MATZEL, Klaus Hellmuth. Borsdorf near Leipzig 11.10.1923 — 1992. German Linguist, Germanic and Sinhalese Scholar. Professor in Regensburg. Son of Hellmuth Paul M. and Margaretha Werner. Educated in Hamburg. Studies at Halle, Leipzig, Jena and Berlin, mainly German, but also classics, Slavic, IE and Indology. Four years in a G.D.R. prison lengthened his studies. Ph.D. 1956 F.U.B. Worked as teacher, at schools and at F.U.B. Taught two years German in Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, and there learned Sinhalese. In 1968 habilitation at Würzburg, but soon (still 1968) ord. Professor at Regensburg University, emeritus 1989.

Publications: Diss. and hab.diss. on German.

– Einführung in die singhalesische Sprache. Wb. 1966, 3rd rev. ed. 222 p. Schriftenr. des Südasien-Inst. der Univ. Heidelberg 5. Wb. 1987, 4th rev. ed. by Pr. Jayawardene-Moser. Wb. 2001.

– Much on Germanistics (Gesammelte Schriften. 14+786 p. Heidelberg 1990 by Rosemarie Lühr, Jörg Riecke, Christinane Thim-Mabrey (just on Germanic), vol 3. Ed. by Patriziá de Bernardo Stempel and Rolf Ködderitzsch  8+711 p. Tübingen 1995 (on Celtic). Vol. 1 had Matzel’s bibliography on p. xxv-xliv).

Sources: *H.-W. Eroms et al. (ed.), Studia linguistica et philologica: Festschrift für Klaus Matzel. Heidelberg 1984; *G. Klingenschmitt, Regensburger Universitätszeitschrift 17:4, 1992, 17; D.G.K. 1983, 1992; Adressbuch 1988; prabook.com; German Wikipedia.