Andreas Fischer was Professor of English Philology (Language and Medieval Literature) at the University of Zurich from 1985 until 31 July 2008. From August 2008 until November 2013 he served as President ('Rektor') of the University of Zurich. He became Emeritus in August 2014.

Before coming to Zurich Andreas Fischer taught at the University of Basel and – as visiting professor – at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1984/85. During his professorship at the University of Zurich, he also served from 2002 to 2004 as Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Arts, from 2004 to 2006 as Dean, and from 2006 to 2008 as one of the Vice-Presidents of the University of Zurich ('Prorektor Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften').

In his teaching he covered various aspects of English linguistics (his areas of specialisation being historical linguistics, the history of English, varieties of English, lexicography, lexicology and semantics) as well as medieval English literature. His research interests are the social and geographical varieties of English and, in particular, all aspects of the vocabulary of English. He has published on dialects of English (Dialects in the South-West of England, 1976; An Index of Dialect Maps of Great Britain, 1991), on the history of the English vocabulary (Wedding and Marriage in Old English, 1986 and many articles), and on stylistic aspects of literary texts.

He was the general editor of "Swiss Papers in English Language and Literature (SPELL)" and is still one of the editors of "Schweizer Anglistische Arbeiten / Swiss Studies in English" and of the "Englisch-deutsche Studienausgabe der Dramen Shakespeares". He is one of the trustees of the Zurich James Joyce Foundation.

His latest publication is a book on the history of the English Department: Es begann mit Scott und Shakespeare: Eine Geschichte der Anglistik an der Universität Zürich (Zürich: Chronos, 2016), 249 pp.

Professor Fischer can be contacted via the secretary's office (044 634 35 51) or directly via email (afischer@es.uzh.ch).

Publications (in descending chronological order, 2005-1976)

2005

— “Die Joyce Stiftung und die Universität Zürich.” 20 Jahre Zürcher James Joyce Stiftung. Ed. Ursula Zeller and Ruth Frehner (Zürich: Zürcher James Joyce Stiftung, 2005), 24-25.

2004

— “‘Non olet’: Euphemisms we live by.” New Perspectives on English Historical Linguistics: Selected Papers from 12 ICEHL, Glasgow, 21-26 August 2002, Glasgow. Vol. 2: Lexis and Transmission. Ed. Christian Kay, Carole Hough and Irené Wotherspoon. Amsterdam Studies in the Theory and History of Linguistic Science, Series IV: Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 252 (Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2004), 91-107.

— “The notional structure of thesauruses.” Categorization in the History of English. Ed. Christian Kay and Jeremy Smith. Amsterdam Studies in the Theory and History of Linguistic Science, Series IV: Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 261 (Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2004), 41-58.

— “Sceaf.” Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde. Band 26. (Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2004), 557-58.

— “[Vorwort:] Zauberhafte Erfolgsgeschichte.” Thomas Hermann, Daniel Ammann and Heinz Moser. Harry war hier: Lesen, Magie und Projekte im Klassenzimmer. Materialien zu Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen. Mit einem Vorwort von Andreas Fischer und einem englischen Übungsteil von Michael Prusse (Winterthur: ZKM, Verlag der Zürcher Kantonalen Mittelstufen konferenz/Zürich: Verlag Pestalozzianum an der Pädagogischen Hochschule Zürich, 2004), 6-7.

2003

— “Ernst Leisi †” Anglia 121.1 (2003), 1-3.

2002

— (ed. with Gunnel Tottie and Hans Martin Lehmann with the assistance of Therese Lutz and Peter Schneider). Text Types and Corpora: Studies in Honour of Udo Fries (Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 2002), xviii+225 pp.

— (with Peter Schneider). “The dramatick disappearance of the <-ick> spelling, researched with authentick material from the Zurich English Newspaper Corpus.” Text Types and Corpora: Studies in Honour of Udo Fries. Ed. Andreas Fischer, Gunnel Tottie and Hans Martin Lehmann with the assistance of Therese Lutz and Peter Schneider (Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 2002), 139-50.

— “Global English as a Challenge for Lexicography.” Globalisation. Ed. Frances Ilmberger and Alan Robinson. SPELL, Swiss Papers in English Language and Literature 15. (Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 2002), 127-50.

