MOYSHE ALTBOYER (ALTBAUER)

MOYSHE ALTBOYER (ALTBAUER) (November 12, 1904-1998)

Born in Przemyśl, Galicia.  He received a traditional Jewish education.  He graduated from high school in Przemyśl and university in Lemberg (Lvov).  By occupation, he was a teacher.  He received his doctoral degree in 1932 in philosophy.  He was a scholarly contributor to YIVO in Vilna.  From 1935 forward, he was in Palestine where he served as editorial secretary for Yediot iriyat tel aviv (News of the township of Tel Aviv).  From 1954 to 1975, he was an instructor and later professor of Slavic linguistics at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.  He published treatises on Yiddish and the Slavic-Yiddish linguistic connections, and a series of books and pamphlets in other languages.  In Yivo-bleter (Leaves from YIVO), vol. 1 (1931), pp. 272-76: “Di antviklung fun poylishn oysleyg un zayn hayntiker shtand” (The evolution of Polish spelling and its present standing); and in Yivo-bleter, vol. 3, pp. 449-53: “Gloses tsu brikners etimologishn verterbukh fun der poylisher shprakh” (Glosses to Brikner’s etymological dictionary of the Polish language).  He also published a pamphlet: Di kegnzaytike poylish-yidishe hashpoes afn shprakh-front (The reciprocal Polish-Yiddish influences on the language front) (Vilna, 1934), 15 pp., and in Polish, O Skrotach Zlozonych Nazw Miejscowych w Hebrajszczyznie (Posen, 1950), 13 pp.  His work also appeared in Di goldene keyt (The golden chain) (Tel Aviv) 29 (1957); and Yidishe shprakh (Yiddish language) (New York) (1957).  He was as well a contributor to the Yiddish Language and Cultural Atlas, edited by Uriel Weinreich.

Source: Who’s Who in Israel (1952), p. 81.