Julia McDonnell Bloch (May 3, 1904 – October 22, 1960) was an American linguist. She was on the editorial staff of the ''

Linguistic Atlas of New England The ''Linguistic Atlas of New England'' (LANE), edited by Hans Kurath in collaboration with Miles L. Hanley, Bernard Bloch, Guy S. Lowman, Marcus L. Hansen and Julia Bloch, is a book of linguistic maps describing the dialects of New England in ...

'' (1939-1943), assisting in the preparation of its 700 dialect maps. She also contributed to the ''Handbook of the Linguistic Geography of New England''.

Early life and education

Julia Evelyn McDonnell was born in

Holyoke, Massachusetts Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,247. Loca ...

, and attended schools in

South Hadley, Massachusetts South Hadley (, ) is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,150 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts. South Hadle ...

. She graduated from

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

in 1925. She earned a master's degree in English literature from

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

in 1926. In the 1930s she pursued further studies at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Career

Bloch and her husband were on the editorial staff of the ''Linguistic Atlas of New England'' (1939-1943), assisting in the preparation of its 700 dialect maps. She also contributed to the ''Handbook of the Linguistic Geography of New England''. These books were part of a Linguistic Atlas project directed by

Hans Kurath Hans Kurath (13 December 1891 – 2 January 1992) was an American linguistics, linguist of Austrian origin. He was full professor for English and Linguistics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The many varieties of regional English language, ...

Personal life and legacy

Julia Bloch was married to the American linguist, Bernard Bloch, from 1932 until her death. They met when they were both working in the English department at

. They had a son, Walter, born in 1942. Julia Bloch died in 1960, in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, aged 56 years. The Bernard and Julia Bloch Fellowship, awarded by 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'', ...

(LSA) to "the most promising applicant" to the LSA Summer Institute, was established from the Julia Bloch Memorial Fund. The Bernard and Julia Bloch Fellowship was first awarded in the summer of 1970.

Publications

* ''Handbook of the linguistic geography of New England'', by Hans Kurath with the collaboration of Marcus L. Hansen, Julia Bloch ndBernard Bloch. Providence: Brown University, 1939. * ''Linguistic Atlas of New England'', by Hans Kurath, Miles L. Hanley, Bernard Bloch, Marcus L. Hansen and Julia Bloch. 3 vols. Providence: Brown University, 1939–1943.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloch, Juila 1904 births 1960 deaths American women linguists Mount Holyoke College faculty People from New Haven, Connecticut Mount Holyoke College alumni Wellesley College alumni