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Historical Teaching Materials

The Phonetische Kabinett [Phonetics Device Gallery]

The Phonetische Kabinett, founded by Wilhelm Viëtor (1850-1918), has existed at Philipps-Universität Marburg since 1893 as a collection of apparatuses for processing sound signals and demonstration tools for the anatomy of speech. The Phonetics Device Gallery is considered the first of its time and was state-of-the-art in its technology. It was used by various departments at Philipps-Universität Marburg (e.g., the Department of Romance Languages or the Deutscher Sprachatlas) for research and teaching; later on the highly influential phonetician Giulio Panconcelli-Calzia also worked in the Phonetische Kabinett during his time in Marburg. The gallery was affiliated with various institutions at Philipps-Universität Marburg throughout its history and, among other things, was under the direction of the Deutscher Sprachatlas in the 1930s. After the Phonetische Kabinett was dissolved, the collection was considered lost for a long time. Since 2000, some of the Phonetische Kabinett's historical equipment and sound recordings have been housed at the Research Center Deutscher Sprachatlas.

In addition to the exhibits of the Phonetisches Kabinett, our collection includes various other teaching materials from different phases of the institute's history, which are continually logged and indexed.