Martin Burr Grants

The Society invites applications for small amounts of funding (usually up to a maximum of £500). This may be used for any of the following purposes:
- enable any activity in the history of linguistic ideas and/or practice to reach a non-academic audience and/or encourage public engagement and/or lead to societal impact
or
- enable an activity such as archival work, interviews or workshops, in particular to support new research in areas of the history of linguistic thought and practice that are currently under-represented
or
- support research by under-represented groups in the history of linguistics.

There are two deadlines annually for application: 30 September and 31 March. The application should include a statement of no more than 300 words to explain what the money will be used for, and how the planned activity fits the remit of the scheme, accompanied by a breakdown of the costs. The Henry Sweet Society can only offer up to £500 per application, but this may be supplemented by other sources of funding. Successful projects or activities should acknowledge the contribution of the Henry Sweet Society and of the Martin Burr Bequest.

Both members and non-members of the Henry Sweet Society can apply for the grant. However, if non-members are successful in their application, they must join the Society before the grant can be awarded. This money is made available thanks to the generosity of the late Martin Burr who was himself a non-academic with a passion for the study of language and history and the connection between them.

Please send applications by e-mail to the Secretary of the Society, Dr Olivia Walsh: Olivia.Walsh@nottingham.ac.uk

Martin Burr Bequest

Under the terms of his Will, Martin John Burr (1953-2012) left a proportion of his estate to several academic organisations, including the Henry Sweet Society for the History of Linguistic Ideas.

After attending Berkhamsted School, he matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford, in 1971, to read Classics. He changed course to English Language and Literature in 1973 and graduated in 1975. He obtained the postgraduate Diploma in Comparative Philology from Oxford in 1976.

Martin Burr subsequently worked in London as a barrister, specialising in taxation law. He was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple, and later became a member of the Inner Temple and of Lincoln’s Inn. He was a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

His published work covered the role of the judiciary in Anglo-Saxon England, aspects of the Anglican church, issues of taxation, and the law in relation to health visitors.

Recently funded projects:

‘What is Language?’ Communication and Linguistics in the Library

Between 25 November and 17 December 2023, the Ernesto Ragionieri Public Library (Florence, municipality of Sesto Fiorentino) hosted a series of public workshops on different topics relating to the history of linguistic ideas, bringing them to a general audience. The discussions covered multiple areas of linguistic knowledge, including communication theory, historical linguistics, semiotics and pragmatics. The initiative took place under the aegis of the library’s cultural festival Sguardi: dialoghi – letture – idee (‘Glances: dialogues – readings – ideas’).

Four thematic workshops were offered:

1. Che cos’è… il linguaggio? La meraviglia di capirsi ‘What is language? The wonder of understanding each other’

   Speakers: Pietro Restaneo and Michela Tardella

2. Come parlava Dante al panettiere? La lingua nella vita quotidiana nella Firenze del ‘300 ‘How did Dante speak to the baker? The language of daily life in XIV century

   Florence’

   Speaker: Paolo Squllacioti

   The workshop was recorded and is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cic8ByuDLw8.

3. ‘Metti un tigre nel motore!’: come funziona la pubblicità? ‘Put a tiger in your engine! How do commercials work?’

   Speakers: Pietro Restaneo and Michela Tardella

   The workshop was recorded and is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO3WanP0bGU.

4. Fare cose con le parole. Come si cambia il mondo col linguaggio? ‘Doing things with words. How to change the world with language’

   Speakers: Pietro Restaneo and Michela Tardella

The Poor Man of Nippur – World’s first film in Babylonian

“The Poor Man of Nippur” is a c. 3,000 year-old comic folk tale in Babylonian language. The main manuscript is a clay tablet from 701 BC found at the site of Sultantepe, in South-East Turkey. Recounted by a third-party narrator, it tells the story of the three-fold revenge which Gimil-Ninurta wreaks on the local Mayor after the latter wrongs him.

The film version of this ancient text is a creation of Cambridge Assyriology, and (as far as we know) the world’s first film in Babylonian.

The film was acted by Assyriology students and other members of the Cambridge Mesopotamian community. Shooting locations were in several Cambridge Colleges, King’s Parade, The British Museum, Flag Fen Archaeological Park, and countryside near Grantchester.

The 200-year Anniversary of Indo-European Studies

English Grammar Day 2016