Ph.D., Linguistics, University of California, Berkeley, 1980
M.A. French, Florida State University
B.A. French, Florida State University
Languages: Classical and Vedic Sanskrit, Avestan, Old Persian, Greek, Latin, Italic dialects, Hittite, Hieroglyphic Luwian, Gothic, Old Norse-Icelandic, Old English, Old Irish, Lithuanian, Old Church Slavic
Biography and publications: Before joining Berkeley's Department of Linguistics, Holland taught as a Lecturer in Scandinavian Studies and in Near Eastern Studies. His research interests fall into three main areas: comparative Indo-European linguistics (especially syntax and poetics), general historical linguistics, and language typology. His metrical restoration and edition of the Rigveda (co-authored with Barend van Nooten) appeared in 1994.
Selected Publications
- "Active and Passive(link is external)(PDF file)(link is external) in Hittite Infinitival Constructions(link is external)(PDF file)(link is external)", in Proceedings of the 22nd Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference: Los Angeles, November 5th and 6th, 2010, ed. by Stephanie W. Jamison, H. Craig Melchert, and Brent Vine (Bremen: Hempen, 2011)
- The Tale of Zalpa: Myth, Morality, and Coherence in a Hittite Narrative(link is external)(link is external), with Marina Zorman (Studia Mediterranea, Series Hethaea, 5, 2007)
- Review of Benjamin W. Fortson IV, Indo-European Language and Culture: an introduction(link is external)(PDF file)(link is external). Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2007.
- "Kennings, metaphors, and semantic formulae in Old Norse dróttkvætt"(link is external)(PDF file)(link is external). Arkiv för Nordisk Filologi 118 (2005) 123-147
- "Syntactic Reconstruction(link is external)(PDF file)(link is external)", in The International Encyclopedia of Linguistics, 2nd edn. (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), ed. by William Frawley, vol. 3, 448-450
- "Relativization and Word Order(link is external)(PDF file)(link is external) in Old Irish and Vedic Sanskrit(link is external)(PDF file)(link is external)", Journal of Indo-European Studies 24 (1996) 323-331
- "Irish Poetry(link is external)(PDF file)(link is external) and Norse Dróttkvætt(link is external)(PDF file)(link is external)", with John Lindow, in A Celtic Florilegium: Studies in Memory of Brendan O Hehir, ed. by Kathryn A. Klar, Eve E. Sweetser, and Claire Thomas (1996), pp. 54-62
- Rig Veda: A Metrically Restored Text with an Introduction and Notes, with B. A. van Nooten (Harvard Oriental Series, 50, 1994)
- "The Name of (link is external)(PDF file)(link is external)Achilles(link is external)(PDF file)(link is external): A Revised Etymology(link is external)(PDF file)(link is external)", Glotta 71 (1993) 17-27
- "Transitivity, Causativity(link is external)(PDF file)(link is external), and Surface Case in Old Norse(link is external)(PDF file)(link is external)", Arkiv för Nordisk Filologi 108 (1993) 19-37
September 26, 2019:
We are sad to report that emeritus professor Gary Holland passed away earlier this week. Gary earned his PhD in Linguistics from Berkeley in 1980 and spent the rest of his career here. He became an Emeritus Professor just last year. One of the world’s foremost experts on the Rig Veda, he was a remarkably interdisciplinary scholar, with connections (teaching or research) in Scandinavian Studies, Near Eastern Studies, Celtic Studies, and Classics, among others. He was also a remarkable servant of the Department of Linguistics and of the University of California. He served as the Head Graduate Advisor in Linguistics, and in many campus-wide positions in the Academic Senate. In fact, just this semester he was recalled to work in the Division of Undergraduate Studies. He won the College of Letters and Sciences “Distinguished Service Award” in 2014. He shared his love of music and good cheer with many friends in the department and the wider Berkeley community, and will be missed by all.
