Dell Hymes

Dell Hathaway Hymes (June 7, 1927 – November 13, 2009) was an American linguist, sociolinguist, anthropologist, and folklorist who established disciplinary foundations for the comparative, ethnographic study of language use. Quotes Is it that we think the brain too small a place to hold more than one language at a time? That room for Spanish or Navajo will leave too little room for English? Is it that we fear that other ways of speaking will lead to an understanding of other ways of life, and so weaken commitment to our own? Is it perhaps that command of languages is assigned to a sphere of culture reserved for girls and women, something not suitable for boys and men?Whatever the reasons, the United States is a country rich in many things, but poor in knowledge of itself with regard to language. Foreword to C. A. Ferguson and S. B. Heath (eds.) Language in the USA (Cambridge UP, 1981) p. v External links Category:1927 births Category:2009 deaths Category:Linguists from the United States Category:Anthropologists from the United States Category:University of Pennsylvania faculty Category:Harvard University faculty Category:University of Virginia faculty