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