Norman Zide
Encyclopedia
Norman H. Zide is the Professor Emeritus of the Department of South Asian Languages & Civilization the Department of Linguistics at the University of Chicago
. He taught Hindi
and Urdu
there for four decades and published several books and articles on the subject. However, his greater fame lies in his contributions to the Munda languages
and to Austro-Asiatic
linguistics in general. He has also done considerable work as a translator, especially of poetry. In The Oxford Anthology of Modern Indian Poetry, he did or assisted in translations of poetry from both North Indian and Austro-Asiatic languages. His undergraduate education was at Columbia University
where he majored in French
. In the 1950s he began to do graduate work in South Asian languages and linguistics.
In India, he has done linguistic fieldwork in many places, but especially in Orissa and Bihar, where the numbers of tribal speakers are the highest.
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. He taught Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
and Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
there for four decades and published several books and articles on the subject. However, his greater fame lies in his contributions to the Munda languages
Munda languages
-Anderson :Gregory Anderson's 1999 proposal is as follows. Individual languages are highlighted in italics.*North Munda **Korku**Kherwarian***Santhali***Mundari*South Munda **Kharia–Juang***Juang***Kharia...
and to Austro-Asiatic
Austro-Asiatic languages
The Austro-Asiatic languages, in recent classifications synonymous with Mon–Khmer, are a large language family of Southeast Asia, also scattered throughout India and Bangladesh. The name Austro-Asiatic comes from the Latin words for "south" and "Asia", hence "South Asia"...
linguistics in general. He has also done considerable work as a translator, especially of poetry. In The Oxford Anthology of Modern Indian Poetry, he did or assisted in translations of poetry from both North Indian and Austro-Asiatic languages. His undergraduate education was at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
where he majored in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. In the 1950s he began to do graduate work in South Asian languages and linguistics.
In India, he has done linguistic fieldwork in many places, but especially in Orissa and Bihar, where the numbers of tribal speakers are the highest.