Ronald E. Asher
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Ronald Eaton Asher (23 July 1926 – 26 December 2022) was a British linguist and educator specialised in
Dravidian languages The Dravidian languages (or sometimes Dravidic) are a family of languages spoken by 250 million people, mainly in southern India, north-east Sri Lanka, and south-west Pakistan. Since the colonial era, there have been small but significant ...
. He was a
fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland are individuals who have been elected by the Council of the Royal Asiatic Society to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science lite ...
(1964), a
fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
(1991), and an
honorary fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...
of the
Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...
.


Personal life

Ronald E. Asher was born in
Gringley-on-the-Hill Gringley on the Hill, Nottinghamshire, is an English village and parish. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 699. It is on the highest part of the road from Bawtry to Gainsborough, six miles east-southeast of the former, ...
,
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
, England on 23 July 1926 to Ernest and Doris (Hurst) Asher. He won a scholarship to study at the King Edward VI Grammar School at
Retford Retford (), also known as East Retford, is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England, and one of the oldest English market towns having been granted its first charter in 1105. It lies on the River Idle and the Chesterfie ...
, Nottinghamshire. Asher completed his
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in 1950 and was certified in the phonetics French in 1951 from the
University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...
. He did doctoral research on 16th-century
French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than Fr ...
and received
Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in 1955 from the University College London. Asher died on 26 December 2022, at the age of 96.


Career

After Asher received his Ph.D., he was offered two lectureships, at
The School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...
(SOAS), University of London and at the Renaissance French of the
University College of North Staffordshire Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, Kee ...
. He opted for SOAS and spent four years at the School's Department of India, Pakistan, and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) under the Department of Linguistics doing linguistic theoretical research in
Tamil language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...
. Asher joined the Department of General Linguistics at
The University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1582 ...
in 1965. He was Professor of Linguistics from 1977, was Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 1986 to 1989, and retired as a Vice Principal in 1993. Asher served as the President of International Association for Tamil Research from 1983 to 1990. Asher was a visiting professor of Tamil at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
(1961–62), of linguistics at the
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...
(1967), of Malayalam and Tamil at the
Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...
(1968), of Doctor
R. P. Sethu Pillai R. P. Sethu Pillai ( ta, ரா. பி. சேது பிள்ளை) (1896–1961), was a Tamil scholar, writer and professor of Tamil at the University of Madras. Biography Sethu pillai was born at Rajavallipuram, Tirunelveli District in ...
Silver Jubilee Endowment at the
University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigiou ...
(1968), of linguistics at the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
(1969), of
Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment (''grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris ne ...
, Paris (1970), of linguistic and International communication at the
International Christian University is a non-denominational private university located in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan, commonly known as ICU. With the efforts of Prince Takamatsu, General Douglas MacArthur, and BOJ President Hisato Ichimada, ICU was established in 1949 as the first ...
, Tokyo (1994–95), and of 20th-century Malayalam Literature at the Mahatma Gandhi University,
Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-we ...
,
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
(1995–96).


