Johann Andreas Schmeller (6 August 1785 in

Tirschenreuth Tirschenreuth (; Northern Bavarian: ''Dirschnrad'', ''Diascharad'') is the capital city of the district of Tirschenreuth (district), Tirschenreuth. It is located in the northeast of Bavaria, very close to the Czech-Bavarian border. Geography Tirs ...

– 27 September 1852 in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

) was a German

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

who initially studied the Bavarian dialect. From 1828 until his death he taught in the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. He is considered the founder of modern

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

research in Germany. His lasting contribution is the four-volume ' (Bavarian Dictionary), which is currently in the process of revision by the

Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities () is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledge within their subject. The general goal of th ...

Biography

In 1821, he published (Bavarian dialects). This was later supplemented by his (Bavarian dictionary), which appeared in four volumes from 1827 to 1837. Perhaps his most notable publication was the first modern edition of the ''

Heliand The ''Heliand'' () is an epic alliterative verse poem in Old Saxon, written in the first half of the 9th century. The title means "savior" in Old Saxon (cf. German and Dutch ''Heiland'' meaning "savior"), and the poem is a Biblical paraphrase ...

'' (1830). He was also the compiler of the ''

Carmina Burana ''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreveren ...

'' (1847), which he named. Schmeller edited the

Old High German Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...

''Evangelienharmonie'' (1841); the ''

Muspilli ''Muspilli'' is an Old High German alliterative verse poem known in incomplete form (103 lines) from a ninth-century Bavarian manuscript. Its subject is the fate of the soul immediately after death and at the Last Judgment. Many aspects of the int ...

'' (1832); ''Lateinische Gedichte des 10. und 11. Jahrhunderts'' (1836); and '' Hadamar von Laber's Jagd'' (1850). His '' Cimbrisches Wörterbuch'' was edited by Joseph Bergmann in 1855. Schmeller invented the schwa symbol (ə) for use as the reduced vowel at the end of some German words, and first used it in his 1820s works on the Bavarian dialects.

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* 1785 births 1852 deaths 19th-century German people 19th-century philologists German philologists Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich People from Tirschenreuth (district) {{Germany-linguist-stub

Biography

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