SOMMER, Johann Ferdinand. Trier 4.5.1875 — Munich 3.4.1962. German classical,IE and Hittite Scholar. Professor in Jena and Munich. Son of Philipp Sommer (1845–1911), a Rechnungsrat, and Johanna Saur. Educated in Trier and Kassel, from 1893 studies at Marburg and Freiburg (Thurneysen). Ph.D. 1896 Freiburg (diss. on Celtology). Further studies at Leipzig (Brugmann, Leskien, Sievers). PD 1899 Leipzig (hab.diss. on Latin). From 1902 ord. Professor of Classics and Linguistics at Basel (succeeding Wackernagel), from 1909 at Rostock, from 1913 at Jena (succeeding Delbrück), from 1924 at Bonn and from 1926 at Munich. Emeritus in 1951. Married 1906 Johanna Kaiser (1877–1955), two daughters.
Sommer was mainly known of his research of classical languages in the light of IE linguistics and of his Hittite studies. Among his students were Bechert, H. Berger, Debrunner, K. Hoffmann, Kammenhuber, Krahe, Porzig and Scherer.
Publications: Much on IE and classical philology, e.g. Handbuch der lateinischen Laut- und Formenlehre. 1902, 2nd ed. 664 p. Heidelberg 1914; Zur Geschichte der griechischen Nominalkomposita. 225 p. Munich 1948; Zum Zahlwort. 100 p. Munich 1951.
– “Zum indogermanischen Personalpronomen”, IF 30, 1912, 393-430; “Altindisch dhur-”, Die Sprache 1, 1949, 150-163; other articles in IF.
– Die Ahhijawa-Urkunden. 469 p. ABaAW 1932; Hethiter und Hethitisch. 8+112 p. St. 1947.
– Of Indological interest: “Das Femininum der u- und i-Adjektiven im Ṛgveda und im Altiranischen”, IF 36, 1916, 165-233; “Zum vedischen Sandhi”, Streitberg-Festgabe 1924, 252-272 and a few brief notes on Sanskrit, e.g. in Festgabe Jacobi 1926, 33.
– Schriften aus dem Nachlass. 392 p. Munich 1977.
Sources: *Corolla linguistica. Festschrift F.S. Wb. 1955 with photo (this and another from Schriften 1977 in TITUS Galeria); photo in IF 61, 1954, bibliography in IF 62, 1955, 78-96; *D. Cherubim, Lex. Gramm. 1996, 873; B. Forssman, N.D.B. 24, 2010, 566f.; Stache-Weiske 2017, 561; *H. Zinsmeister, “Erinnerungen an F.S.”, in Schriften aus der Nachlass. 1977; D.G.K. 1935; briefly D.B.E. 9, 1998, 368; Wikipedia (more in German version).
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