Jay Jasanoff
Encyclopedia
Jay Harold Jasanoff is an American
linguist and Indo-Europeanist
, best known for his h₂e-conjugation theory of the Proto-Indo-European verb
. He teaches Indo-European linguistics and historical linguistics
at Harvard University
.
Jasanoff, of Eastern Europe
an Ashkenazi Jewish background, was born in New York City
. He received both his bachelor's degree
(in 1963) and his Ph.D.
(in 1968) from Harvard. After working for one year as an assistant professor
at the University of California, Berkeley
, he returned to Harvard to teach as an assistant professor and, later, associate professor from 1970 to 1978. He then moved to Ithaca, New York
, to teach at Cornell University
, where he was promoted to full professor in linguistics. He taught at Cornell for twenty years, including a number of years as the department chair. Since 1998 he has been the Diebold Professor of Indo-European Linguistics and Philology at Harvard, and was the department chair from 1999 to 2008.
In his research, he has examined, in addition to the Indo-European verb, such issues as the origin of the Balto-Slavic
pitch accent
and the internal reconstruction
of the earliest stages of the Proto-Indo-European language
.
His wife, Sheila Jasanoff
, is a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School. His daughter, Maya Jasanoff, is an associate professor in the Department of History at Harvard, and his son, Alan Jasanoff, is a neuroscientist at MIT.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
linguist and Indo-Europeanist
Indo-European studies
Indo-European studies is a field of linguistics dealing with Indo-European languages, both current and extinct. Its goal is to amass information about the hypothetical proto-language from which all of these languages are descended, a language dubbed Proto-Indo-European , and its speakers, the...
, best known for his h₂e-conjugation theory of the Proto-Indo-European verb
Proto-Indo-European verb
The verbal system of the Proto-Indo-European language was a complex system, with verbs categorized according to their aspect — stative, imperfective, or perfective. The system utilized multiple grammatical moods and voices, with verbs being conjugated according to person, number and tense...
. He teaches Indo-European linguistics and historical linguistics
Historical linguistics
Historical linguistics is the study of language change. It has five main concerns:* to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages...
at Harvard University
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...
.
Jasanoff, of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an Ashkenazi Jewish background, was born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He received both his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
(in 1963) and his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
(in 1968) from Harvard. After working for one year as an assistant professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, he returned to Harvard to teach as an assistant professor and, later, associate professor from 1970 to 1978. He then moved to Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
, to teach at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, where he was promoted to full professor in linguistics. He taught at Cornell for twenty years, including a number of years as the department chair. Since 1998 he has been the Diebold Professor of Indo-European Linguistics and Philology at Harvard, and was the department chair from 1999 to 2008.
In his research, he has examined, in addition to the Indo-European verb, such issues as the origin of the Balto-Slavic
Balto-Slavic languages
The Balto-Slavic language group traditionally comprises Baltic and Slavic languages, belonging to the Indo-European family of languages. Baltic and Slavic languages share several linguistic traits not found in any other Indo-European branch, which points to the period of common development...
pitch accent
Pitch accent
Pitch accent is a linguistic term of convenience for a variety of restricted tone systems that use variations in pitch to give prominence to a syllable or mora within a word. The placement of this tone or the way it is realized can give different meanings to otherwise similar words...
and the internal reconstruction
Internal reconstruction
Internal reconstruction is a method of recovering information about a language's past from the characteristics of the language at a later date...
of the earliest stages of the Proto-Indo-European language
Proto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
.
His wife, Sheila Jasanoff
Sheila Jasanoff
Sheila Jasanoff is an American academic and significant contributor to the field of Science and Technology Studies.-Biography:She is Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where she directs the Program on Science,...
, is a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School. His daughter, Maya Jasanoff, is an associate professor in the Department of History at Harvard, and his son, Alan Jasanoff, is a neuroscientist at MIT.
Books
- Stative and Middle in Indo-European. Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft 23. Innsbruck: Institut fur Sprachwissenschaft, 1978. ISBN 3851245407.
- Mír Curad. Studies Presented to Calvert Watkins, edited by Jay Jasanoff, H. Craig Melchert, and Lisi Oliver. Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft 92. Innsbruck: Institut fur Sprachwissenschaft, 1998. ISBN 3851246675.
- Hittite and the Indo-European Verb, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-19-928198-X.