Dr Esther-Miriam Wagner
Biography
I graduated in 2001 with a first class Magistra Artium degree in Semitic Philology, Islamic Studies and Indo-European Studies from the Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena (Germany). During my studies, I spent a year as a visiting student at the Victoria University of Manchester and was involved in the editing and publication of the JBVO and EFAH series.
For the next 3 years, I worked on a joint project with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (funded by the German-Israeli Foundation) on Yiddish syntax before completing a PhD thesis in 2007 about the language of mediaeval Judaeo-Arabic letters under the supervision of Prof Geoffrey Khan at the University of Cambridge. Currently, I am a Research associate at the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Unit, Cambridge University Library.
Qualifications
- MA 2001 Friedrich-Schiller-Universitaet Jena (Germany)
- PhD 2008 University of Cambridge
Research
My main research interests include Judaeo-Arabic, the diachronic language change of Arabic, Arabic dialectology, sociolinguistics, Yiddish and language typology of Jewish languages.
Publications
- 2010 Linguistic Variety of Judaeo-Arabic in Letters from the Cairo Genizah. (in preparation, Leiden 2010)
- 2010 'The weakening of the bourgeoisie: Social changes mirrored in the language of the Genizah letters', in: S. Bhayro and B. Outhwaite (eds), Cambridge Genizah Studies I: proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Genizah Studies, Westminster College, Cambridge 2007. (forthcoming Leiden 2010)
- 2009 'The Genizah and Arabic and Islam'. In: Charles Taylor and the Genizah Collection. Cambridge 2009.
- 2009 'Arabic script material in the Cairo Geniza'. In: Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Leiden 2009, p. 574-576.
- 2005 English version of: Susanne Zeilfelder, Hittite Exercise book, Wiesbaden.
- 2004 ‘Konnektive in der diachronen Entwicklung des Jiddischen’ (The diachronic development of connectives in Yiddish), with Henrike Kuehnert. In: Indogermanistik, Germanistik, Linguistik - Proceedings of the 1st congress for Indoeuropean studies, German studies and Linguistics Jena 2002. Hamburg 2004, p. 261-299.
- 2002 ‘Zahl und Gezaehltes im Sabaeischen’ (Number and counted in Sabaic). In: Norbert Nebes (Hg.), Neue Beitraege zur Semitistik (JBVO 5). Wiesbaden 2002, p. 259-279.
- 2002 Review of Alexander Sima: Tiere, Pflanzen, Steine und Metalle, Wiesbaden 2000. In: Der Islam 80 (2003), p. 373-375.
- 2001 ‘Verzeichnisse’ (Indices), in: Walter W. Mueller, Suedarabien im Altertum. Kommentierte Bibliographie der Jahre 1973-1996. Hrsg. von N. Nebes (EFAH 2). Rahden 2001, p. 145-156.
- 1999 ‘Verzeichnisse’ (Indices). In: Norbert Nebes (Hg.), Tempus und Aspekt in den semitischen Sprachen. Jenaer Kolloquium zur semitischen Sprachwissenschaft (JBVO 1). Wiesbaden 1999, p. 185-192.
- 1997 ‘Christlich-Arabisch’ (Christian Arabic), with N. Nebes and J. Assfalg. In: Orientalische Buchkunst in Gotha. Ausstellung zum 350jaehrigen Jubilaeum der Forschungs- und Landesbibliothek Gotha. Gotha 1997.
Assistant publisher
- 2001 Walter W. Mueller, Suedarabien im Altertum. Kommentierte Bibliographie der Jahre 1973-1996. Hrsg. von N. Nebes (EFAH 2). Rahden 2001.
Electronic resources
- 2009 More than 4,000 Genizah manuscript descriptions on the GOLD
database http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/Taylor-Schechter/GOLD/
genform.html
- 2009 Fragment of the month October 2009
Vis, liber zun, ikh hob dir vil brif geshribn: Yiddish letters in the Genizah
http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/Taylor-Schechter/fotm/october-2009/
- 2008 Fragment of the month April 2008 (T-S AS 157.50)
A twitch divination in the hand of Halfon b. Manasseh
http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/Taylor-Schechter/fotm/april-2008/
- 2007 Fragment of the month October 2007 (T-S AS 152.86)
A newly-discovered fragment of a letter written by Maimonides
http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/Taylor-Schechter/fotm/october-2007/
- 2007 Fragment of the month July 2007 (Mosseri Ia.29)
?alfon's wife
http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/Taylor-Schechter/fotm/july-2007/
Teaching
- 2002-2008 Lecturer for Yiddish, Friedrich-Schiller-Universitaet Jena, Germany