Fwd: Linguist and Historian William Edward Farrison

[Salikoko S. Mufwene]

Does anybody on this list know something about William Edward Farrison? I
am now curious myself and perhaps other subscribers to the list are too. If
you do, can you post your answer to the list. I will share it with Ms.
Linda Evans, though you may want to contact her directly. Her contact
information is in her signature below.

Thanks,

Sali.


>  Dear Dr. Mufwene:
>
>  Dr. Joseph Opala suggested I contact you ... Im on a quest to locate the
> papers of a Dr. William Edward Farrison (born in 1902) who conducted
> interviews in our county during the 1930s for his dissertation The
> phonology of the illiterate Negro dialect of Guilford County.His
> dissertation includes small snippets, written in phonetics, of 8
> interviews, all made with individuals born before the Civil War. Were in
> the process of having syntactical translations made. (Ive attached two
> samples from Dr. Farrisons dissertation)
>
>Dr. Farrison also published in the field of history, including the North
>Carolina Historical Review (1944) and a biography of William Wells Brown
>(University of Chicago Press, 1969).
>
>  I took a new look at Dr. Farrisons work while doing research for an
> exhibition tentatively titled, Greensboro: A Crossroads for Many
> Voicesand really became excited about them. Everyone, including
> consulting academic historians, asks the same question where are the
> transcripts, or even, the original recordings?
>
>Ohio State (where Farrison received his PhD) does not have them in their
>archives or in the English department, and weve begun contacting schools
>where Dr. Farrison studied or taught, with no luck so far. The public
>library is helping us search for family members, but that too is a long shot.
>
>  So, my question do you know of Dr. Farrisons career as a linguist or
> have any suggestions for where we might continue our search? This may
> never pan out, but, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and thanks for any
> insights you might provide.
>
>Linda Evans
>Greensboro Historical Museum
>130 Summit Ave.
>Greensboro, NC  27401-3016
>336-373-2610  fax 336-373-2204
>linda.evans at greensboro-nc.gov
>www.greensborohistory.org
>
>=======================================================
>Please note that email sent to and from this address is subject
>to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to
>third parties.

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Salikoko S. Mufwene                    s-mufwene at uchicago.edu
Frank J. McLoraine Distinguished Service Professor
University of Chicago                    773-702-8531; FAX 773-834-0924
Department of Linguistics
1010 East 59th Street
Chicago, IL 60637, USA
http://humanities.uchicago.edu/faculty/mufwene
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