Herman Neubronner Van Der Tuuk - Linguist

Linguist

In all but name, Van der Tuuk was still reading law, but he had become noted for his phenomenal aptitude at studying languages, and on the basis of that reputation, NBG resolved to send him to the Batak regions to study their languages. These interior regions of Sumatra were still largely unknown to westerners at that time, so it was left to Van der Tuuk to decide which Batak language to research with a view to translating the Bible into it. In the end, he opted for Toba Batak.

Van der Tuuk reached Java in 1849. He at once fell seriously ill, and indeed was to be haunted by various diseases and by depressions for the rest of his life. The remedy chosen in his case was a sulphur treatment, which appears only to have worsened his condition, and in letters which testify to his confusion, Van der Tuuk requested that NBG relieve him of his duties. They declined, the reason probably being that they had learnt about his condition.

In 1851, he had recovered sufficiently to be able to depart for the Batak regions. By way of Padang, he reached the coastal village of Siboga (alternatively known as Sibolga), where, however, conditions were not conducive to success. Many inhabitants were coastal Malays, and for closer contact with Batak, he had to travel into the interior. He did not succeed before 1852, when he traveled inland some sixty miles. Later, he was to make another trip inland, becoming the first European to set eyes on Lake Toba. By that time he had settled in the more northern coastal town of Baroes (alternatively known as Barus), where Batak influence was still strong.

His assignment had a linguistic component (writing a dictionary and a grammar of the language studied) as well as a practical one (translating the Bible into that language). In 1854, however, he fell ill again, and apparently suffered from a liver complaint and renewed depressions. As a result, he had to return to the Netherlands for convalescence in 1856. He remained in Europe until 1868, translating books of the Bible into Batak (1859), publishing his Dictionary of Batak (1861), formulating his linguistic laws, and receiving an honorary doctor's degree from Utrecht University in 1861.

In 1862, NBG judged that Van der Tuuk was able to depart for the Dutch East Indies once more. The need was now felt for a Bible translation into Balinese, and Van der Tuuk was to be stationed on the Isle of Bali. Van der Tuuk did not allow himself to be affected by these considerations. He remained in the Netherlands, working on his two-volume Batak grammar, which was published in 1864 and 1867. He did, however, take up the study of other languages, among them Balinese and Old Javanese or Kawi, a published extensively on the Malay language.

In 1868 he returned to the Dutch East-Indies, first travelling to the Lampung region of South Sumatra to write a dictionary of its language. Once more he was struck by illness, and returned to Java in 1869, in passing making a study of the Sundanese (West Javanese) language, and in 1870 left for Bali.

On that island, he set to work on a dictionary of Balinese, only to find that this necessitated a study of Kawi (Old Javanese). This led him to the conclusion that he had better write a trilingual dictionary: of Kawi, Balinese and Dutch. However, NBG was primarily interested in Bible translation, and rather jibed at Van der Tuuk's plans. He therefore decided to resign and became a civil servant in 1873.

In that capacity, he worked on his trilingual dictionary for the rest of his life, and this magnum opus was not to appear before his death. Meanwhile, he was also active in other linguistic activities, such as reworking a dictionary of Malay and a dictionary of Kawi and Modern Javanese. He died, aged 70, in Surabaya.