Robert Sonkin (1910–1980) was an American scholar of speech, language, and music.

Life

Sonkin was born into an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

family in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, on December 25, 1910. Sonkin, who held degrees from City College (CCNY) (now the

City College of the City University of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 18 ...

UNY Uny or UNY, may refer to: Groups, organizations * UNY (Uny Co., Unicorn Co.), a supermarket and department store chain from Japan * Yogyakarta State University (UNY; ), Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia * Yacambú University (UNY), Barquisimeto, Venezu ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, founded the speech clinic at City College. He met Charles L. Todd while they were both working in the Department of Public Speaking at City College in the late 1930s. In addition to doing

ethnographic Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

research with Todd in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, Sonkin also documented the

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

community of the town of Gee's Bend, Alabama, where other

Farm Security Administration The Farm Security Administration (FSA) was a New Deal agency created in 1937 to combat rural poverty during the Great Depression in the United States. It succeeded the Resettlement Administration (1935–1937). The FSA is famous for its small but ...

(FSA) work was being carried out. After the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Sonkin participated in an

Archive of American Folk Song The Archive of Folk Culture (originally named The Archive of American Folk Song) was established in 1928 as the first national collection of American folk music in the United States of America. It was initially part of the Music Division of the Lib ...

-sponsored project to document the man-in-the-street's opinion of the war effort. Like Todd, Sonkin was drafted into the military during World War II, where he served in the

Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army responsible for creating and managing communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860 by ...

. At the end of the war, Sonkin returned to City College and became professor of speech. In 1977, collaborators Todd and Sonkin jointly published a biography of

Alexander Bryan Johnson Alexander Bryan Johnson (May 29, 1786, Gosport, Hampshire, Eng. — September 9, 1867, Utica, N.Y., U.S.), was a British-born American philosopher and semanticist. He immigrated to the United States as a child and worked as a banker in Utica, New ...

. Sonkin retired from CUNY in 1976 and became professor emeritus. He died May 26, 1980, at the age of sixty-nine.Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration.

References

External links

Library of Congress
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonkin, Robert 1910 births 1980 deaths Jewish American scientists People from the Bronx 20th-century American Jews