T.H. le Roux

T.H. le Roux (1883-1970) was a prominent Afrikaans academic, linguist and phonetician.

Biography

Born Thomas Hugo le Roux, in Worcester, Cape Province, but would go on to publish under his initials as T.H. le Roux.

Studied in Stellenbosch obtaininhg a BA degree, then attended the Ryksuniversiteit at Leiden (1904 tot 1910), obtaining a doctorate in Dutch ("Nederlandse Letteren") on the .

From March 1910 he held a professorship in Dutch and Modern Languages (including German and French) at the then Transvaal University College (later the University of Pretoria), and in 1920 of what now became the of Department of Nederlands en Afrikaans ("Dutch and Afrikaans"), with Germaanse Filologie being added to the name in 1928, and from 1936 onwards known as the Department of Afrikaanse, Nederlandse en Germaanse Taalkunde (Afriaans, Dutch and Germanic Linguistics").

He held many other positions over the years, including boardmember of the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns, and chairman of the Language Advisory Commission for the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

He eventually retired from the University in 1948, and died in Pretoria in 1970.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

Besides his important contributions towards the standardization of the pronunciation and grammar of Afrikaans (also at the SABC), he edited and wrote commentaries on and an introduction in Afrikaans for a series of simplified Dutch versions of dramas by Vondel, including: Josef in Dotan (Pretoria, J.H. de Bussy, 1922), Jefta J.H. de Bussy, 1922), Adam in Ballingschap J.H. de Bussy, 1923), Gijsbrecht van Amstel (J.H. de Bussy, 1925), Lucifer (with J.J. Groeneweg, J.H. de Bussy, 1926), Gebroeders (J.H. de Bussy, 1926), De Leeuwendalers (J.H. de Bussy, 1934) and Het Pascha (J.H. de Bussy, 1937).

He was also one of the many proponents of a national theatre in the years 1935-1947.

Sources

Obituary: "Thomas Hugo le Roux Worcester (Kaapkolonie) 18 maart 1883 - Pretoria 27 november 1970", Jaarboek van de Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde, 1971[1]

Go to ESAT Bibliography