Hugo Ryckeboer ‑ a Belgian West Flemish dialectologist who specialized in French Flemish dialects – died of Covid-19 on 21 May 2020.
Ryckeboer was born in Veurne and grew up in Izenberge. After doing secondary education in Veurne (1948-1954), he studied Germaanse filologie at universities of KU Leuven and Ghent University between 1954 and 1959. Ryckeboer was a highschool teacher until 1970. After that he did research work at the (now called), Meertens Institute. He was involved with making Atlas van de Nederlandse Klankontwikkeling (ANKO), and was responsible for the Flemish language area. In 1972 Ryckeboer became editor at the Woordenboek van de Vlaamse Dialecten. He did research into dialects in French Flanders with a tape recorder.
Between 1976 and 1984 he worked at the University of Lille Nord de France. In 1987 he received for his complete oeuvre a doctorate of the Ghent University.
Since 1994 Ryckeboer was a member of the Royal Commission on Toponymy and Dialectology, and became member of honour in 2011. In 1997 he got a PhD, of his research into the Dutch language in northern France.
He retired in 2000 and said goodbye at the dictionary Woordenboek van de Vlaamse Dialecten.
Ryckeboer died due to the consequences of the coronavirus in Oudenaarde in May 2020, aged 84.