— “Notes on kinship terminology in the history of English.” Of dyuersitie & chaunge of langage: Essays Presented to Manfred Görlach on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday. Ed. Katja Lenz and Ruth Möhlig. Anglistische Forschungen 308. (Heidelberg: C. Winter, 2002), 115-28.

— “Ernst Leisi (29 June 1918 - 30 December 2001).” English Studies at Swiss Universities 2001/2002, 6-7.

— “Prof. Dr. Ernst Leisi.” Nekrologe 2001: Zum Gedenken an unsere verstorbenen Professorinnen und Professoren (Zürich: Universität Zürich, 2002), 21-22.

2001

— “Einleitung.” Authors, Heroes and Lovers: Essays on Medieval English Literature and Language. Selected Papers from the Studientage zum englischen Mittelalter SEM I & II (Potsdam 1999 & 2000). / Liebhaber, Helden und Autoren: Studien zur alt- und mittelenglischen Literatur und Sprache. Ausgewählte Beiträge der Studientage zum englischen Mittelalter SEM I & II (Potsdam 1999 & 2000). Ed. Thomas Honegger. Sammlung / Collection Variations 2 (Bern: Peter Lang, 2001), xv-xx.

— “Language and Politics in Switzerland.” Linguistic Politics: Language Policies for Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and Scotland. Ed. John M. Kirk and Dónall P. Ó Baoill. Belfast Studies in Language, Culture and Politics 3 (Belfast: Cló Ollscoil na Banríona, 2001), 105--22.

— “Lexical borrowing and the history of English: A typology of typologies.” Language Contact in the History of English. Ed. Dieter Kastovsky and Arthur Mettinger. Studies in English Medieval Language and Literature 1 (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2001), 97-115.

— Rev. of Lynne Magnusson. Shakespeare and Social Dialogue: Dramatic Language and Elizabethan Letters. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999). Journal of Historical Pragmatics 2.2 (2001), 317-21.

— Rev. of Andrea Simmelbauer. The Dialect of Northumberland: A Lexical Investigation. Anglistische Forschungen 275 (Heidelberg: C. Winter, 2000). English World-Wide 22.1 (2001), 145-47.

2000

— “The greening of greening.” Words: Structure, Meaning, Function. A Festschrift for Dieter Kastovsky. Ed. Christiane Dalton-Puffer and Nikolaus Ritt. Trends in Linguistics, Studies and Monographs 130 (Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 2000), 75-86.

— “Lexical Gaps, Cognition and Linguistic Change.” Lexicology, Semantics and Lexicography: Selected Papers from the Fourth G.L. Brook Symposium, Manchester, August 1998. Ed. Julie Coleman and Christian J. Kay. Amsterdam Studies in the Theory and History of Linguistic Science, Series IV: Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 194 (Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2000), 1-18.

— Rev. of Hugh Magennis. Anglo-Saxon Appetites: Food and Drink and their Consumption in Old English and Related Literature. (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1999). Anglia 118 (2000), 595-97.

1999

— “Graphological Iconicity in Print Advertising: A Typology.” Form Miming Meaning: Iconicity in language and literature. Ed. Max Nänny and Olga Fischer (Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1999), 251-83.

— “Strange Words, Strange Music: The Verbal Music of ‘Sirens’.” Bronze by Gold: The Music of Joyce. Ed. Sebastian D.G. Knowles. Border Crossings 3 / Garland Reference Library of the Humanities 2061 (New York and London: Garland Publishing, 1999), 245-62.

— “What, if Anything, is Phonological Iconicity?” Form Miming Meaning: Iconicity in language and literature. Ed. Max Nänny and Olga Fischer (Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1999), 123-34.

1998

— “Marry: From Religious Invocation to Discourse Marker.” Anglistentag 1997 Giessen: Proceedings. Ed. Raimund Borgmaier, Herbert Grabes and Andreas H. Jucker (Trier: WVT Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 1998), 35-46.

— “‘Milly Bloom, fairhaired, greenvested, slimsandalled’: Joyce’s Compound Adjectives and the Oxford English Dictionary.” A Collideorscape of Joyce: Festschrift For Fritz Senn. Ed. Ruth Frehner and Ursula Zeller (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1998), 171-79.

