View source for Eugen Dieth

{{Infobox person
| name               = Eugen Dieth
| image              = Eugen_dieth.jpg
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1893|11|18|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Neukirch an der Thur]] ([[Thurgau|TG]]), [[Switzerland]]
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1956|5|24|1893|11|18|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[Zollikon]] ([[Zurich (canton)|ZH]]), [[Switzerland]]
| occupation         = [[Linguistics|Linguist]], [[Phonetics|Phonetician]]
}}

'''Eugen Dieth''' (18 November 1893, in [[Neukirch an der Thur]] – 24 May 1956, in [[Zollikon]]) was a Swiss linguist, phonetician and dialectologist. He is well known for his work in English and German [[phonetics]], and for co-initiating the [[Survey of English Dialects]].

== Biography ==
Eugen Dieth studied [[General Linguistics]], [[English language|English]] and [[German language|German]] at the [[University of Zurich]] and the [[University of Geneva]]. He earned his PhD in 1919 with a dissertation on [[Middle English]] [[syntax]]. Between 1922 and 1927 he was ''lecturer in German'' in [[Aberdeen]]. In 1927 he became [[Professor|Professor extraordinarius]] and in 1947 [[Professor|Professor ordinarius]] for English, [[Old Norse]] and [[phonetics|General Phonetics]] at the University of Zurich. He founded the [[Phonetisches Laboratorium der Universität Zürich|Phonetics Laboratory of the University of Zurich]] in 1935. Between 1927 and 1936 he worked as a part-time editor for the [[Schweizerisches Idiotikon]] and between 1934 and his unexpected death from a [[stroke]] in 1956 he was the director of the [[Phonogram Archives of the University of Zurich]]. He married Hilde Martha Bachmann, the daughter of the Swiss professor of German Philology at the University of Zurich, [[Albert Bachmann (philologist)|Albert Bachmann]], in 1951.

== Achievements ==
Eugen Dieth published an orthographic handbook for [[Swiss German]] in 1938, entitled ''Schwyzertütschi Dialäktschrift'' (= Swiss German Dialect Orthography). His system of spelling Swiss German is commonly referred to as [[Dieth-Schreibung]]. It postulates that the vernacular spelling ought to reflect the phonological characteristics and individuality of the various Swiss dialects. It can therefore be characterized as a system of [[phonetic transcription]] meant to be used by lay people. In its less strict form, it tries to limit itself to the usage of the letters and diacritics that are available on a simple typing machine.

In 1950 he published his ''Vademekum der Phonetik'', a textbook classic in German-speaking phonetics.

As professor of English, he was also very active in the field of dialectology in Britain. His description of the dialect of [[Buchan]] was an important contribution to Scottish dialectology. More importantly, however, he initiated the work for the [[Survey of English Dialects]] and compiled—together with [[Harold Orton]]—the ''Questionnaire for a Linguistic Atlas of England.''

== Selected works ==

* Dieth, Eugen (1932). ''A Grammar of the Buchan Dialect (Aberdeenshire)''. Cambridge: University Press.
* Dieth, Eugen (1938). ''Schwyzertütschi Dialäktschrift. Leitfaden einer einheitlichen Schreibweise für alle Dialekte''. Zürich: Orell Füssli.
* Dieth, Eugen (1950). ''Vademekum der Phonetik. Phonetische Grundlagen für das wissenschaftliche und praktische Studium der Sprachen''. Bern: Francke.
* Dieth, Eugen and Harold Orton (1952). ''A Questionnaire for a Linguistic Atlas of England''. Leeds: Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society.

== References ==
* Brunner, Rudolf und Eduard Kolb (1956). "Eugen Dieth." In: ''Zeitschrift für Phonetik und allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft'' 9, 397-406.

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dieth, Eugen}}
[[Category:1893 births]]
[[Category:1956 deaths]]
[[Category:Linguists from Switzerland]]
[[Category:University of Zurich alumni]]
[[Category:University of Geneva alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Zurich]]
[[Category:20th-century linguists]]