Müller, Friedrich

▪ Austrian linguist

born March 6, 1834, Jemnik, Austria [now Jemnice, Czech Republic]

died May 25, 1898, Vienna

      Austrian linguist who worked on many different languages and language families; he is often cited for his contributions to the study and classification of African languages.

      Among the many books written by Müller, the most important is Grundriss der Sprachwissenschaft (1876–88; Outline of Linguistics). The book provides detailed examples of some of the more common languages of the world and attempts to show the genetic relations between different languages. Müller and other typologists of his day used such nonlinguistic criteria as hair type to deduce their classifications. Although these methods were rather simplistic and arguably racist compared with the more modern typological methods, Müller's Grundriss provided a foundation and a wealth of data for later linguists.

      Its section on African languages remains one of the most influential works on that subject, and Grundriss is certainly among the most influential linguistic studies of its time. Müller posited six divisions within the African languages: a Semitic family, a Hamitic group, a Nuba-Fula group, a Negro group, a Bantu family, and a Hottentot-Bushman group. At the turn of the 21st century, the main language families of the African continent had been determined to include the Afro-Asiatic languages (Müller's Hamitic and Semitic families combined), the Nilo-Saharan languages, the Niger-Congo languages, and the Khoisan languages (Müller's Hottentot-Bushman group).

▪ German writer and painter

byname  Maler (“Painter”) Müller 

born Jan. 13, 1749, Kreuznach, Palatinate

died April 23, 1825, Rome

      German poet, dramatist, and painter who is best known for his slightly sentimental prose idylls on country life.

      After studying painting at Zweibrücken, Müller was appointed court painter at Mannheim (1777) but left the next year for Italy. He abandoned painting soon after his arrival and devoted himself to the history of art. He remained in Italy until his death.

      The years 1774–78 were primarily devoted to literature, and his writing shows the influence of the Sturm und Drang movement. His principal works include Niobe (1778), a lyric drama; Fausts Leben dramatisiert (1778); Golo und Genoveva (begun 1776; published 1811), a skillful imitation of Goethe's Götz von Berlichingen; and the idylls Die Schafschur (1775) and Das Nusskernen (1811), reproducing scenes, some satirical, from German peasant life.

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