Rainer Vossen (German: Rainer Voßen; born December 6, 1951 in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

, Germany) is a German linguist and Africanist. His research interests include the historical linguistics of

Nilotic languages The Nilotic languages are a group of related languages spoken across a wide area between South Sudan and Tanzania by the Nilotic peoples. Etymology The word Nilotic means of or relating to the Nile River or to the Nile region of Africa. Dem ...

and

Khoisan languages The Khoisan languages (; also Khoesan or Khoesaan) are a group of African languages originally classified together by Joseph Greenberg. Khoisan languages share click consonants and do not belong to other African language families. For much of th ...

Biography

From 1972 to 1982, Vossen studied African studies, ethnology, history, and prehistory at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

. After receiving his doctorate in 1982 from the University of Cologne, he served as an academic advisor for the Chair of African Studies II at the

University of Bayreuth A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

from 1984 to 1990. After completing his habilitation in 1990, he was a lecturer at the University of Bayreuth from 1990 to 1992. In 1993, he became Professor of African Languages and Linguistics at

Goethe University Goethe University (german: link=no, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) is a university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealt ...

Selected publications

Selected publications by Rainer Vossen:Rainer Vossen publications
/ref> * ''The eastern Nilotes. Linguistic and historical reconstructions''. Berlin 1982, . * ''Towards a comparative study of the Maa dialects of Kenya and Tanzania''. Hamburg 1988, . * ''Patterns of language knowledge and language use in Ngamiland, Botswana''. Bayreuth 1988, . * ''Die Khoe-Sprachen. Ein Beitrag zur Erforschung der Sprachgeschichte Afrikas''. Köln 1997, .

References

External links

Official faculty page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vossen, Rainer Living people 1951 births Linguists from Germany Academic staff of Goethe University Frankfurt University of Cologne alumni Linguists of Nilotic languages People from Düsseldorf 20th-century linguists 21st-century linguists