BRANDENSTEIN, Wilhelm. Salzburg 23.10.1898 — Graz 1.12.1967. Austrian Indo-Iranian and Indoeuropean Scholar. Professor in Graz. Son of an official, educated in Salzburg. In 1915 as a voluntary to the army, 1918 disbanded as lieutenant. From 1918 studied at Innsbruck classical philology (under Kalinka & Jüthner), IE (Walde, Reichelt), philosophy (F. Hillebrandt), and ancient history (Lehmann-Haupt). 1921 Lehramtsprüfung. In 1921-23 taught at the Realschule in Salzburg, then further studies at Vienna University under Kretschmer, Trubetzkoy et al. Ph.D. 1925 Vienna. From 1925 teacher at the BEA XIII in Vienna. In 1935 rejected a chair of Etruscology at Ankara. 1936 PD at Graz University, and in 1939, after Reichelt’s death, acting director of the department of Comparative and Indo-Iranian Linguistics. From 1941 ao. Professor, 1952 ord. Professor at Graz, until his death. In 1940 to the army, but was disbanded because of illness in 1943. 1954 again seriously ill. Recreation mountaineering. Married Henriette.
Brandenstein was mainly an Iranian, Greek and IE scholar, but also taught Sanskrit at Graz. In spite of its title even his Atlantis book is a serious philological analysis of the Platonic account. Among his students were M. Mayrhofer, F. F. Schwarz, and F. Lochner-Hüttenbach.
Publications: Diss. Die Bedeutung der Nebensatzsyntaxe. Manuscript, Vienna 1925.
– “Die Lydische Sprache”, WZKM 36, 1929, 263-304; 38, 1932, 1-67; “Die Nominalform des Lydischen”, Caucasica 9, 1931, 25-40; 10, 1932, 67-94; Die tyrrhenische Stele von Lemnos. 51 p. Mitt. d. altorient. Ges. 8:3. Lp. 1934; Die Herkunft der Etrusker. 41 p. Das Alte Orient 35:1. Lp. 1937; “Sprachliches zur Urgeschichte der Etrusker und Tyrrhener”, Belleten 3-4, 1937, 677-751; many further articles on ancient Anatolian languages in the RE and various journals.
– Die erste ‘indogermanische’ Wanderung. 88 p. Vienna 1936; “Die Lebensformen der ‘Indogermaner’”, Wiener Beitr. z. Kulturgesch. und Lit. 1936, 231-277; Einführung in die Phonetik und Phonologie. 104 p. Vienna 1950; Griechische Sprachwissenschaft. 1. 160 p. S. Göschen. 1954; 2. 192 p. 1959; 3. Syntax. 1. 145 p. 1966; Spanish transl. of 1-2. 1964; further articles on Greek and IE linguistics.
– Atlantis. Grösse und Untergang eines geheimnisvollen Inselreiches. 105 p. Wien 1951.
– “Die neuen Achämenideninschriften”, WZKM 39, 1932, 7-97; “Die Abstammungssagen der Skythen”, WZKM 52, 1953; “Arica”, MNHMH∑ XAPIN, Gedenkschrift P. Kretschmer. 1, 1956, 52-60; “Kušānisch ΒΑΡΓΟ”, IIJ 5, 1961-62, 233-236; “Der persische Satz bei Aristophanes, Ἀχαρνῆς, Vers 100”, WZKS 8, 1964, 43-58.
– “Die alten Inder in Vorderasien und die Chronologie des Rigveda”, Frühgeschichte und Sprachwissenschaft. Vienna 1948, 134-145 & 186.
– With M. Mayrhofer: Antiguo Persa. Grammatica, inscripciones. Con un lexico etimologico por M. M. 143 p. Manual de linguistica indoeuropea 3. Madrid 1958; Handbuch des Altpersischen. 172 p. Wb. 1964.
Sources: F. Lochner-Hüttenbach in Studien zur Sprachwiss. u. Kulturkunde. Gedenkschrift W. Br. Innsbruck 1968, 395-411 (with bibliography and photo); briefly in German Wikipedia.
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