Dwight Bolinger
Encyclopedia
Dwight Le Merton Bolinger (August 18, 1907 – February 23, 1992) was an American linguist and Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures at Harvard University
. He began his career as the first editor of the "Among the New Words" feature for American Speech. As an expert in Spanish
, he was elected president of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese in 1960. He was known for the support and encouragement he gave younger scholars and for his hands-on approach to the analysis of human language. His work touched on a wide range of subjects, including semantics
, intonation
, phonesthesia, and the politics of language.
His 1971 book The Phrasal Verb in English, heretofore a subject of concern primarily to teachers of English as a foreign language, brought the need for a scientific treatment of phrasal verbs to the attention of many linguists. His 1977 work Meaning and Form was instrumental in establishing the principle that a difference in form implies a difference in perceived meaning.
He was elected president of the Linguistic Society of America in 1972 and awarded the Orwell Award
by the National Council of Teachers of English in 1981 for Language—The Loaded Weapon, a book that inspired other linguists to restore a role for the application of common sense in the study of language. Stanford linguist Geoffrey Nunberg
has described Bolinger as "one of the most distinguished semanticists" of the mid-twentieth century, pointing to his "uncanny ear for the nuances of words."
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He began his career as the first editor of the "Among the New Words" feature for American Speech. As an expert in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, he was elected president of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese in 1960. He was known for the support and encouragement he gave younger scholars and for his hands-on approach to the analysis of human language. His work touched on a wide range of subjects, including semantics
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
, intonation
Intonation (linguistics)
In linguistics, intonation is variation of pitch while speaking which is not used to distinguish words. It contrasts with tone, in which pitch variation does distinguish words. Intonation, rhythm, and stress are the three main elements of linguistic prosody...
, phonesthesia, and the politics of language.
His 1971 book The Phrasal Verb in English, heretofore a subject of concern primarily to teachers of English as a foreign language, brought the need for a scientific treatment of phrasal verbs to the attention of many linguists. His 1977 work Meaning and Form was instrumental in establishing the principle that a difference in form implies a difference in perceived meaning.
He was elected president of the Linguistic Society of America in 1972 and awarded the Orwell Award
Orwell Award
The NCTE George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language , established in 1975 and given by the National Council of Teachers of English Public Language Awards Committee, recognizes writers who have made outstanding contributions to the critical analysis...
by the National Council of Teachers of English in 1981 for Language—The Loaded Weapon, a book that inspired other linguists to restore a role for the application of common sense in the study of language. Stanford linguist Geoffrey Nunberg
Geoffrey Nunberg
Geoffrey Nunberg is an American linguist and a professor at the UC Berkeley School of Information. Nunberg has taught at Stanford University and served as a principal scientist at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center from the mid-1980's to 2000...
has described Bolinger as "one of the most distinguished semanticists" of the mid-twentieth century, pointing to his "uncanny ear for the nuances of words."