Luise Hercus

Luise Anna Hercus AM is a German-born linguist who has lived in Australia since 1954 and has specialised in Australian Aboriginal languages since 1965 or earlier. Works authored or co-authored by her are influential, and often among the primary resource materials on many languages of Australia. She has written on, among others, the following languages (and their dialects):

• Paakantyi (Baagandji, Bagundji)
• Kaurna
• Nukunu
• Arabana-Wangkangurru
• Nauo
• Yarli
• Thura-Yura
• Mirndi
• Nungali

Besides Australian languages, Hercus has also studied Romance and early Indian languages.

Life and career

Hercus was born Luise Anna Schwarzschild on 16 January 1926 in Munich, Germany, to Alfred and Theodora Schwarzschild. She moved to England in 1939, and to Australia in 1954. She married the scientist Graham Robertson Hercus, on 23 February 1955 (deceased 1974). Together they had one child, Iain Robertson Hercus.

She studied at Oxford University, England: Bachelor in Modern Languages with honors, 1946; Bachelor in Oriental Studies with honors, 1948; and also taught there as a Lecturer at St. Anne's College, from 1946 to 1954. From 1965 to 1969 she was a Research fellow at the University of Adelaide, South Australia. From 1969 she took up an appointment as Senior Lecturer and then Reader in Sanskrit, in the Asian Studies Department of the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. Since 1991 she has been a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Linguistics at ANU, writing up grammars, dictionaries and traditional texts, and continuing fieldwork mainly in the north of South Australia and adjacent areas of New South Wales and Queensland.

A Festschrift was presented to Dr Hercus on the occasion of her retirement in 1990.

In March and November 2011, aged 85, Hercus was still presenting papers at conferences.

In January 2016, AIATSIS reported as follows:

Digitised versions of the significant and foundational collection of sound recordings by Dr Luise Hercus, held in the AIATSIS archives, were presented back to Dr Hercus as part of the celebration of her 90th birthday held at the Australian National University this week.

Dr Hercus was one of the first researchers to receive support from AIATSIS for her fieldwork. Her collections lodged with AIATSIS contains over 1000 hours of sound recordings that cover over 56 languages and dialects. Among these are the only available sound recordings of Pantyikali, Nukunu, Woiwurrung, Dadi Dadi, Djadjala, Gunnai, Narungga, Wadi Wadi, Wergaia, Kurnu, and Nari Nari.

and further:

A book honouring Dr Hercus’ lifelong passion for linguistics was also produced for the occasion, entitled Language, land and song: Studies in honour of Luise Hercus. The 600 page book has over 30 contributors from the fields of linguistics, history and anthropology. The book will be published later this year.

Works

Hercus is a prolific author, with 163 works to her credit at WorldCat Identities, but perhaps best known for the following works:

• Aboriginal Placenames: Naming and re-naming the Australian landscape (2009)
• The Bagandji language (Pacific Linguistics) (1981)
• A Grammar Of The Wirangu Language From The West Coast Of South Australia (1999)
• This is what happened: historical narratives by Aborigines (1986)

A fuller list also includes:

• The languages of Victoria: A late survey in two parts (1965)
• Two Rainbow Serpents Travelling: Mura Track Narratives From the 'Corner Country' (2009)

Honours

On the 12th of June 1995, Dr Luise Hercus became a Member of the Order of Australia, for her service to education and linguistics, particularly through the preservation of Aboriginal languages and culture.