Associate Professor Bert Peeters

In memory of Honorary Associate Professor Bert Peeters, Australian National University

Bert was an ANU graduate (PhD in Linguistics, 1989) who returned to Canberra, after years in Hobart (University of Tasmania) and Sydney (Macquarie University).

Bert came to Australia from Belgium, with his wife Monina, in 1987 to pursue his PhD at the ANU, supervised by Anna Wierzbicka, with whom he became a life-long friend. After his PhD, he worked for many years at the University of Tasmania (as he liked to say, the southernmost university in the world), before moving to Macquarie University, Sydney in 2007. He retired in 2014, moving back to Canberra to continue researching and working with his colleagues at the ANU.

Bert’s life and his work were infused with a passion for French linguistics, semantics, culture, and language pedagogy. Unlike many scholars, he wrote few monographs, but instead produced more than a dozen edited books, showcasing the work of many. In his role as an editor, he mentored many early and mid career researchers with his special blend of logic, wit, and love of words. He was also a prolific reviewer, writing nearly 100 reviews, in an effort to spark deep discussion, debate, and engagement. He worked tirelessly to bring NSM scholarship to the world, especially the francophone world, and to bring new scholars to the NSM community. In his final months he often proclaimed - selflessly as usual - “Long live NSM”. He will be long remembered.

A funeral mass was held in Canberra at St Christopher’s Cathedral in Manuka on the 1st of March at 1:30pm, followed by a Celebration of Life.