Martin Joos
| Martin Joos | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 11, 1907 Wisconsin |
| Died | May 6, 1978 (aged 70) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Linguist; Professor of German |
| Known for | Work in linguistics, including the book The Five Clocks |
Martin Joos (1907–1978) was a linguist and German professor.[1] He spent most of his career at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and also served at the University of Toronto and as a visiting scholar at the University of Alberta, the University of Belgrade, and the University of Edinburgh.
During World War II Joos was a cryptologist for the US Signal Security Agency.[2] The War Department honored him with a Distinguished Service citation in recognition of his work developing communication systems.[1]
After the war he returned to the University of Wisconsin, eventually serving as the chairman of the Department of German.
Among Joos's books on linguistics is The Five Clocks (1962), which introduced influential discussions of style, register, and style-shifting.[3]
Selected works
- 1951. Middle High German Courtly Reader (with F.R. Whitesell). Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
- 1957. Readings in Linguistics: The Development of Descriptive Linguistics in America since 1925 (editor). Washington: ACLS.
- 1962. The Five Clocks. Bloomington: Indiana University Research Center in Anthropology, Folklore, and Linguistics. Reprinted in 1967 by Harcourt, Brace & World. ISBN 978-0156313803
- 1964. The English Verb: Form and Meanings. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0299033101
- 1972. Semantic axiom number one. Language 48(2), 257-265.