Werner Vycichl (1909–1999) was among the foremost specialists in Berber historical linguistics. Taking a broad comparative view, his studies of Berber historical phonetics and morphology incited much interest and often provided fertile ground for discussions. Among the largest projects he envisaged was a Handbuch der Berbersprachen, an overview of Berber historical linguistics, phonetics and morphology. Although he worked on this for over twenty-five years, he was not able to finish it.
The first part of this edition is an extract of his manuscript. It contains article-like chapters dealing mainly with Berber language materials in antique sources, historical phonetics and morphology of the Berber languages. The second part of this volume is a hitherto unpublished sketch of the Berber language of Siwa (Egypt). Its manuscript was finished in 1991. Based on fieldwork undertaken over many years, it provides us with a full overview of Siwan morphology, as well as with important insights into its phonology and syntax.
Following the link at the bottom, you will find the biography of Werner Vycichl.
In the same series a survey of the phonology of Siwi and of language contact between Siwi and Arabic have been published. Furthermore, a text collection of Siwi Berber and a study of craftsmanship and artwork in Siwa are available:
Andrzej Zaborski in Folia Orientalia, 41/2005, 288
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