Hein Eersel
Eersel in 1986
Minister of Education and Population Development
In office
5 March 1969 – 20 November 1969
Prime MinisterArthur Johan May
Chancellor of the University of Suriname
In office
1968–1988
Personal details
Born
Christiaan Hendrik Eersel

(1922-06-09)9 June 1922
Paramaribo, Colony of Suriname
Died11 June 2022(2022-06-11) (aged 100)
Paramaribo, Suriname
OccupationLinguist

Christiaan Hendrik "Hein" Eersel (9 June 1922 – 11 June 2022) was a Surinamese linguist and cultural researcher.[1][2]

He served as Minister of Education and Population Development in the cabinet of acting Prime Minister Arthur Johan May. He was also the first chancellor of the University of Suriname.[3]

Early life

Eersel was born in Paramaribo on 9 June 1922.[1] He passed the assistant teacher certification exam in 1942,[4] and the head teacher certification exam in 1949.[5] In 1950, he traveled to the Netherlands, where he studied Dutch language and literature at the University of Amsterdam.[6] He completed his candidate diploma in 1956,[7] then a doctorandus.[1] While in Amsterdam, he joined the organisation Wie Eegie Sanie (our own things), founded by Surinamese students to promote the Sranan Tongo language and Surinamese culture.[8]

Career

Eersel returned to Suriname in 1959, and began teaching at the Suriname Kweekschool [nl] (teacher training college).[9] He later helped to establish the Institute for Teacher Training in Paramaribo.[10] He was director of the Taalbureau (language bureau) and the Bureau Volkslectuur (public literacy bureau) from 1960 to 1969.[11]

In 1968, he became the first chancellor of the University of Suriname, and was also a lecturer in linguistics until his retirement in 1988.[11] He worked with Max Sordam to publish a full dictionary of Sranan Tongo in 1985.[12] After his retirement, he would visit the Netherlands to teach Sranan Tongo classes.[10]

Eersel remained active with the Surinamese creole cultural association NAKS as of 2020, leading the Sranan Grammar Group.[13]

Personal life

Eersel married Florence Louise "Floor" Beck,[14] and they had five children [15][16]

Eersel died on 11 June 2022, two days after his 100th birthday,[2] in Paramaribo.[17]

Writing

Eersel edited Johanna Schouten-Elsenhout's first published poetry book, Tide ete (1963).[18]

Eersel wrote a stage adaptation of Beaumarchais' The Barber of Seville, which opened at the Thalia Theatre in Paramaribo in 1960. While Noni Lichtveld's costumes and staging kept the original setting in 18th-century Spain, Eersel adapted some of the jokes and figures of speech for the local audience. A newspaper review noted that Eersel "put a few genuine Surinamese expressions in the mouth of our barber".[19]

The Nijmegen Institute for Missiology published a festschrift for Eersel's 80th birthday. Eersel was an active member of the Catholic Church in Suriname and in the Netherlands,[20] and he had previously researched the history of Bible translations into Sranan Tongo.[21]

Honours

Eersel received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Suriname in 2003. He also received the Gazon Matodya Award, conferred by the Maroon-focused Sabanapenti Foundation, in 2009.[3] In 2013, he was made a Grand Officer of the Honorary Order of the Palm.[22]

At the suggestion of the Henri Frans de Ziel Foundation, the Gemenelandsweg street in Paramaribo was renamed in Eersel's honour after a 2019 extension.[23]

On his 100th birthday, minister Marie Levens of Education, Science and Culture announced the foundation of the Hein Eersel Institute. The Institute's focus will be developing professional approaches to multilingual education in Suriname.[2]

Partial bibliography

Books

Articles

Pamphlets

References

  1. ^ a b c "Onze nieuwe Ministers". Vrije Stem (in Dutch). 16 March 1969. p. 1. Retrieved 26 January 2022 – via Delpher.
  2. ^ a b c Starnieuws, Hein Eersel is niet meer, 11 juni 2022
  3. ^ a b Fernald, Ivan (18 November 2020). "Coryfeeën van weleer, tijdvak 1963– 1993 (3)". Starnieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Onderwijsexamens". De West (in Dutch). 21 October 1942. p. 3. Retrieved 26 January 2022 – via Delpher.
  5. ^ "Onderwijs examen". De Surinamer (in Dutch). 24 September 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 26 January 2022 – via Delpher.
  6. ^ "K.N.S.M. Komen en gaan". Het Nieuws. 27 October 1950. p. 3. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Academische examens". Het Parool (in Dutch). 24 March 1956. p. 5 – via Delpher.
  8. ^ Roos-Marie Tummers (15 December 1989). "Het leven op de achtererven". NRC Handelsblad. p. 20. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Dr. Eersel verwacht". Het Nieuws. 2 February 1959. p. 3. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  10. ^ a b Ina van Wijngaarden (10 December 1988). "Sranan krijgt eindelijk de vrije ruimte". Het Parool. p. 30. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Over de auteurs en samenstellers". Sranan : cultuur in Suriname (in Dutch). Chandra van Binnendijk, Paul Faber. Amsterdam: Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen. 1995. p. 157. ISBN 99914-0-049-4. OCLC 39182378.((cite book)): CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. ^ Sordam, Max; Eersel, Ch.H. (1985). Sranantongo = Surinaamse taal : een korte inleiding tot het Sranantong[o], met uitgebreide woordenlijst (1st ed.). Baarn: Bosch & Keuning. ISBN 90-246-4495-X. OCLC 781709778.
  13. ^ Aveloo, Tascha (9 June 2020). "Hein Eersel 98 jaar: 'Een zeer deskundig man maar nooit belerend'". De Ware Tijd. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020 – via NAKS.
  14. ^ "Gevallen". Nieuw Suriname. 21 May 1959. p. 5 – via delpher.nl.
  15. ^ "Hein Eersel 99 jaar vandaag". youtube.com (in Dutch). Ampie's Broadcasting Corporation. 9 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Geboren". Het Nieuws. 8 May 1959. p. 2. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  17. ^ "beri.nl - Surinaamse Familieberichten - Overlijdensbericht Christiaan Hendrik 'Hein' Eersel". www.beri.nl. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  18. ^ van Kempen, Michiel (1993). "In memoriam Granmisi Elsenhout". De geest van Waraku (in Dutch). Haarlem/Brussel: Uitgeverij Zuid. pp. 203–205. ISBN 978-90-6773-007-5. OCLC 66329044.
  19. ^ "Thalia-Nieuws: De Barbier van Sevilla". Het Nieuws (in Dutch). 9 July 1960. p. 1. Retrieved 22 April 2022 – via Delpher.
  20. ^ Bakker, Freek L. (2003). "Libi naga bribi: enkele aanzetten tot Surinaamse theologie". OSO. 22 (1): 127–129 – via DBNL.
  21. ^ Eersel, Ch.H. (1991). "Bijbelvertalingen in het Sranan". OSO. 10: 48–56 – via DBNL.
  22. ^ "Decoraties Suriname – Onderscheidingen Republiek Suriname". ere-onderscheidingen.gov.sr. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  23. ^ "Verlengde Gemenelandsweg krijgt nieuwe naam". De West (in Dutch). 13 November 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
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