— “Rejoinder: The Role of Language Studies in Editing Shakespeare.” The European English Messenger 7.2 (1998), 72-75.

1997

— (ed., with Martin Heusser and Thomas Hermann). Aspects of Modernism: Studies in Honour of Max Nänny. With two drawings by Wilhelm Föckersperger (Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 1997), xxx+328 pp.

— “The Hatton MS. of the West Saxon Gospels: The Preservation and Transmission of Old English.” The Preservation and Transmission of Anglo-Saxon Culture: Selected Papers from the 1991 Meeting of the International Society of Anglo-Saxonists. Ed. Paul E. Szarmach and Joel Rosenthal. Studies in Medieval Culture 40 (Kalamazoo: Western Michigan University, Medieval Institute Publications, 1997), 353-67.

— “Hemingway in the Oxford English Dictionary.” Aspects of Modernism: Studies in Honour of Max Nänny. Ed. Andreas Fischer, Martin Heusser and Thomas Hermann (Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 1997), 151-67.

— “Lexical and Semantic Change: An Evaluation of Structural, Pragmatic and Cognitive Explanations.” Anglistentag 1996 Dresden: Proceedings. Ed. Uwe Böker and Hans Sauer (Trier: WVT Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 1997), 61-69.

— “Max Nänny, Zürich, zur Emeritierung und zum 65. Geburtstag.” Anglistik 8.2 (1997), 243-45.

— “The Oxford English Dictionary on CD-ROM as a historical corpus: To wed and to marry revisited.” From Ælfric to The New York Times: Studies in English Corpus Linguistics. Ed. Udo Fries, Viviane Müller and Peter Schneider. Language and Computers: Studies in Practical Linguistics 19 (Amsterdam, Atlanta, GA: Rodopi, 1997), 161-72.

— “‘With this ring I thee wed’: The verbs to wed and to marry in the history of English.” Language History and Linguistic Modelling: A Festschrift for Jacek Fisiak on his 60th Birthday. Ed. Raymond Hickey and Stanislaw Puppel. Trends in Linguistics, Studies and Monographs 101 (Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 1997), 467-81.

— Rev. of Nadine Van den Eynden. Syntactic Variation and Unconscious Linguistic Change. A study of adjectival relative clauses in the dialect of Dorset. Bamberger Beiträge zur Englischen Sprachwissenschaft 33 (Frankfurt am Main etc.: Peter Lang, 1993). English World-Wide 18.1 (1997), 160-62.

1996

— “Dieth, Eugen.” Lexicon Grammaticorum: Who’s Who in the History of World Linguistics. General ed. Harro Stammerjohann (Tübingen: Max Niemeyer, 1996), 240.

— “Dream Theory and Dream Lexis in the Middle Ages.” Anglistentag 1995 Greifswald: Proceedings. Ed. Jürgen Klein and Dirk Vanderbeke (Tübingen: Max Niemeyer, 1996), 245-57.

— “The vocabulary of very late Old English.” Studies in English Language and Literature. ‘Doubt Wisely’: Papers in honour of E.G. Stanley. Ed. M.J. Toswell and E.M. Tyler (London and New York: Routledge, 1996), 29-41.

1995

— Charles Dickens. Weihnachtsgeschichten, aus dem Englischen übersetzt von Trude Fein, manesse im dtv (München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag/Zürich: Manesse Verlag, 1995), “Nachwort” (253-62).

— “Wie buchstabiert man SPELL?” unizürich, Journal der Universität Zürich 1/95 (9. Februar 1995), 19.

1994

— (ed.). Repetition. SPELL, Swiss Papers in English Language and Literature 7 (Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 1994), 268 pp.

— (with Roland Lüthi). “Der deutsche Chaucer: Eine bibliographische Übersicht mit Kommentar.” Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen und Literaturen 231 (1994), 44-58.

— “‘Sumer is icumen in’: the seasons of the year in Middle English and Early Modern English.” Studies in Early Modern English. Ed. Dieter Kastovsky. Topics in English Linguistics 13 (Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 1994), 79-95.

