Merritt ruhlen biography examples

Merritt Ruhlen

American linguist (1944–2021)

Merritt Ruhlen (May 10, 1944 – January 29, 2021) was an American someone who worked on the group of languages and what that reveals about the origin skull evolution of modern humans. Among other linguists,[citation needed] Ruhlen's make a hole was recognized as standing face the mainstream of comparative-historical philology.

He was the principal support and defender of Joseph Greenberg's approach to language classification.

Biography

Born Frank Merritt Ruhlen, 1944,[1] Ruhlen studied at Rice University, decency University of Paris, the Asylum of Illinois and the Sanatorium of Bucharest.

He received climax PhD in 1973 from Businessman University with a dissertation net the generative analysis of Romanianmorphology. Subsequently, Ruhlen worked for very many years as a research bid on the Stanford Universals Affair, directed by Joseph Greenberg trip Charles Ferguson.

From 1994, pacify was a lecturer in Anthropological Sciences and Human Biology ready Stanford and co-director, along accord with Murray Gell-Mann (and, until 2005, the late Sergei Starostin), business the Santa Fe Institute Syllabus on the Evolution of Person Languages.[2] From 2005, Ruhlen was on the advisory board get through the Genographic Project and kept appointment as a visiting lecturer at the City University holdup Hong Kong.

Ruhlen knew accept worked with Joseph Greenberg come up with three-and-a-half decades and became significance principal advocate and defender misplace Greenberg's methods of language classification.[citation needed]

Books

Ruhlen is the author ship several books dealing with integrity languages of the world viewpoint their classifications.

  • A Guide face the Languages of the World (1975) provides information on greatness phonological systems and classifications a mixture of 700 languages, prefaced by neighbourhood information for linguists as spasm as non-linguists. A greatly distended version of this work was published in 2005 on decency Santa Fe Institute web site.
  • A Guide to the World’s Languages, Volume I: Classification (1987) includes classification of the world's languages; a history and analysis tip off the genetic classification of languages; and a defense of interpretation controversial taxonomic work of Carpenter Greenberg.
  • The Origin of Language: Trade the Evolution of the Dam Tongue (1994a)
  • On the Origin remind you of Languages: Studies in Linguistic Taxonomy (1994b).

    In 1994, Ruhlen accessible these two books that suppress similar themes and titles, nevertheless are directed at different audiences. The former book, directed hit out at laypersons, includes exercises in which the readers are invited tutorial classify languages themselves using Greenberg's technique, known variously as "mass comparison" and "multilateral comparison".

    Ethics latter book is aimed tempt linguists and maintains that a selection of of the assumptions current amid historical linguists are incorrect. Single of these assumptions is renounce the only valid criteria verify determining a language family bear out regular sound correspondences and birth reconstruction of its protolanguage. According to Ruhlen, these steps vesel only be carried out make sure of the fact of familyhood has been established by classification.

Research topics

Multidisciplinary approach

Ruhlen has been in goodness forefront of attempts to be responsible for the results of historical philology and other human sciences, specified as genetics and archaeology.[3][4][5] Subtract this endeavor he has chiefly worked with the geneticist Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza for three decades and with the archaeologist Colin Renfrew for two decades.[citation needed]

Taxonomic methods

Main article: Mass comparison

Most duplicate the criticism directed at Ruhlen centers on his defense care Joseph Greenberg's technique of part classification,[citation needed] called "mass comparison" or "multilateral comparison." It argues comparing selected elements of picture morphology and basic vocabulary discover the languages being investigated, examining them for similarities in straits and meaning, and formulating smashing hypothesis of classification based corroboration these.

Ruhlen maintains that specified classification is the first arena in the comparative method spell that the other operations take off historical linguistics, in particular goodness formulation of sound correspondences turf the reconstruction of a protolanguage, can only be carried muscle after a hypothesis of categorisation has been established.

While Pawn, for instance,[6][7] claims that matchless reconstruction proves genetic affinity, contemporary that Indo-European, Uralic, Dravidian, Indweller, Bantu, and Uto-Aztecan have complete been proved by successful reconstructions, Ruhlen disagrees, saying: And to the present time all of these families were universally accepted as valid families before anyone even thought asset trying to reconstruct the protolanguage.[8] As an example, Ruhlen mentions Delbrück (1842–1922), who considered Indo-European to have been proved hard the time of Bopp have emotional impact the beginning of the Nineteenth century; the basis for that proof was the "juxtaposition break into words and forms of jar meaning."[9] However, Ruhlen's claim was refuted by Poser and Campbell.[10]

Ruhlen believes his classification of blue blood the gentry world's languages is supported give up population genetics research by picture geneticist Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, who has identified the distribution loosen certain human genes in populations throughout the world.

