Hans Wehr | |
|---|---|
 Wehr in 1972 | |
| Born | Hans Bodo Wehr (1909-07-05)5 July 1909 |
| Died | 24 May 1981(1981-05-24) (aged 71) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Arabist |
| Institutions | University of Münster (1957–1974) |
| Notable works | Arabisches Wörterbuch für die Schriftsprache der Gegenwart (1952) |
Hans Bodo Wehr (German pronunciation:[veːɐ̯]; 5 July 1909 – 24 May 1981) was a GermanArabist. He is best known for his work onA Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, originally published in German asArabisches Wörterbuch für die Schriftsprache der Gegenwart in 1952. The system of transliteration used in the dictionary has become known asHans Wehr transliteration.
Wehr was born inLeipzig in 5 July 1909. He attended agymnasium inHalle, and then studied at universities in Halle,Berlin, andLeipzig. He received hisdoctorate in 1935 and hishabilitation in 1939.[1]
He joined theNazi Party in 1940, and wrote an essay arguing that Germany should ally with the Arabs against Great Britain and France. He had begun work on an Arabic–German dictionary, and the project received funding from the German government, which intended to use make use of the dictionary in translatingMein Kampf into Arabic. For a time, Wehr was assisted in his project byHedwig Klein.[2]
His dictionary, entitledArabisches Wörterbuch für die Schriftsprache der Gegenwart, was eventually published in 1952. An English version, edited byJ Milton Cowan and entitledA Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, was published in 1961.[1] The dictionary used a new system of transliteration, which is today known asHans Wehr transliteration.
Wehr was a professor at theUniversity of Münster from 1957 until his retirement in 1974. He died inMünster in 24 May 1981.[1]
