held a linguistically faithful translation would lead to conflict with missionaries — on the other, shaping the language in accordance with Biblical traditions would raise objections by linguists. Charged with making translations, he was convinced that only thorough previous study of the source language would make this possible. In his day, this was not received wisdom. Many missionaries have published in inadequate Malay, incurring Van der Tuuk's scorn. Conflict Van der Tuuk was caught up in a great many conflicts with his fellow-linguists. He was outspoken and at times even coarsely straightforward. His lifelong rancour against Professor Roorda has become notorious. The latter was a reclusive scholar with linguistic principles diametrically opposed to Van der Tuuk's, and held the incorrect view that Javanese was a kind of basic (Ur-)language which, he claimed, lay at the root of other Indonesian languages. Van der Tuuk was no less vehement in criticising the faulty Malay often used by those who set themselves up as authorities — a faulty model of the language which, misguidedly, was even presented as a linguistic standard or grammatical model. Controversies such as these were common at a time when new linguistic insights saw the light and when scholars often heaped scorn and invective on their colleagues. Anecdotes At the end of his life, in Bali, Van der Tuuk became an object of curiosity to Europeans. He lived in seclusion from western influences, and it was rumoured that his house was dusty, grimy and disordered. One official wishing to visit him was able to observe him from a distance, sitting on his veranda, holding a piece of Edam cheese. As soon as Van der Tuuk discerned his would-be visitor, he gestured as if to fend the visitor off, exclaiming, “I'm not at home!” Another version of the same story relates that any visitor was presented with refreshments from a tin containing all kinds of cheese parings, and that declining the offer would incur Van der Tuuk's everlasting enmity. This, however, is held to be an apocryphal story which may have been inspired by the above anecdote. At the same time, the Balinese respected him greatly. He had made such a thorough study of their customs and habits that one of their elders noted that “if we are faced with a problem, we consult with Tuan Dertik [Mr Van der Tuuk]”. Select bibliography Primary 1861 — Bataksch-Nederduitsch woordenboek; Amsterdam, Muller