An Honorary Doctorate for Dr Tjeerd de Graaf
On Wednesday 11 November 1998 at the University of St. Petersburg, an honorary doctorate was awarded to phonetician Dr Tjeerd de Graaf, scientific staff member at the Faculty of Arts, Department of General Linguistics, University of Groningen.By Cecilia Odé
Earlier in 1998, Dr de Graaf was appointed Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion for his pioneering research in the field of ethno-linguistics and for his remarkable services in reconstructing and conserving extinct and endangered languages in Siberia, the Far East of the Russian Federation, the North Pacific Rim, and the north of Japan.The degree of honorary doctor is a recognition of the extraordinary activities in the broad working field of Tjeerd de Graaf (ethno-linguistics, phonetics, physics, astronomy, to mention a few), who has mastered nine languages. From different funds, such as NWO (Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research) and INTAS (EU, Brussels), he financed a unique project: the reconstruction of linguistic databases from the archives of the Puškinskij Dom, Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, and other archives, utilizing the advanced technology now available. These databases consist of linguistic, folkloristic, ethno-musicological, and literary recordings, some historic materials on wax cylinders. The recordings have been copied onto compact discs and digital tapes and now they are preserved and have been made available for study by specialists in the different fields. In interviews in two leading Dutch newspapers, The NRC (7/11/1998) and De Volkskrant (14/11/98), the work of Tjeerd de Graaf is discussed in detail.
Apart from supplying departments in St. Petersburg with computers for the technical processing of the recorded materials, Tjeerd de Graaf also financed scientific visits by Russian linguists to laboratories, congresses, and workshops in Groningen, Vienna and elsewhere outside the Russian Federation. He was even able to offer some Russian specialists a salary. In the present situation such financing is of increasing importance.
The ceremony in St. Petersburg was a moving event. Both the Rector (herself a phonetician), Mrs. L. Verbickaja, and the Head of the Phonetics Department at the University of St. Petersburg, Mrs. L. Bondarko, showed their respect, gratitude, and love for Tjeerd de Graaf in heartwarming words. '(..) What is said by somebody, very often disappears together with that person and even with a whole people. One of the tasks of contemporary science is to try to preserve what has been said, pronounced, because a written text does not fully reflect the life, soul, heart, and history of a people. In that respect, the presence in St. Peterburg at our university of a man like Tjeerd de Graaf can simply be considered to be the finger of Fate and a gift from God. (...) Inside him there is something that softens the soul, that revives one´s views, and forces one to see the surrounding reality from a new perspective. I speak in the name of our department where we simply can say unanimously: we love you, Tjeerd.' (Fragments from the speech of Mrs. Bondarko.)
Four times De Graaf had to say yes to questions asked by the Rector about his willingness 1) to contribute to the friendship between peoples; 2) to serve science sincerely; 3) to stimulate young scientists and 4) to accept the degree of honorary doctor. He received a certificate printed in polychrome and gold with the text in Russian and Latin. Then he was dressed in the first beautiful academic gown of a new model. De Graaf paced in a stately tread to the place from which he read a speech on 'Linguistic Databases and Language Minorities around the North Pacific Rim' (the text can be ordered at the IIAS, ask for Cecilia Odé).
On the Dutch side, Tjeerd de Graaf was honoured by the Dutch Consul, Mr J. Henneman, in a humorous speech. Musicians from the St. Petersburg Philharmonic added greatly to the ambience with their performance of a trio-sonata by Mozart. During the banquet, offered by the Dutch Consulate, a number of speeches was given in an informal atmosphere warmed by many embraces, and the spirit reached a new climax when friends and colleagues reminisced about meetings with Tjeerd de Graaf in the farthest corners of the world and when, finally, songs were sung in minority languages like Yakutian and Frisian.
Dr Cecilia Odé is attached to ISIR (Irian Jaya Studies), Projects Division, Leiden University.