1993

— “Bedbur, an Old English Ghost Word?” Anglo-Saxonica: Beiträge zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte der englischen Sprache und zur altenglischen Literatur. Festschrift für Hans Schabram. Ed. Klaus R. Grinda and Claus-Dieter Wetzel (München: Wilhelm Fink, 1993), 327-33.

— “Medieval English Studies in Switzerland.” Medieval English Studies Newsletter (Tokyo) 29 (December 1993), 1-6.

1992

— “Laughing and Smiling in the History of English.” Anglistentag 1991 Düsseldorf: Proceedings. Ed. Wilhelm G. Busse (Tübingen: Max Niemeyer, 1992), 51-62.

— Rev. of Wolfgang Viereck (dialectological editor) in collaboration with Heinrich Ramisch. The Computer Developed Linguistic Atlas of England 1. Computational production: Harald Händler, Petra Hofmann, Wolfgang Putschke (Tübingen: Max Niemeyer, 1991). English World-Wide 13 (1992), 302-06.

1991

— (with Daniel Ammann). An Index to Dialect Maps of Great Britain. Varieties of English Around the World, General Series 10 (Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1991), 150 pp.

1990

— “Story and Discourse in Sir Gawain and The Franklin’s Tale.” Anglistentag 1989 Würzburg: Proceedings. Ed. Rüdiger Ahrens (Tübingen: Max Niemeyer, 1990), 310-19.

— “Strange Words, Strange Music: The Verbal Music of the ‘Sirens’ Episode in Joyce’s Ulysses.” On Strangeness. Ed. Margaret Bridges. SPELL, Swiss Papers in English Language and Literature 5 (Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 1990), 39-55.

1989

— (ed.). The History and the Dialects of English: Festschrift for Eduard Kolb. Anglistische Forschungen 203 (Heidelberg: Carl Winter, 1989), x+277 pp.

— “Aspects of Historical Lexicology.” Meaning and Beyond: Ernst Leisi zum 70. Geburtstag. Ed. Udo Fries and Martin Heusser (Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 1989), 71-91.

— “Lexical Change in Late Old English: From æ to lagu.” The History and the Dialects of English: Festschrift for Eduard Kolb. Ed. Andreas Fischer. Anglistische Forschungen 203 (Heidelberg: Carl Winter, 1989), 103-14.

— Rev. of Wilhelm Busse. Altenglische Literatur und ihre Geschichte: Zur Kritik des gegenwärtigen Deutungssystems. Studia humaniora, Band 7 (Düsseldorf: Droste, 1987). Archiv 226 (1989), 139-41.

1988

— “Context-Free and Context-Sensitive Literature: Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio and James Joyce’s Dubliners.” Reading Contexts. Ed. Neil Forsyth. SPELL, Swiss Papers in English Language and Literature 4 (Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 1988), 13-31.

— “How to Create a World: Beginnings in Fiction.” Bulletin CILA 48 (1988), 29-44.

— Rev. of Peter M. Anderson. A Structural Atlas of the English Dialects (London, New York, Sydney: Croom Helm, 1987). English World-Wide 9 (1988), 313-18 (315-18).

— Rev. of Christine Fell, Cecily Clark and Elizabeth Williams. Women in Anglo-Saxon England and the Impact of 1066. A Colonnade Book (London: British Museum Publications, 1984). Anglia 106 (1988), 488-92.

— Rev. of Clive Upton, Stewart Sanderson and John Widdowson. Word Maps: A Dialect Atlas of England. Cartography by David Brophy (London, New York, Sydney: Croom Helm, 1987). English World-Wide 9 (1988), 313-18 (313-15).

1987

— Rudyard Kipling. Meistererzählungen, aus dem Englischen übertragen von Sylvia Botheroyd, Monika Kind, Sabine Kipp, Ilse Leisi und Irma Wehrli (Zürich: Manesse, 1987), “Nachwort” (419-41).

— Rev. of John M. Kirk, Stewart Sanderson and J.D.A. Widdowson (eds.). Studies in Linguistic Geography: The Dialects of English in Britain and Ireland (London: Croom Helm, 1985). Anglia 105 (1987), 447-54.

