Paul Newman (born 1937) is an American

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

active in the study of

African languages The number of languages natively spoken in Africa is variously estimated (depending on the delineation of language vs. dialect) at between 1,250 and 2,100, and by some counts at over 3,000. Nigeria alone has over 500 languages (according to SI ...

. He writes on the

Hausa language Hausa (; / ; Hausa Ajami, Ajami: ) is a Chadic language spoken primarily by the Hausa people in the northern parts of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Benin and Togo, and the southern parts of Niger, and Chad, with significant minorities in Ivory Coas ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

and on the

Chadic The Chadic languages form a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken in parts of the Sahel. They include 196 languages spoken across northern Nigeria, southern Niger, southern Chad, and northern Cameroon. By far the most widely ...

language family A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term ''family'' is a metaphor borrowed from biology, with the tree model used in historical linguistics ...

. He wrote the ''Modern Hausa–English Dictionary'' (1977), co-authored with his wife, Roxana Ma Newman, and ''The Hausa Language: An Encyclopedic Reference Grammar'' (2000). He is the founder of the ''Journal of African Languages and Linguistics'', a journal in the field of African-language studies. He has taught at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...

, and the Centre for the Study of Nigerian Languages at Bayero University in

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria *Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State ** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries ** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...

, Nigeria. He is currently Distinguished Professor in the Department of Linguistics at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

after serving two terms as chairman of the department. Newman is a strong advocate of the theories of his mentor,

Joseph Greenberg Joseph Harold Greenberg (May 28, 1915 – May 7, 2001) was an American linguist, known mainly for his work concerning linguistic typology and the genetic classification of languages. Life Early life and education Joseph Greenberg was born on M ...

, and has published a work in defense of Greenberg's classification of African languages entitled ''On Being Right''. Newman is also interested in the relation of language and law and is a strong advocate of

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...

. In addition to degrees in anthropology and linguistics he holds a JD (IU Bloomington, 2003)Biography
/ref> and is a member of the Indiana state bar.

Selected works

*1977. With Roxana Ma Newman. ''Modern Hausa-English Dictionary / Sabon Kamus Na Hausa Zuwa Turanci.'' Ibadan, Nigeria: Oxford University Press. *1980. ''The Classification of Chadic within Afroasiatic.'' Leiden: Universitaire Pers Leiden. *1990. ''Nominal and Verbal Plurality in Chadic.'' Dordrecht: Foris. *1995. ''On Being Right: Greenberg's African Linguistic Classification and the Methodological Principles Which Underlie It.'' Bloomington: Institute for the Study of Nigerian Languages and Cultures, African Studies Program, Indiana University. *2000. ''The Hausa Language: An Encyclopedic Reference Grammar.'' New Haven: Yale University Press. *2001. With Martha Ratliff (editors). ''Linguistic Fieldwork.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. *2002. ''Chadic and Hausa Linguistics: Selected Papers of Paul Newman, with Commentaries'', edited by Philip J. Jaggar and H. Ekkehard Wolff. Köln: Rudiger Köppe Verlag. *2004. ''Klingenheben's Law in Hausa.'' Köln: Rudiger Köppe Verlag. *2007. ''A Hausa–English Dictionary.'' New Haven: Yale University Press. *2022. ''A History of the Hausa Language. Reconstruction and Pathways to the Present.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

References

External links

Biography
on Indiana University website
Interview with Paul Newman
by Alan S. Kaye from ''Semiotica'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Paul 1937 births Living people Academics from Jacksonville, Florida University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences alumni Yale University faculty Academic staff of Leiden University Indiana University faculty American Africanists Linguists of Hausa American expatriates in Nigeria Academic staff of Bayero University Kano American expatriates in the Netherlands University of California, Los Angeles alumni Indiana University Maurer School of Law alumni Linguists of Afroasiatic languages Historical linguists Linguists of Chadic languages 20th-century American linguists 21st-century American linguists