COUVREUR, Walter. Antwerpen 25.7.1914 — 17.9.1996. Belgian Linguist and Scholar of Tocharian. After school in Antwerpen studies at Leuven, also under Sieg at Göttingen. Ph.D. Leuven 1936 in Oriental languages and 1938 in Classics. In 1938-44 researcher of Nationaal Fonds van Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek in Brussels. From 1945 Docent at Ghent and 1949 Professor of IE Linguistics, then (1957/63/73/94) living in Antwerpen (but perhaps still teaching at Ghent). Also interested in Hittite and in Dutch (and wrote the major part of his studies in Dutch). As Tocharologist he was involved in Buddhist studies, fully noting the parallel evidence in Sanskrit, Pāli and Tibetan texts. In the 1950s he participated in founding the Flamish national party, but did not succeed in elections and left politics. Knighted 1989.
Publications: De hettitische Ḫ. Een Bijdrage tot de Studie van het Indo-Europeesche Vocalisme. 12+395 p. Bibl. du Muséon 5. Leuven 1937.
– Articles on Tocharian: BSL 39, 1938, 243-248; Le Muséon 55, 1942, 131-137; Le Muséon 61, 1948, 312-317; ArO 18, 1950, 126-130; Asiatica. Festschrift F. Weller. Lp. 1954, 43-52; La Nouv. Clio 7-9, 1955-57, 63-65, 67-98, etc.
– Hoofdzaken van de Tochaarse Klank- en Vormleer. 106 p. Philologische Studiën … Leuven 2:4. Leuven 1947.
– “Le caractère sarvāstivādin-vaibhāṣika des fragments tokhariens A d’après les marques et epithètes du Bouddha”, Le Muséon 59, 1946, 577-610; “Zum Tocharischen”, REIE 4, 1947, 209-214, 340-364.
– In Orientalia Gandensia: “Nieuwe koetsjische fragmenten van het Araṇemijātaka”, 1, 1964, 237-249; “Koetsjische schrifttabellen in Slanting Gupta”, 2, 1965, 111-143; “Sanskrit-tochaarse Mātṛceta-fragmenten”, 3, 1966, 159-185; “Sanskrit-Tochaarse en Sanskrit-Koetsjische trefwoordenlijsten van de Dīrghāgama (Dīghanikāya)”, 4, 1967, 151-165.
– Articles on Hittite and Indo-Eurpean.
– Also wrote on Dutch.
Sources: Tocharian bibliographies by Schwentner and St. Zimmer (including small articles and reviews here left out); Buddhist Studies Review 15, 1998, 73f.; libstore.ugent.be with photo; Wikipedia.
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