Walter Couvreur (1914–1996) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

philologist and for some ten years a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

politician. He studied classical and Oriental languages. He was a professor of Hittite and Tocharian at the

University of Ghent Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...

Biography

Couvreur published in 1947 the first comparative grammar of Tocharian that fully took Western Tocharian into account. He edited many manuscripts and was the President of the Higher Institute for Eastern, East European and African language and history. He was also a member of the Royal Academy for Language and Literature. His linguistic activities also saw him involved in

Dutch orthography Dutch orthography uses the Latin alphabet. The spelling system is issued by government decree and is compulsory for all government documentation and educational establishments. Legal basis In the Netherlands, the official spelling is regulated ...

, as a co-author of the '' Word list of the Dutch language'', a list of words of the

Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives German and English. '' Afrikaans'' ...

that was published in 1954. He was for many years the secretary of the commission that was set up by the respective ministers of education of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and of Belgium in 1947; it was entrusted with standardising Dutch spelling. In the early postwar period, he became interested in

Flemish nationalism The Flemish Movement ( nl, Vlaamse Beweging) is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought to promo ...

and played a role in the Algemeen Nederlands Verbond. Later, he was active in the Vlaams Comité voor Federalisme and succeeded Corneel Heymans as its president. Together with Walloon federalists, he worked out a federal constitution for Belgium in 1954 and so he became involved in politics in that year by negotiating the election cartel Christian Flemish People's Union. He was unsuccessful in elections that year but presided over the negotiations that led to the setting up of a new Flemish national party,

People's Union (Belgium) People's Union ( nl, Volksunie, VU) was a Flemish nationalist political party in Belgium, formed in 1954 as a successor to the Christian Flemish People's Union. The Volksunie defined itself as a big tent and catch-all party that combined suppor ...

(de Volksunie) and was its first president until mid-1955, when he resigned for personal reasons. He was conferred a knighthood by the Belgian king in 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Couvreur, Walter 1914 births 1996 deaths Belgian philologists Academic staff of Ghent University 20th-century philologists