Literary works

Tamil scholar
Mu. Varadarajan Also known as Mu. Va. and Varatharasanar, was a Tamil language, Tamil scholar, author and academic from Tamil Nadu, India. He was born in an aristocratic Tuluva Vellala family near Vellore. He was a prolific writer whose published works include ...
introduced Asher to the
Sangam literature The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connotes ...
, and to the works of Tamil writers
Subramania Bharati C. Subramania Bharathi Birth name: C. Subramaniyan, the person's given name: Subramaniyan, father's given name: Chinnaswami. (C. Subramaniyan by the prevalent patronymic initials as prefix naming system in Tamil Nadu and it is Subramaniyan C ...
,
Bharathidasan Bharathidasan Birth name: K. Subburathinam, the person's given name: Subburathinam, father's given name: Kanagasabai. (K. Subburathinam by the prevalent patronymic initials as prefix naming system in Tamil Nadu and it is Subburathinam Kanag ...
, and
Akilan Akilandam, better known by his pen name Akilan, was an Indian writer and novelist who wrote in Tamil. He was attracted by Gandhian philosophy during his school days and he discontinued his college education at Pudukkottai to join the freedom st ...
. In 1971, Asher wrote his first book on Tamil, ''A Tamil Prose Reader with R. Radhakrishnan''. He published a second book in 1973, ''Some Landmark in the History of Tamil Prose''. He published ''National Myths in Renaissance France: Francus, Samothes and the Druids'' (1993), ''Studies on Malayalam Language and Literature'' (1997), ''Malayalam'' (1998) co-authored with T. C. Kumari, ''V. M. Basheer: Svatantryasamara Kathakal'' (V. M. Basheer: Stories of the Freedom Movement, 1998), ''Basheer: Malayalattinte Sargavismayam'' (critical essays on the novels and stories of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, 1999), ''Colloquial Tamil: The Complete Course for Beginners'' (1992) with E. Annamalai, and ''Wind Flowers: Contemporary Malayalam Short Fiction'' (2004) with V. Abdulla. ;Translations Asher translated
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
novelist
Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (17 April 1912 – 10 April 1999), popularly known as Thakazhi after his place of birth, was an Indian novelist and short story writer of Malayalam literature. He wrote over 30 novels and novellas and over 7 shor ...
's 1947 published work ''
Thottiyude Makan ''Thottiyude Makan'' (''തോട്ടിയുടെ മകൻ, English: Scavenger's Son'') is a 1947 Malayalam novel written by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. The novel portrays three generations of a working-class family engaged in Alleppey a ...
'' as ''Scavenger's Son'' in 1975. He published ''Me Grandad'ad an Elephant: Three Stories of Muslim Life in South India'' in 1980 which collectively translated another Malayalam novelist
Vaikom Muhammad Basheer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer (21 January 1908 – 5 July 1994), popularly referred to as Beypore Sulthan, was a writer of Malayalam literature. He was a writer, humanist, freedom fighter, novelist and short story writer, noted for his path-breaking, ...
's three works; '' Balyakalasakhi'' (Childhood Friend, 1944), ''
Ntuppuppakkoranendarnnu ''Ntuppuppakkoranendarnnu'' (''My Granddad Had an Elephant!'') is a short novel by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer (21 January 1908 – 5 July 1994), popularly referred to as Beypore Sulthan, was a writer of Malayalam liter ...
'' (My Grandad Had an Elephant, 1951), and ''
Pathummayude Aadu ''Pathumma's Goat'' (original title: ml, പാത്തുമ്മായുടെ ആട് ''Pathummayude Aadu'') is a 1959 Malayalam novel by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. The characters of the novel are members of his family and the action tak ...
'' (Pathumma's Goat, 1959). Asher mentioned that the translation for the works of Basheer and Thakazhi was challenging due to their "unparalleled" style and content. In 2000, he translated ''Atlas of the World's Languages'' (1994) into Japanese as ''Sekai Minzoku Gengo Chizu''. In 2002, Asher translated Malayalam novelist and short-story writer K. P. Ramanunni's
debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...
'' Sufi Paranja Katha'', published in 1993, as ''What the Sufi said'' with N. Gopalakrishnan. ;As an editor He edited the ''
Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics The ''Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics'', first published in 1994 (edited by Ronald E. Asher), with a 2nd edition in 2006 (edited by Keith Brown), is an encyclopedia of all matters related to language and linguistics. Reception The ''Jo ...
'' (1994), ''Atlas of the World's Languages'' (1994) with Christopher Moseley, ''Concise History of the Language Sciences from the Sumerians to the Cognitivists'' with
E. F. K. Koerner Ernst Frideryk Konrad Koerner (5 February 1939 – 6 January 2022) was a German author, researcher, professor of linguistics, and historian of linguistics. Early life and education Koerner was born on the family manor in Mlewiec, near Toruń, ...
(1995), and ''Linguisticoliterary: A Festschrift for Professor D.S. Dwivedi'' with
Roy Harris Roy Ellsworth Harris (February 12, 1898 – October 1, 1979) was an American composer. He wrote music on American subjects, and is best known for his Symphony No. 3. Life Harris was born in Chandler, Oklahoma on February 12, 1898. His ancestry ...
.


Awards

In 1964, Asher was selected as a
fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...
of
Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...
, London. In 1983, Asher was awarded the Gold Medal by the
Kerala Sahitya Akademi The Kerala Sahitya Akademi or Academy for Malayalam literature is an autonomous body established to promote the Malayalam language and Malayalam literature, literature. It is situated in City of Thrissur, Kerala in India. History The academy ...
for "distinguished services" in Malayalam. He was elected as a
fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
in 1991. In 2007, the
Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...
, India's National Academy of Letters, elected Asher as an
Honorary fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...
. In 2018, Asher was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Edinburgh in recognition of his contributions to linguistics.


References


Further reading

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Asher, Ronald E. 1926 births 2022 deaths People from Gringley on the Hill Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Alumni of University College London Linguists from the United Kingdom Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship People educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Retford Academics of the University of Edinburgh Academics of SOAS University of London