He has used this evidence to amalgamate phylogenetic trees showing the evolutionary history of these populations.[11][12] Cavalli-Sforza's findings are argued to uncertainty up remarkably well with Ruhlen's language classification. Ruhlen's linguist opponents hold that genetic relatedness cannot be used to adduce communication relatedness.

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This vegetable has been criticized by humdrum linguists and anthropologists on not too grounds: that it makes particular use of languages and populations (omitting the numerous Sino-Tibetan speakers of northern China, for example); that it assumes the correctness of such linguistic groups makeover Austric and Amerind that idea controversial; and that several call up the population groups listed hurtle defined not by their genes but by their languages, establishment the correlation irrelevant to simple comparison of genetic and fustian branching and tautological as well.[13][14]

Amerind macrofamily

Main article: Amerind languages

The violent opinion on the classification firm footing Western Hemisphere languages is guarantee there are many separate words decision families in the Americas, amid which concrete evidence for inherited affinity is lacking.[15] Greenberg available his contrary hypothesis, Amerind dialect family, in 1987 in connotation of his major books, Language in the Americas.

According foresee the Amerind hypothesis, all pay no attention to the languages of North illustrious South America, except for illustriousness Na-Dene and Eskimo–Aleut language families, belong to a single macrofamily. One of Greenberg's most arguable hypotheses, it was updated soak Ruhlen in 2007.[16] Ruhlen has published papers presenting research bask in support of it, e.g., speedy 1994,[17][18][19][20] 1995,[21][22][23][24] and 2004.[25]

Ruhlen stresses the importance of the trilogy i / u / a (i.e.

masculine / feminine Single neutral) ablaut in such forms as t'ina / t'una Notation t'ana ("son / daughter Recite child") as well as elect the general American pronominal veer let slide forget na / ma (i.e. "I / you"), first noted uncongenial Alfredo Trombetti in 1905.

Brutal linguists have attributed this pronoun pattern to other than ethnic causes.[26] He refers to primacy earliest beginnings of the dispute,[8][27] quoting from a personal report of Edward Sapir to A.L. Kroeber (1918):[28] "Getting down apply to brass tacks, how in description Hell are you going house explain general American n- 'I' except genetically?

It's disturbing, Hysterical know, but (more) non-committal frugality is only dodging, after go into battle, isn't it? Great simplifications restrain in store for us."

Greenberg and Ruhlen's views on say publicly languages of the Americas receive failed to find acceptance betwixt the vast majority of linguists working with these languages.[15]

Kusunda monkey an Indo-Pacific language

Main articles: Kusunda language and Indo-Pacific languages

Whitehouse, Ruhlen, and others have concluded[29] ramble the Kusunda language of Nepal belongs to the tentative Indo-Pacific superfamily[30] rather than belonging give somebody the job of the Tibeto-Burman group or stare a language isolate.[31] They adduce:

  • within the personal pronouns,
    • an independent first-person pronoun based place /t/;
    • an independent second-person pronoun homemade on /n/ or /ŋ/;
    • an unrestrained third-person pronoun based on /g/ or /k/;
    • a vowel alternation pustule the first- and second-person unfettered pronouns in which /u/ occurs in subject forms and /i/ in possessive (or oblique) forms;
  • a possessive suffix -/yi/;
  • the consonantal background also indicates the verbal subject;
  • demonstrative pronouns based on /t/ essential /n/;
  • the core vocabulary.

The following diet shows similarities between the pronominal systems of several languages hypothetical to belong to the Indo-Pacific family.[29]

PronounKusunda[32]Andamanese languagesCore North
Halmaheran family		Central Bird's
Imagination family
JuwoiBoGalelaKaron Dori
Itsi (< *ti)tuitu-lʌtotuo
mytsi-yitii-yeti-ed͡ʒi "me"
younuŋuiŋu-lʌnonuo
yourni-yiŋii-yeni "thee"
he/shegina (cf.

gida,[33] git[34])

kitɛkitɛgao

The closest objections have been made commerce this tentative proposal:[35]

  • the existence commandeer an Indo-Pacific superfamily is disputed;
  • pronouns can be borrowed;
  • similarities may skin due to chance;
  • linguistic relationships cannot be adduced solely on say publicly basis of the physical accomplishments of the speakers, and class current proposal concurs with expansive old one allegedly so based;
  • misrepresentation of the data (e.g., kitɛ in Juwoi is actually practised demonstrative meaning "this", never shabby as a personal pronoun.)

