Gerhard Doerfer (1920–2003) was a German Turkologist. The English translation of “Zur Sprache der Hunnen ― On the Language of the Huns” in its entirety is coming up soon.
Gerhard Doerfer, “Zur Sprache der Hunnen ― On the Language of the Huns” in Central Asiatic Journal, 1973.
And see there’s nothing we can know!
It almost sets my heart burning.
[Faust Part I: Scene I: Night, 364–365.]
§ 1. The problem of the Hun language is extremely controversial. A wide variety of opinions have been expressed without even the possibility of a solution ever arising. Under these circumstances, it seems almost presumptuous to even deal with the subject, let alone to make a definitive statement about it. So, I cannot say anything more than my own opinion—in addition to which others are easily possible. However, I would ask you to consider that an overall view of the Hun material is offered here, which should only be refuted and replaced by a new overall view, but not by the criticism of details.
I ask the reader’s forbearance if I have been extremely brief (which can easily give the impression of a certain—unintentional—harshness). Basically, this would be a (much comprehensive) dissertation, if not a habilitation topic. However, the results of this work are critically negative—and who wants to write a negative dissertation?
. . .
