Table Of ContentGENERAL LINGUISTICS
AND THE TEACHING
OF DEAD HAMITO-SEMITIC LANGUAGES
STUDIES IN SEMITIC
LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS
EDITED BY
G. F. PIJPER
Emeritus Professor in Arabic Language and Literature in the
University of Amsterdam
IX
J. H. HOSPERS (ED.)
GENERAL LINGUISTICS
AND THE TEACHING
OF DEAD HAMITO-SEMITIC LANGUAGES
LEIDEN
E. J. BRILL
1978
GENERAL LINGUISTICS
AND THE TEACHING
OF DEAD HAMITO-SEMITIC LANGUAGES
Proceedings
of the Symposium held in Groningen, 7th-8th November, 1975
on the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary
of the Institute of Semitic Studies and Near Eastern Archaeology
of the State University at Groningen
EDITED BY
J. H. HOSPERS
LEIDEN
E. J. BRILL
1978
ISBN 90 04 05806 0
Copyright 1978 by E. J. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
translated in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, microfiche
or any other means without written permission from the publisher
PRINTED IN BELGIUM
Dedicated to the Memory of
Prof. Dr. F. M. Th. de Liagre Bohl (f 16-11-1976)
and
Prof. Dr. K. K. Riemschneider (t 5-6-1976)
CONTENTS
Preface............................................................................... ix
Program of the Symposium.......................................... xi
Participants in the Symposium.................................... xm
List of Abbreviations....................................................... xiv
Applied Linguistics and the Teaching of the Dead Languages 1
J. H. Hospers
Der Unterricht des Akkadischen fur Studenten der vorderasia-
tischen Archaologie................................................................................23
K. K. Riemschneider
The Teaching of Classical Hebrew : Options and Priorities . 37
J. F. A. Sawyer
Didaktische Probleme des akademischen Unterrichts im klassi-
schen Arabisch......................................................................................51
S. Wild
Experiments in Applying Language Laboratory Techniques to
Teaching Classical Hebrew....................................................................68
A. D. Crown
History of Civilization and the Teaching of Dead Languages 86
H. J. W. Drijvers
The Role of Diachronies in the Teaching of Old Testament
Hebrew.........................................................................................................93
J. H. Hospers
Epilogue................................................................................................108
PREFACE
On November 6th-8th, 1975, a symposium was held at the Univer
sity of Groningen (Netherlands) on the occasion of the 50th anniversary
of the Institute of Semitic Studies and Archaeology of the Near East
of that University. The theme was “Applied Linguistics and the
Teaching of Dead Hamito-Semitic Languages” and in this book are
presented the proceedings of that symposium—the first international
symposium of its kind—consisting of the four papers delivered,
together with the taped formal discussions held at the end of each
session. In addition three other papers—not read at the symposium—
are inserted in this volume, two written by staff members of the
Institute, Prof. Dr. H. J. W. Drijvers and Prof. Dr. J. H. Hospers,
and one by Dr. A. D. Crown (University of Sydney).
The symposium was organized by the staff of the above-mentioned
Institute of Semitic Studies together with the Staff of the Institute
for Egyptology of the State University at Groningen. Both Institutes
not only shared the same interests in the theme of the symposium
but also are housed in the same building, where they live together
in great cordiality.
The symposium was held in the Main Building of the State Univer
sity at Groningen, where the papers were presented in the order in
which they are printed in this volume.
The relations between Applied Linguistics and the Teaching of
“dead” languages (in any case : languages which are no longer spoken
by anybody as mother tongue and known to us only through written
records) were considered by the organizing committee to be a most
appropriate theme for the symposium, for reasons expounded in the
first paper. A vast literature has grown up on Applied or General
Linguistics and the teaching of foreign languages, but all this literature
is mainly concerned with modem “living” languages as is evident
from a recent bibliography like that of F. J. Hausmann, Linguistik
und Fremdsprachenunterricht 1964-1975, Tubingen, 1975. And even
in the case of less commonly taught languages not normally available
in the school programme, it is mostly the modern colloquial forms
of those languages that one has in mind (cf. e.g.: G. E. Perren (ed.),
Less commonly taught languages: resources and problems, London
1975).
X PREFACE
One of the lecturers at the symposium is no longer among the living :
on 5-6-1976 Prof. Dr. K. K. Riemschneider died in an accident
at the age of 42 years. We all feel deeply the great loss for Assyrio-
logy caused by the untimely death of a splendid scholar who during
the days of the symposium also proved to be a very amiable person.
And on 16-11-1976 Prof. Dr. F. M. Th. de Liagre Bohl died, who
founded our Institute in 1925.
Though one cannot speak here of an “untimely death”—Prof.
De Liagre Bohl lived to the age of 94 years (cf. the “In memoriam”
by Prof. Dr. W. H. Ph. Romer in BiOr 33, 3/4, 1976)—we regret that
he will not see these proceedings of a symposium which he could
not attend but in which he still showed a lively interest. It is to the
memory of both assyriologists that we dedicate this book.
Finally I would like to thank all who helped to make the symposium
a success including not only the authorities of the State University
at Groningen, all the members of the staffs of both Institutes and
the chairmen during the sessions but also all the participants. And
as editor of this volume I especially wish to thank my colleague
Mr. G. J. H. van Gelder for his invaluable help in the editing of
the “discussions” and his wife Mrs. S. van Gelder-Ottway for the
translation into English of some parts of this book and the correction
of other parts that were already written in English.
Groningen, Summer 1977 J. H. Hospers