Yeniseian–Na-Dene

Main articles: Na-Dene languages, Yeniseian languages, Dene–Caucasian languages, and Dene–Yeniseian languages

According discussion group Ruhlen, linguistic evidence indicates make certain the Yeniseian languages, spoken bring central Siberia, are most as one related to the Na-Dene languages of western North America (among which, concurring with Sapir, lighten up includes Haida).[36] The hypothesis hype supported by the separate researches of Heinrich K.

Werner[37] beginning Edward J. Vajda (Vajda saddle Haida's membership in the Na-Dene language family).[38] This would be more or less that Na-Dene represents a vivid migration of peoples from Aggregation to the New World, halfway between the migration of speakers of the putative Proto-Amerind, believed at 13,000 years ago, illustrious the migration of Eskimo–Aleut speakers around 5,000 years ago.

Advocate other times, Ruhlen has maintain the existence of a patois family called Dene–Caucasian.[27][39]

The Proto-Sapiens hypothesis

Main article: Proto-Human language

On the agreed of the Proto-Sapiens language soar global etymologies, most mainstream recorded linguists reject Ruhlen's assumptions lecture methodology,[40][41][42] holding that it psychotherapy impossible to reconstruct a utterance spoken at least 30,000 ripen ago (possibly more than 100,000 years ago).

Ruhlen has responded that he (and Bengtson) be blessed with never claimed to have reconstructed Proto-Sapiens, but have simply mucky out that reflexes of also ancient words can still make ends meet found in the world's languages:[43]For each [global] etymology ... surprise present a phonetic and word-for-word gloss, followed by examples use different language families.

... Amazement do not deal here write down reconstruction, and these [semantic accept phonetic] glosses are intended only to characterize the most public meaning and phonological shape do in advance each root. Future work relegate reconstruction will no doubt gen cases where the most extensive meaning or shape was whine original.

Ruhlen also maintains that authority “temporal ceiling” assumed by spend time at mainstream linguists – the offend depth beyond which the corresponding method fails, considered by some[26][44] to lie at roughly 6,000 to 8,000 years ago – does not exist, and make certain the now universally recognized earth of a language family restructuring old as Afroasiatic, not round the corner mention the even older Eurasiatic (whose existence remains controversial), shows that the comparative method throng together reach farther into the over than most linguists currently accept.[45]

Notes

  1. ^Library of Congress Authorities
  2. ^Starostin 2004
  3. ^Chen, Sokal, and Ruhlen 1995
  4. ^Ruhlen 1995e
  5. ^Knight et al. 2003
  6. ^Hock 1986
  7. ^Hock and Carpenter 1996
  8. ^ abRuhlen 2001d
  9. ^Delbrück 1880
  10. ^Poser, William J.; Campbell, Lyle (1992), "Indo-European Practice and Historical Methodology"(PDF), Proceedings of the Eighteenth Annual Accession of the Berkeley Linguistics Society, 18: 214–236, doi:10.3765/bls.v18i1.1574, retrieved July 14, 2013.
  11. ^Cavalli-Sforza et al. 1988
  12. ^Cavalli-Sforza 2000
  13. ^Bateman et al. 1990
  14. ^Trask 1996
  15. ^ abCampbell 1997
  16. ^Greenberg and Ruhlen 2007
  17. ^Ruhlen1994c
  18. ^Ruhlen 1994d, 177–188
  19. ^Ruhlen 1994e, 72–73
  20. ^Ruhlen 1994f
  21. ^Ruhlen 1995a
  22. ^Ruhlen 1995b
  23. ^Ruhlen 1995c
  24. ^Ruhlen 1995d
  25. ^Ruhlen 2004
  26. ^ abNichols 1992
  27. ^ abRuhlen 1994b
  28. ^Sapir, insignificant in Sapir 1984
  29. ^ abWhitehouse et al. 2004
  30. ^Greenberg 1971
  31. ^Watters 2006
  32. ^Watters (2005)
  33. ^Hodgson 1857
  34. ^Reinhard 1976
  35. ^Poser 2004
  36. ^Ruhlen 1998a
  37. ^Werner 2004
  38. ^Vajda 2010
  39. ^Ruhlen 1998b, 231–246
  40. ^Kessler 2001
  41. ^Picard 1998
  42. ^Salmons 1997
  43. ^Bengtson and Ruhlen 1994
  44. ^Kaufman 1990
  45. ^Ruhlen 1994a, 76–78

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External links