Willem Adelaar

Willem F. H. Adelaar
Born1948 (age 75–76)
The Hague, Netherlands
NationalityDutch
OccupationLinguist
Academic work
InstitutionsLeiden University
Main interestsNative American languages

Willem F. H. Adelaar (born 1948 at The Hague) is a Dutch linguist specializing in Native American languages, specially those of the Andes. He is a Professor of Indigenous American Linguistics and Cultures at Leiden University.[1]

He has written broadly about the Quechua, Aymara and Mapuche languages. His main works are his 2004 The languages of the Andes, an overview of the indigenous languages of the Andean region, which is considered a "classic" in the field.[2] His Dutch language publications about the history and religion of the Inca and translations of Quechua chronicles have met with a broad public. A specialist on minority languages and language endangerment, he is also editor of UNESCO's "Interactive Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger".[2]

In 1994, he was given a newly created Professorial chair in "Languages and Cultures of Native America" at the University of Leiden. He is noted for his belief that the linguistic diversity of the Americas suggests a deeper history of population than the standard account of the settlement of the Americas.[3]

In 2014, he was made Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion in recognition of his scientific achievements.[4] He also holds an honorary doctorate from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos of Lima, Peru.[2] In 2019, he was elected a member of Academia Europaea.[5]

  1. ^ "Prof.dr. W.F.H. (Willem) Adelaar". Leiden University Centre for Linguistics. Leiden University. 8 July 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  2. ^ a b c "Taalkundige Willem Adelaar koninklijk onderscheiden". Leyden University News. 1 October 2014. Archived from the original on 30 January 2015.
  3. ^ Carlin, Eithne B.; van de Kerke, Simon, eds. (2010). "Preface". Linguistics and Archaeology in the Americas: The Historization of Language and Society. Brill. pp. vi–ix.
  4. ^ "Koninklijke onderscheiding voor Prof. dr. Willem Adelaar" (in Dutch). Gemeente Leiden. 1 October 2014. Archived from the original on 30 January 2015.
  5. ^ "Willem F.H. Adelaar". Academia Europaea. Archived from the original on 20 May 2020.