Leigh Lisker
Encyclopedia
Leigh Lisker was an eminent American linguist
and phonetician
. Most of his career was spent at the University of Pennsylvania
, where he was a professor and then emeritus professor of linguistics
. Dr. Lisker received his A.B. in 1941, with a major in German, his M.A. in 1946, and a Ph.D. in 1949 in linguistics. He was a major figure in phonetics
, working both at the University of Pennsylvania
and at Haskins Laboratories
in New Haven, CT, where he was a senior scientist from 1951 until the end of his life. He collaborated with several phoneticians, principally Arthur S. Abramson
http://www.haskins.yale.edu/staff/abramson.html. He is best known for his work, done mostly in conjunction with Abramson, on voice onset time
. Dr. Lisker also made important contributions to Dravidian linguistics
, including the book Introduction to Spoken Telugu (Telugu
), and did research comparing phonetic and phonological perceptions on the part of linguistically naive and linguistically sophisticated speakers of different native language backgrounds. He conducted such studies in collaboration with Dr. Abramson of the University of Connecticut
, Bh. Krishnamurti http://www.haskins.yale.edu/staff/lisker/lisker-krishna.html of University of Hyderabad
, India, Adrian Fourcin http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/adrian/home.htm of University College London
, and Mario Rossi http://aune.lpl.univ-aix.fr/lpl/personnel/rossi/mariorossi.htm of the Institut de Phonétique at the Université de Provence, Aix-en-Provence.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and phonetician
Phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs : their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory...
. Most of his career was spent at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, where he was a professor and then emeritus professor of linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
. Dr. Lisker received his A.B. in 1941, with a major in German, his M.A. in 1946, and a Ph.D. in 1949 in linguistics. He was a major figure in phonetics
Phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs : their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory...
, working both at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
and at Haskins Laboratories
Haskins Laboratories
Haskins Laboratories is an independent, international, multidisciplinary community of researchers conducting basic research on spoken and written language. Founded in 1935 and located in New Haven, Connecticut since 1970, Haskins Laboratories is a private, non-profit research institute with a...
in New Haven, CT, where he was a senior scientist from 1951 until the end of his life. He collaborated with several phoneticians, principally Arthur S. Abramson
Arthur S. Abramson
Arthur S. Abramson is an American linguist, phonetician, and speech scientist. He is a Professor Emeritus of Linguistics at the University of Connecticut , where he was the founding chair, and a Senior Scientist at Haskins Laboratories in New Haven, Connecticut. He is also a member of the Board of...
http://www.haskins.yale.edu/staff/abramson.html. He is best known for his work, done mostly in conjunction with Abramson, on voice onset time
Voice onset time
In phonetics, voice onset time, commonly abbreviated VOT, is a feature of the production of stop consonants. It is defined as the length of time that passes between when a stop consonant is released and when voicing, the vibration of the vocal folds, or, according to the authors, periodicity begins...
. Dr. Lisker also made important contributions to Dravidian linguistics
Dravidian languages
The Dravidian language family includes approximately 85 genetically related languages, spoken by about 217 million people. They are mainly spoken in southern India and parts of eastern and central India as well as in northeastern Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, and...
, including the book Introduction to Spoken Telugu (Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
), and did research comparing phonetic and phonological perceptions on the part of linguistically naive and linguistically sophisticated speakers of different native language backgrounds. He conducted such studies in collaboration with Dr. Abramson of the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
, Bh. Krishnamurti http://www.haskins.yale.edu/staff/lisker/lisker-krishna.html of University of Hyderabad
University of Hyderabad
The University of Hyderabad is a post-graduate teaching and research institute in India. It was established by an act of the Parliament in 1974 as a Central University. The university also offers courses under distance learning programs...
, India, Adrian Fourcin http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/adrian/home.htm of University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, and Mario Rossi http://aune.lpl.univ-aix.fr/lpl/personnel/rossi/mariorossi.htm of the Institut de Phonétique at the Université de Provence, Aix-en-Provence.
External links
- Haskins Leigh Lisker Tribute site
- Reprints of many Lisker's papers at Haskins Labs website
- University of Pennsylvania Almanac obituary
- comments on Leigh Lisker by Arthur Abramson
Selected publications
- Lisker, L. Minimal cues for separating /w,r,l,y/ in intervocalic position. Word, 1957, 13, 257-267.
- Lisker, L. Linguistic segments, acoustic segments and synthetic speech. Language, 1957, 33, 370-374.
- Lisker, L., Cooper, F.S., & Liberman, A.M. The uses of experiment in language description. Word, 1962, 18, 82-106.
- Lisker, L. & Abramson, A.S. A cross-language study of voicing in initial stops: acoustical measurements. Word, 1964, 20, 384-422.
- Lisker, L. & Abramson, A.S. Distinctive features and laryngeal control. Language, 1971, 47, 767-785.
- Lisker, L. On time and timing in speech. In T.A. Sebeok (Ed.), Current Trends in Linguistics, Vol. 12, The Hague: Mouton, 1974, 2387-2418.
- Lisker, L. The pursuit of invariance in speech signals. JASA, 1985, 77, 1199-1202.
- Lisker, L. "Voicing" in English: A catalogue of acoustic features signaling /b/ versus /p/ in trochees. Language and Speech, 1986, 29, 3-11.