Hans J. Vermeer

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Hans Josef Vermeer (born September 24, 1930 in Iserlohn ; † February 4, 2010 in Heidelberg ) was a German linguist and translation scholar and founder of the Scopo theory .

He taught in the Germersheim Department of Translation, Linguistics and Cultural Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and at Heidelberg University and has also held numerous visiting professorships, both in Germany and abroad.

On January 17, 2010 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Mainz for his services to the foundation of translation studies from Faculty 06 (Translation, Linguistics and Cultural Studies). In addition to his teaching and research activities, Hans J. Vermeer also worked as a translator for Portuguese, French and Basque languages ​​and as an interpreter for Portuguese.

Life and work

Hans J. Vermeer was born in 1930 in Iserlohn , Westphalia , where he completed his school education in February 1950. In October of the same year he began studying translation for English and Spanish at the University of Heidelberg. After a stay abroad at the University of Lisbon , Portugal, he went on to study Portuguese translation. He completed his interpreting diploma for Portuguese in 1954. Between 1954 and 1962 he took over the teaching position as a lecturer for Portuguese at the interpreting institute of the Heidelberg University and then switched to the South Asia Institute of the University of Heidelberg, where he was lecturer and lecturer for South Asian languages, e.g. Urdu, from 1962 to 1964 and Hindi , was active. In 1962 he did his doctorate in Heidelberg with a dissertation on the subject of adjectival and verbal color expressions in the Indo-European languages ​​and the problem of their translatability. In 1968 he completed his habilitation on the subject of the construction of Central-South Asian languages, as a contribution to the language federation question.

From 1968 Vermeer worked as an assistant professor at the Institute for Linguistics at Heidelberg University for a period of three years. In 1970 he moved to the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz. Until 1983 he held the chair for general and applied linguistics in the department for translation, linguistics and cultural studies . From 1984 to 1992 he took over the chair for general translation studies with a focus on Portuguese at Heidelberg University. In 1992 he gave up his professorship, but continued to hold lectures and took on visiting professorships at various foreign universities, including from 1999 to 2002 at the Leopold Franzens University in Innsbruck , Austria, from 2002 to 2003 at the Bosporus University in Istanbul, Turkey, and also in Istanbul from 2004 to 2007 at the Okan University. Between 2008 and 2010 he returned to the Department of Translation, Linguistics and Cultural Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz as a visiting professor.

In addition to his teaching activities, he devoted himself intensively to research. As early as the 1960s he undertook study trips to India, Pakistan and Ceylon to study the dialects of Indian English and Creole Portuguese. He traveled to Graz and England as part of the same research project. In 1986 he traveled to Spain to study Basque there. Other countries he toured in connection with his research were Finland, Turkey, Japan and Indonesia.

Research priorities

Editorial activity

  • TEXTconTEXT since 1986
  • th (translational acting) since 1989

Publications (selection)

Vermeer's list of publications comprises a total of around 300 works, including on general translation studies, foreign language studies, Portuguese, historical-comparative linguistics, medieval German specialist literature and Indology . He wrote his works in German and English.

  • An old German collection of medical prescriptions in secret letters. In: Sudhoff's archive. Volume 45, 1961, pp. 235-246.
  • Adjective and verbal color expressions in the Indo-European languages ​​with ē verbs: a contribution to the question of parts of speech and the problem of translatability. Heidelberg, J. Groos 1963 (Diss.)
  • with Gerhard Eis (ed.): Gabriel von Lebenstein's booklet 'From the distilled waters'. Stuttgart 1965 (= publications of the International Society for the History of Pharmacy , New Series, 27).
  • as editor with Gundolf Keil , Rainer Rudolf and Wolfram Schmitt: Fachliteratur des Mittelalter. Festschrift Gerhard Eis . Metzler, Stuttgart 1968
  • "Cardo benedicta das edlist krautt". Manuscript texts from Vienna, Harbur and Bohemia. In: Specialist literature of the Middle Ages. Festschrift Gerhard Eis. Stuttgart 1968, pp. 421-432.
  • Investigations into the construction of central-south-Asian languages ​​(a contribution to the language federation question) Heidelberg, J. Groos 1969 (Habil.)
  • Introduction to linguistic terminology. Munich, Nymphenburger Verlagshandlung 1971, ISBN 978-3-485-03053-3
  • General Linguistics: an introduction. Freiburg, Rombach 1972, ISBN 978-3-7930-0968-9
  • Johann Lochner's "Travel Consultations". In: Sudhoffs Archiv , Volume 56, 1972, pp. 145–196.
  • Essays on translation theory. Heidelberg 1983
  • Together with Katharina Reiss : Foundation of a general translation theory. Tübingen, Niemeyer 1984, ISBN 978-3-484-30147-4
  • “Translation as a cultural transfer.” In: Mary Snell-Hornby (Ed.): Translation Studies - A New Orientation. To integrate theory and practice. 30-53. Tübingen, Francke 1986, ISBN 978-3-7720-1727-8
  • Skopos and translation commission: essays. Institute for Translation and Interpreting, Heidelberg, self-published 1990, ISBN 978-3-9802302-1-6
  • Sketches for a History of Translation. Frankfurt, Publishing House for Intercultural Communication 1991
  • "How do you learn and teach in translation (-)?" In: Living languages ​​38. 5-8. De Gruyter 1993
  • A skopos theory of translation (Some arguments for and against). Heidelberg, TEXTconTEXT 1996, ISBN 978-3-9805370-0-1
  • Translating into Renaissance and Humanism (15th and 16th Centuries) - Volume 1: Western Europe; Volume 2: The German-speaking area, literature and indices. Heidelberg, TEXTconTEXT 2000
  • Luhmann's "Social Systems" theory: preliminary fragments for a theory of translation. Frank & Timme, Berlin 2006, ISBN 978-3-86596-102-0
  • Selected papers on Translation and other Subjects. Berlin, Frank & Timme 2007, ISBN 978-3-86596-145-7

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Vermeer, Hans J.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Vermeer, Hans Josef
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German linguist and translation scientist
DATE OF BIRTH September 24, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Iserlohn
DATE OF DEATH February 4, 2010
Place of death Heidelberg