Martin Joos

Martin Joos
Born May 11, 1907
Wisconsin
Died May 6, 1978 (aged 70)
Nationality American
Occupation Linguist; Professor of German
Known for Work in linguistics, including the book The Five Clocks

Martin Joos (1907–1978) was a linguist and German professor.[1] He spent most of his career at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and also served at the University of Toronto and as a visiting scholar at the University of Alberta, the University of Belgrade, and the University of Edinburgh.

During World War II Joos was a cryptologist for the US Signal Security Agency.[2] The War Department honored him with a Distinguished Service citation in recognition of his work developing communication systems.[1]

After the war he returned to the University of Wisconsin, eventually serving as the chairman of the Department of German.

Among Joos's books on linguistics is The Five Clocks (1962), which introduced influential discussions of style, register, and style-shifting.[3]

Selected works

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Hill, Archibald A. (1979). "Martin Joos". Language (Linguistic Society of America) 55 (3): 665–669. JSTOR 413322.
  2. Kahn, David (1967). The Codebreakers: The Secret History of Writing. Macmillan.
  3. Marckwardt, Albert (1967), "Introduction", The Five Clocks, Harcourt, Brace & World