Theodor Siebs (;
26 August 1862 – 28 May 1941) 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
**Ge ...
linguist most remembered today as the author of ''
Deutsche Bühnenaussprache'' ("German stage pronunciation"), published in 1898. The work was largely responsible for setting the standard pronunciation of the modern
German language
German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...
and is referred to popularly by German speakers as ''der Siebs'' ("the Siebs").
Siebs was born in
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
, Germany on 26 August 1862. Siebs studied linguistics and classical
philology
Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...
in
Tübingen
Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...
and later was a professor both at the
University of Greifswald
The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...
and the
University of Breslau
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 ...
. His writings on language and languages are varied, but there is an emphasis on the history and state of
Frisian languages
The Frisian (, ) languages are a closely related group of West Germanic languages, spoken by about 500,000 Frisian people, who live on the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands and Germany. The Frisian languages are the closest li ...
. His ''Deutsche Bühnenaussprache'' is still relevant, though, for practical purposes it has largely been supplanted by other works that employ the
IPA
IPA commonly refers to:
* India pale ale, a style of beer
* International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation
* Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound
IPA may also refer to:
Organizations International
* Insolvency Practitioners ...
(International Phonetic Alphabet), which Siebs' work did not.
Siebs died on 28 May 1941 in
Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland).
See also
*
Bühnendeutsch
(, "stage German") or (, "stage pronunciation") is a unified set of pronunciation rules for the German literary language used in the theatre of the German ''Sprachraum''. Established in the 19th century, it came to be considered pure High Ger ...
References
Sources
Literature by and about Theodor Siebs in the German National Library*
A thorough German-language bibliography on the German Wikipedia page for Siebs
1862 births
1941 deaths
University of Wrocław faculty
Linguists from Germany
Germanic studies scholars
Linguists of Germanic languages
Writers from Bremen
University of Greifswald faculty
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