Leo Weisgerber

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(Johannes) Leo Weisgerber (February 25, 1899, Metz - August 8, 1985, Bonn) was a Lorraine-born German linguist specializing in Celtic linguistics. He developed the "organicist" theory that different languages produce different experiences. During World War II his pan-Celticist ideology was co-opted to support the German war effort.

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[edit] Scholarly career

He taught as a professor at the Rostock University (1927-), Marburg University (1938-), Bonn University (1942-).

Starting from the study of translation problems, he contributed notably to the theory of sprachliche Zwischenwelt: that language structures our apprehension of reality. This was influenced by the structuralist theories of Ferdinand de Saussure.[1] He was an editor of the journal Wörter und Sachen, which he used as a vehicle for his ideas.[1]

Weisgerber took the view that each language community has its own perception of the world, different from that of other groups:

  • There are words or phrases that are specific to each language community.
  • Some concepts can be shared by two (or more) linguistic communities, each, however, have a different connotation for each.
  • Each language community structures reality in different ways, according to its own language codes.

In this respect languages imply a "world view" that can produce sustained cultural differences.

[edit] Pan-Celticism

Before World War II, Weisgerber established links with Celtic nationalists in Ireland, Britain and Brittany. The Breton nationalists joined Germany at the beginning of the war. After the Fall of France Weisgerber initiated the creation of the Breton Celtic Institute and directed the radio station Radio Rennes Bretagne (Radio Rennes of Brittany) which broadcast the first radio transmissions in the Breton language. These ventures were perceived by the French Resistance as German-sponsored propaganda organizations. After the defeat of the Nazis, Weisgerber assisted the members of the Breton Bezen Perrot SS militia, led by Célestin Lainé, providing them with false papers to allow them to escape to Ireland with the help of other Celticists.[2]

[edit] Literary works

  • Muttersprache und Geistesbildung, 1941
  • Die Stellung der Sprache im Aufbau der Gesamtkultur, 2 vols., 1933-1944
  • Die volkhaften Kräfte der Muttersprache, 1939
  • Die Entdeckung der Muttersprache im europäischen Denken, 1948
  • Von den Kräften der deutschen Sprache, 4 vols., 1949-1950

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Christopher M. Hutton, Linguistics and the Third Reich: Mother-tongue fascism, race and the science of language (Routledge Studies in the History of Linguistics, 1), Routledge, pp.18, 37.
  2. ^ Daniel Leach, Bezen Perrot: The Breton nationalist unit of the SS, 1943-5, e-Keltoi: Journal of Interdisciplinary Celtic Studies, p.24
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