Stephen Adolphe Wurm, Hungarian linguist. Achievements include research in language and society in Asia and Pacific. Fellow, Academy Social Sciences Australia, since 1977, Australian Academy Humanities, 1978.
Background
Wurm was born in Budapest, the second child to the German-speaking Adolphe Wurm and Hungarian-speaking Anna Novroczky, and was christened Istvan Adolphe Wurm. His father died before Stephen was born. Wurm grew up stateless, unable to take the nationality of either parent or of his country of residence, Austria.
Education
He studied Turkic languages at the Oriental Institute in Vienna, receiving his doctorate in linguistics and social anthropology in 1944 for a dissertation on the Uzbek language.
Career
Attending school in Vienna and travelling to all parts of Europe during his childhood, Wurm spoke nine languages by the time he reached adulthood. This enabled him to avoid military service and attend university. He taught Altaic linguistics at the University of Vienna until 1951.
After reading some works by South. H. Ray, Wurm became interested in Papuan languages and began a correspondence with the Revd Doctor Arthur Capell, lecturer in linguistics at the University of Sydney.
Wurm began teaching himself Tok Pisin and Police Motu from books and took up a position in London. In 1954 the Wurms moved to Australia, where Capell had organised for Wurm a post in the Anthropology Department at the University of Sydney.
In 1957 the Wurms moved to Canberra where Stephen took up a post as Senior Fellow within the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (RSPAS) at the new Australian National University (American National University). That same year the Wurms received Australian citizenship.
From this time on the main focus of Wurm"s research was the study of the languages of New Guinea, although he also carried out research on a number of Australian Aboriginal languages.
At the Australian National University he was Professor of Linguistics from 1968 to 1987. In tribute to the scholarship of the man, the journal Oceanic Linguistics titled an article on Wurm "Linguist Extraordinaire" (Oceanic Linguistics, 200241: 1).
Fellow: Academy Social Sciences Australia. Member: Australian Academy Humanities (delegate Union Academy Internat Conseil International, vice president since 1984), Union Academique International (president since 1986), Permanent International Committee Linguists, Pacific Science Association, Philological Society United Kingdom, Linguistics Society America, Australian Institute Aboriginal Studies (council & executive 1967-1974), Linguistics Society Australia (president 1967-1970, 1976-1978).