Hermann Gundert
Dr. Hermann Gundert | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 25 April 1893 | (aged 79)
Monuments | Gundert Statue, Tellichery |
Organization | Basel Mission |
Known for | Proselytizing Christianity, Contributions to Malayalam language |
Parents |
|
Relatives | Hermann Hesse (grandson) |
Hermann Gundert (
Early years
Hermann Gundert was born to Ludwig Gundert and Christiana Enslin, and was the couple's third child.[2] His father was the secretary of the Bible Society and started a missionary magazine in 1823, which gave the young Gundert his first experiences in printing and publishing.[2] At the age of five Hermann entered Latin school in Stuttgart, joined the "Lower Seminary" at Maulbronn in 1827 and later entered the "higher seminary" – the Protestant Stift – at the University of Tübingen. In 1835 he obtained a doctoral degree in philology from Tübingen and successfully completed his theological studies. In the course of his education, Gundert mastered Hebrew, Latin, English, and French at a young age.[2]
Journey to India and marriage
Having been engaged as a private tutor in
In Kerala
In November 1838 Gundert and his wife reached Mangalore. From there he visited Cannanore (Kannur), Tellicherry (Thalassery) and the cinnamon plantation near Anjarakandy. He lived in Thalassery for around 20 years. He learned the language from well-established local teachers Uracheri Gurukkanmar from Chokli, a village near Thalassery and consulted them in his works. He also translated the Bible into Malayalam.[3][4] T. L. Strange, a British judge, offered his bungalow on Illikkunnu near Tellicherry to the Basel Mission on condition that a mission station will be established over there. The Gunderts moved there and took up work in April 1839. In August 1839, Gundert stated that he had studied Malayalam intensively and that he had established the first Malayalam school on the veranda of the bungalow in May. At the same time, his wife started the first girls' institute with boarding. In the following months, Gundert opened Malayalam schools in Kadirur, Thalassery Fort, Mahe, and Dharmadam. Regularly he visited all these schools and invited the teachers to Illikkunnu for further education. At times Gundert had five Pandits in his house, discussing old Indian history, philosophy and religion and studying classical Indian literature. At his numerous visits to the villages around Tellicherry, Gundert got in close contact with the people, collected as many words, phrases and proverbs as possible and spread the Gospel. During this period, he published around thirteen books in Malayalam. Many of the material – old Malayalam documents and scriptures from Tellicherry and other places in Malabar – which Gundert had collected he later gave to the University of Tübingen.
In the beginning of 1857, the government appointed Gundert as the first Inspector of Schools in Malabar and Canara – from Calicut (Kozhikode) in the South till
Scholarly work
During his stay in Illikunnu near Tellicherry (Thalassery), he published around thirteen books in
In Kerala, he took a deep interest in the local culture and the Malayalam language, attempting a systematic grammar of the language. This was one of the prominent non-
Gundert is highly regarded among linguistic experts and his dictionary has been described as "monumental" in a review of the work on Dravidian languages.[8]
Publications
Year published | Title | Description |
---|---|---|
1843 | Keralolpathi | Origin of Kerala, translation from Malayalam Keralolpathi. |
1845 | Pazhancholmala | String of Malayalam proverbs for Christian theological idioms.[9] |
1851 | Malayala Bhasha Viyakaranam | Malayalam Grammar |
1860 | Paathamala | First textbook in Malayalam |
1868 | Kerala pazhama | 33 years of Malayali history, from Vasco da Gama's arrival in 1498 (an English translation has been published by T Madhava Menon in 2003) |
1868 | New Testament | Translation of the New Testament in Malayalam |
1870 | School Dictionary | |
1872 | Malayalam-English Dictionary | |
1879 | Malayalarajyam | The land of Malayalam |
1847 June | Rajyasamacharam (News of the Kingdom) | Newspaper[10] |
1847 October | Paschimodayam | "Rise of the West" or "Dawn of the West", a magazine |
1881 | Sankeerthanangal | "The Book of Psalms" translated by Gundert |
Other contributions
- He was the one who introduced the punctuation marks – full stop, comma, semicolon, colon, and question mark – into the Malayalam language.
