William O. Bright (August 13, 1928 – October 15, 2006) was an American

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingu ...

and toponymist who specialized in Native American and

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

n languages and descriptive linguistics.

Biography

Bright earned a bachelor's degree in

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Ling ...

in 1949 and a doctorate in the same field in 1955, both from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

. He was a professor of

and

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

from 1959 to 1988. He then moved to the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

, where he remained on the faculty until his death. Bright was an authority on the native languages and cultures of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, and was especially known for his work on Karuk, a Native American language from northwestern California. His study of the language was the first carried out under the auspices of the Survey of California and Other Indian Languages. He was made an honorary member of the Karuk tribe—the first outsider to be so honored—in recognition of his efforts to

document A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ''Documentum'', which denotes a "teaching" o ...

and preserve their language which led to its revival. Bright was also known for his research on the Native American languages

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...

, Kaqchikel, Luiseño, Ute, Wishram, and Yurok, and the South Asian languages Lushai,

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

, and

Tulu Tulu may refer to: People *Derartu Tulu (born 1972), Ethiopian long-distance runner *Walid Yacoubou (born 1997), Togolese footballer nicknamed "Tulu" India *Tulu calendar, traditional solar calendar generally used in the regions of southwest Kar ...

. Of particular note are his toponymic contributions to knowledge about Native American place-names and their linguistic importance for tribes and California bands. Bright was editor of ''

Language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

'', the journal of the

Linguistic Society of America The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) is a learned society for the field of linguistics. Founded in New York City in 1924, the LSA works to promote the scientific study of language. The society publishes three scholarly journals: '' Language'' ...

, from 1966 to 1988 and of '' Language in Society'' from 1993 to 1999. He was the founding editor of '' Written Language and Literacy'', which he edited from 1997 until 2003. He served as president of the Linguistic Society of America in 1989.

Personal life

Bright was the father of author Susie Bright. From 1986, he was married to fellow linguist Lise Menn. He died of a brain tumor.

Bibliography

*''Native American Placenames of the United States'' (University of Oklahoma, 2004) *''1,500 California Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning'' (University of California, 1998) *''

The World's Writing Systems ''The World's Writing Systems'' is a reference book about the world's writing systems. The book is edited by Peter T. Daniels and William Bright and was first published by Oxford University Press in 1996. ''The World's Writing Systems'' systema ...

'' (co-editor with Peter T. Daniels) (Oxford University Press, 1996) *''A Coyote Reader'' (University of California, 1993) *''International Encyclopedia of Linguistics'' (editor) (Oxford University Press, 1992) *''Language variation in South Asia'' (Oxford University Press, 1990) *''American Indian Linguistics and Literature'' (Mouton, 1984) *''Discovered tongues: Poems by linguists'' (editor) (Corvine Press, 1983) *''Haiku journey: To the North Coast'' (Copper Canyon Press, 1983) *''Bibliography of the languages of Native California, including closely related languages of adjacent areas'' (Scarecrow Press, 1982)

References

External links

Bill Bright, 1928-2006
at

Language Log ''Language Log'' is a collaborative language blog maintained by Mark Liberman, a phonetician at the University of Pennsylvania. Most of the posts focus on language use in the media and in popular culture. Text available through Google Search f ...

The William O. Bright Papers
at the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bright, William 1928 births 2006 deaths Linguists from the United States Sociolinguists American Mesoamericanists Linguists of Mesoamerican languages University of Colorado faculty University of California, Los Angeles faculty UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni People from Oxnard, California Deaths from brain cancer in the United States 20th-century Mesoamericanists Native American language revitalization Toponymists Linguists of Salishan languages Linguists of Hokan languages Linguists of Uto-Aztecan languages Paleolinguists Linguistic Society of America presidents