studies reader'', edited by Lawrence Venuti, advisory editor Mona Baker. London/New York, Routledge, 2000, 221-232. Translated into English by Andrew Chesterman.
*''Luhmann's "Social Systems" theory: Preliminary fragments for a theory of translation''. Berlin, Frank & Timme, 2006.
*''Ausgewählte Vorträge zur Translation und anderen Themen. Selected papers on translation and other subjects''. Berlin, Frank & Timme, 2007.