- Malayalam-English Dictionary. He returned to Germany in 1859. There he took ten more years to complete the dictionary. (1872)[5] A number of words in this dictionary are not in use these days. But this is a priceless treasure for those who study the development of Malayalam.
Years in Germany
Due to poor health Gundert had to leave India in 1859. In Calw, the Black Forest, he joined the Calw Publishing House and became its director in 1862. He published many books and articles as well as several magazines, including a children’s magazine. Julie Gundert died in Calw on 18 September 1885, and Hermann Gundert on 25 April 1893. Both were buried in the Calw cemetery, where the family grave still exists.[5] The Noble laureate, Hermann Hesse was his grandson through his daughter, Marie Gundert (1842-1902).[11]
Though Gundert came to Kerala as a missionary, he is remembered today mainly for his literary contributions. In the city of Thalassery (Tellicherry), he has been honored with a statue. The bungalow in which he used to live remained the home of the Nettur Technical Training Foundation (NTTF) for many years.[citation needed] In 2022 The Tourism Department of Kerala converted the Gundert Bungalow into a museum that sheds light on the life and contributions of Hermann Gundert.[12]
See also
- Volbrecht Nagel
- Ferdinand Kittel
- Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University
- Njattyela Sreedharan
- Gundert Museum
References
- ^ "Achatiyum Aadyakaala Pathramaasikakalum" (Printing, Early Newspapers and Magazines). Madhyamangalum Malayalasahithyavum (Media and Malayalam Literature) Kunhukrishnan, K. Sivasankaran, M.K et al. Thiruvananthapuram: State Institute of Languages, 2000.[clarification needed]
- ^ a b c "Dr. Hermann Gundert - lover of language and literature". Archived from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ^ Herman Gundert | Kerala Press Academy Archived 14 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Pressacademy.org. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- ISBN 978-81-7835-370-8. Archivedfrom the original on 27 May 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
This Bungalow in Tellicherry ... was the residence of Dr Herman Gundert. He lived here for 20 years
- ^ a b c Malayalam-English Dictionary, by Dr. Herman Gundert, 1872. Ed. 3, Published by Sahythia Pravarthaka Sahakarana Sangham, Kerala, 2000. Biography. Pages 7-11
- ^ Skaria Zakharia (ed.). Thalassery Rekhakal. Kottayam: DC Books.
- ^ Gundert, Hermann (1872). A Malayalam and English Dictionary. Mangalore: C. Stolz for Basel Mission Book Tract Depository. p. 14.
- ISBN 0-521-77111-0.
- ^ Pazhancholmala by Hermann Gundert. Tübingen University Library. 1845. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
- ^ "Herman Gundert - Kerala Press Academy". 14 May 2013. Archived from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- ^ "Hermann Hesse".
- ^ "Gundert Museum opened in Thalassery". The Hindu. Hindu Daily. 8 May 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
Further reading
- Frenz, Albrecht (1979). "Hermann Gundert: A Biography". IX All India Conference of Dravidian Linguists. Calicut. pp. 9–15.
- Frenz, Albrecht (1993), "Gundert as a Man", in K. K. N. Kurup; K. J. John (eds.), Legacy of Basel Mission and Hermann Gundert in Malabar, Calicut, pp. 9–32
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Frenz, Albrecht and Scaria Zacharia (1993). Dr. Hermann Gundert and Malayalam Language. Kottayam: Centre for Kerala Studies.
- Jenkins, Paul (1998), "Gundert, Hermann", in Gerald Anderson (ed.), Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan, pp. 270–271
- Malayalam-English Dictionary, by Dr. Herman Gundert, 1872. Ed. 3, Published by Sahythia Pravarthaka Sahakarana Sangham, Kerala, 2000. Biography.
External links
- Hermann Gundert Society (in English) Archived 23 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- Hermann Gundert