LINGUIST List 22.3340 Mon Aug 22 2011 All: Obituary: Remembering Anna Siewierska Editor for this issue: Elyssa Winzeler <elyssalinguistlist.org> To post to LINGUIST, use our convenient web form at http://linguistlist.org/LL/posttolinguist.cfm Directory         1.     Anke Beck , Obituary: Remembering Anna Siewierska Message 1: Obituary: Remembering Anna Siewierska Date: 22-Aug-2011 From: Anke Beck <mouton.editorialdegruyter.com> Subject: Obituary: Remembering Anna Siewierska E-mail this message to a friend Remembering Anna Siewierska I was about to meet Anna, who was the editor of the EUROTYP volume Constituent Order in the Languages of Europe, published by De Gruyter Mouton in 1998, for the first time. I already had much respect for her before I actually met her: she had begun her studies at the University of Gdańsk, then moved on to Monash (Australia), where she gained her PhD in 1985. Anna then attended the University of Amsterdam before she received her Post-doctoral (habilitation degree) at the University of Gdańsk in 1992. She was appointed Professor of Linguistics and Human Communication at Lancaster University, but also spent time as a Visiting Scholar at the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, and the list of achievements went on and on. She was one of the ''hard working'' linguists – no doubt, given the career trajectory, but was also rumored to be efficient, caring, supportive of her students, attractive… in short: she had a reputation for being perfect. I was a little nervous to approach her. I had just listened to a well-presented talk on ''ditransitives,'' if I remember correctly, and I thought I should try to find her and congratulate her on her presentation. I discovered her standing at the buffet in the distance. She stood still and did not move at all. ''She looks like an iconic figure,'' I said to myself. Then something caught my eye: I saw a bright pop of color twinkling from below the buffet's white tablecloths. I realized that it was Anna´s shoes. They were bright red shoes, and they were glorious! So while I meant to approach her in a professional way, what I really said was, ''Great talk, Anna, but you know what? Even greater shoes!'' Anna burst out laughing and almost couldn't stop. ''Oh yes,'' she cried, ''I loved them, too - before I realized I had to walk in them!'' In this very non-academic moment, a wonderful friendship was born. This is how I want to remember Anna: an excellent linguist, but also a warm, charming, affectionate woman with a great sense of wit and style. We, my colleagues at De Gruyter Mouton and I, would like to express our gratitude that she became our author, editor, friend and advisor. Our thoughts are with Dik Bakker, her husband, at this time. Anna will be greatly missed. Anke Beck and the De Gruyter Mouton team Kirstin Börgen Emily Farrell Barbara Karlson Katja Lehming Jennifer Mand Julie Miess Marcia Schwartz Birgit Sievert Uri Tadmor Linguistic Field(s): Not Applicable Read more issues|LINGUIST home page|Top of issue Page Updated: 22-Aug-2011       About LINGUIST    |   Contact Us       While the LINGUIST List makes every effort to ensure the linguistic relevance of sites listed on its pages, it cannot vouch for their contents.