Els Oksaar
Els Oksaar | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 1, 1926 |
| Died | December 9, 2015 (aged 89) Hamburg, Germany |
| Alma mater | Stockholm University; University of Bonn |
| Known for | Work on multilingualism and language contact; Kulturem (cultureme) theory |
| Awards | Konrad Duden Prize (1991); Order of the White Star, 4th Class (2001) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Sociolinguistics, Psycholinguistics, Language contact |
| Institutions | University of Hamburg |
Els Oksaar (1 October 1926 – 9 December 2015) was an Estonian-born linguist and professor of linguistics at the University of Hamburg.[1][2][3] Her research addressed multilingualism and language contact, and included work linking language use with culturally shaped behavioral patterns.[2] She is associated with the concept of Kulturem (“cultureme”) in language-use research and authored work titled Kulturemtheorie.[3]
Early life and education
Oksaar was born in Pärnu.[2][3] She graduated from the Second Girls’ Gymnasium in Pärnu in 1944.[2] She studied at Stockholm University (Germanic and English philology) and also studied at the University of Bonn.[2] She graduated from Stockholm University in 1950 and obtained a licentiate degree there in 1953.[2] She completed her habilitation in 1958 (in semantics of German).[2]
Academic career
From 1967 to 1992, Oksaar was professor of general and comparative linguistics at the University of Hamburg.[1][2] In 1967, she was appointed to a newly established chair in general and comparative linguistics at Hamburg.[2] At Hamburg she founded and led a research centre focused on multilingualism and language contacts.[2]
Research
Oksaar worked in areas including semantics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, pedolinguistics, language contact and multilingualism, with a focus on intercultural communication.[2] Her work on language use and culturally shaped behavioral patterns is commonly discussed through the Kulturem / cultureme concept, including in her Kulturemtheorie work.[3]
Honors
Oksaar received the Konrad Duden Prize in 1991.[4]
She was named an honorary doctor (doctor honoris causa) of the University of Tartu in 1996.[5]
In 2001, she was awarded the Order of the White Star, 4th Class.[6][2]
Selected works
- Semantische Studien im Sinnbereich der Schnelligkeit (1958).[7]
- Berufsbezeichnungen im heutigen Deutsch (1976).[8]
- Spracherwerb im Vorschulalter. Einführung in die Pädolinguistik (1977).[9]
- Zweitspracherwerb. Wege zur Mehrsprachigkeit und zur interkulturellen Verständigung (2003).[10]
References
- ^ a b "Nachruf auf Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Els Oksaar". Universität Hamburg (in German). 7 April 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Yearbook 2011 (PDF). Estonian Academy of Sciences. pp. 68–70. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Els Oksaar, Dr. phil". Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "Preisträgerinnen und Preisträger des Konrad-Duden-Preises". Duden (in German). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "Honorary Doctors of the University of Tartu". University of Tartu. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "Riiklike autasude andmine". Riigi Teataja (in Estonian). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "Semantische Studien im Sinnbereich der Schnelligkeit : plötzlich, schnell ja nende sünonüümid tänapäeva saksa keeles ning varases, kõrg- ja hiliskeskaegses saksa keeles". DIGAR Eesti artiklid. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "Berufsbezeichnungen im heutigen Deutsch : Soziosemantische Untersuchungen mit deutschen und schwedischen experimentellen Kontrastierungen". IDS Open Access (Institut für Deutsche Sprache) (in German). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ Henzl, Věra M. (1980). "Oksaar Els, Spracherwerb im Vorschulalter: Einführung in die Pädolinguistik". Journal of Child Language. 7 (3). doi:10.1017/S0305000900002890. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "Zweitspracherwerb: Wege zur Mehrsprachigkeit und zur interkulturellen Verständigung". UNESCO Digital Library. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
External links
- University of Hamburg obituary (German)