— Rev. of Martyn F. Wakelin. The Southwest of England. Varieties of English Around the World, Text Series 5 (Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1986). English World-Wide 8 (1987), 301-04.

1986

— Engagement, Wedding and Marriage in Old English. Anglistische Forschungen 176 (Heidelberg: Carl Winter, 1986), 196 pp.

— “A Room with a View.” LSA [Ann Arbor, Michigan] Vol. 9, Number 2 (Winter 1986), 11-14.

1984

— “Linguistic Aspects of Interior Monologue in James Joyce’s Ulysses.” Anglistentag 1982, Zürich: Vorträge. Ed. Udo Fries und Jörg Hasler (Giessen: Hoffmann, 1984), 239-51.

— John Galsworthy. Meistererzählungen, aus dem Englischen übersetzt von Irma Wehrli (Zürich: Manesse, 1984), Auswahl und “Nachwort” (459-71).

1983

— Rev. of Gertrud Walter. Kompendium Didaktik Englisch (München: Franz Ehrenwirt, 1981). Buchbesprechungen, Beilage zur Schweiz. Lehrerzeitung und zum Basler Schulblatt 3 (1983), 4.

1981

— Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes-Geschichten/Der Hund von Baskerville, aus dem Englischen übersetzt von Trude Fein (Zürich: Manesse, 1981), Auswahl und “Nachwort” (413-28/31).

1980

— Rev. of S.E. Gontarski. Beckett’s Happy Days: A Manuscript Study (Columbus, Ohio: Publications Committee, The Ohio State University Libraries, 1977). English Studies 61 (1980), 571-72.

— Rev. of Horst Oppel (ed.). Das englische Drama der Gegenwart: Interpretationen (Berlin: Erich Schmidt, 1976). English Studies 61 (1980), 84-86.

— Rev. of Clas Zilliacus. Beckett and Broadcasting: A Study of the Works of Samuel Beckett for and in Radio and Television. Acta Academiae Aboensis, Ser. A, Vol. 51, Nr. 2 (Åbo: Åbo Akademi, 1976). English Studies 61 (1980), 379-82.

1979

— “Poetry and Drama: Pinter’s Play The Birthday Party in the Light of his Poem ‘A View of the Party.’” English Studies 60 (1979), 484-97.

— Rev. of Steven H. Gale. Butter’s Going Up: A Critical Analysis of Harold Pinter’s Work (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1977). English Studies 60 (1979), 529-33 (531-33).

— Rev. of Rüdiger Imhof. Harold Pinters Dramentechnik: Gestalterische Mittel im Kontext des Gesamtwerks. Gesamthochschule Wuppertal, Schriftenreihe Literaturwissenschaft, Band 2 (Bonn: Bouvier Verlag Herbert Grundmann, 1976). English Studies 60 (1979), 529-33 (529-31).

— “Ein ungewöhnlicher Atlas.” Basler Zeitung 136 (14. Juni 1979), 27.

1978

— “Hamlet als Historie? Überlegungen zu Brechts Deutung von Shakespeares Hamlet.” Deutsche Shakespeare-Gesellschaft West, Jahrbuch 1978/79 (Heidelberg: Quelle & Meyer, 1978), 40-57.

— Charles Dickens. Meistererzählungen, aus dem Englischen übersetzt von Trude Fein (Zürich: Manesse, 1978), Auswahl und “Nachwort” (551-68).

— Rev. of Karl-Gustav Ek. The Development of OE æ (i-mutated a) before Nasals and OE æ in South-Eastern Middle English. Acta Universitatis Lundensis, Sectio I, 22 (Lund: CWK Gleerup, 1975). English Studies 59 (1978), 369.

1976

— Dialects in the South-West of England: A Lexical Investigation. The Cooper Monographs 25 (Bern: Francke, 1976), xxvii+376 pp.

— “Wörterbuch mit Anspruch auf Universalität: Zum Abschluss der Neubearbeitung des ‘Muret-Sanders.’” Neue Zürcher Zeitung 164 (16. Juli 1976), 37.

— “Harold Pinter.” Basler Nachrichten 130 (8. Juni 1976), 25.