[Ads-l] RIP, John Algeo

Tue Oct 22 16:16:28 UTC 2019

When I started working at UGA, John had stepped down (2-3 years earlier) as the director of the Linguistics interdepartmental program, but he was instrumental in my hire. He was very helpful, encouraging me to join SECOL, where I met several linguists working in the South, and to submit some of my essays to American Speech. He was very collegial and personable, though I sometimes found him intimidating. I connected better with him after I left UGA in December 1991. He not only invited me to contribute to volume 6 of The Cambridge History of the English Language but prompted me to edit African American English: Structure, history, and use, which I ultimately chose to co-edit with John Rickford, Guy Bailey, and John Baugh (1998). John  Algeo met every now and then at conferences and also when he visited Wheaton College, near Chicago. I then also discovered what a modest man he was and how much he enjoyed collaborating intellectually with his wife. He leaves an important legacy in the scholarship on the history of English, especially in the USA, worthwhile celebrating some time.

Sali.

On 10/22/2019 9:57 AM, Charles C Doyle wrote:

To the extent that I have ever had a mentor, John Algeo was it.  In 1976, shortly after I came to the University of Georgia, John appointed me assistant editor of American Speech, and in 1982 he "promoted" me to associate editor (whatever that distinction in titles signifies!). No money or reduction in teaching load was involved in either position, but it was a happy two decades.  We corrected the mechanics and enhanced the stylistic felicity of accepted submissions to American Speech (with the authors occasionally objecting to the improvements).  We worked closely, as fellow professionals and good friends--even though I took pride in being a disciple of Chomsky, linguistically and politically, and John vigorously objected to both categories of those sentiments. I have missed his collegiality and erudition during the past several years, since his move to Kentucky, in failing health, to be near his daughter. I will miss him still. Farewell, old comrade!

--Charlie

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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU><mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU><mailto:fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2019 7:22 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU<mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU><mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: RIP, John Algeo

[External Sender]

John Algeo edited my first articles (really small notes rather than articles) for American Speech.  Although the kind of scholarship I do is not at all prestigious academically, he made me feel that there were some linguists who were interested in word-histories.

It is interesting that both Algeo and another great student of the lexis, Allen Walker Read, had sideline gigs of heavy involvement with somewhat funky quasi-intellectual movements.  For Read, it was General Semantics.  For Algeo, it was Theosophy.

Fred

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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU><mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM><mailto:wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2019 6:40 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU<mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU><mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: RIP, John Algeo

This is very sad news for me. I didn't know John well, but as editor of
American Speech he accepted my neophyte article on World War I slang for a
1972 issue.  (It was on the recommendation of the late John Fisher.)

John and I corresponded periodically on slang for years afterward, and in
the '90s he did me the honor of an invitation to contribute the chapter on
American slang to the Cambridge History of the English Language.

The adjectives "warm" and "witty" have become cliches, but along with
"gracious" and "learned" they well described John Algeo.

JL

On Sat, Oct 19, 2019 at 7:30 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com><mailto:bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:

I just received word that John Algeo passed away on Sun., Oct. 13 at the
age of 88. He served as ADS president in 1979 and was the editor for
_American Speech_ from 1969 to 1982, overseeing the journal's transition to
becoming the official organ of the ADS in 1970. He also served as chair of
the society's New Words Committee, and in that capacity edited "Among the
New Words" for _American Speech_ from 1987 to 1997, joined for most of that
time by his wife Adele as co-editor. They commemorated the 50th anniversary
of the feature in 1991 with the publication of the book _50 Years Among the
New Words_. He also wrote and edited many other valuable works on American
English, including _Cambridge History of the English Language: Vol. VI,
English in North America_ (2001), _British American Grammatical
Differences_ (2004), _The Origins and Development of the English Language_
(6th ed., 2005), and _British or American English? A Handbook of Word and
Grammar Patterns_ (2006).

Here is the obituary published by the Bowling Green Daily News.

https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bgdailynews.com%2Fobituaries%2Fjohn-thomas-algeo%2Farticle_4240a092-b7e9-5527-b65e-47a94a893118.html&data=02%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7Ccd25bf11fa9e408fbf4808d756dc58c2%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637073376693549607&sdata=vXqSzvN5597pj%2BEMue4zZNYkqYDbF2T71vUPRW%2FY0I4%3D&reserved=0
Bowling Green - Dr. John Algeo, UGA Emeritus Professor of English, died
October 13 in Bowling Green, KY, age 88. Born in St. Louis, Missouri. U.S.
Army, 1951-1954, with service in Korea.
John met his future wife, Adele Silbereisen, in graduate school. He was
sitting on the UFL quad, trying to study, when he was distracted by the
swish of a calf-length skirt and the lithe figure who wore it. When she
showed up in his Old English class, a love match was made over ancient
words and contract bridge.
John taught, lectured, and published on linguistics, fantasy literature,
and religion. He is author or editor of 29 books, including the widely-used
textbook, Origins and Development of the English Language. At UGA, he was
Alumni Foundation Distinguished Professor, Department Head, and Director of
Linguistics. He was President of the American Dialect Society, the American
Name Society, and the Dictionary Society of North America. He edited the
journal American Speech for ten years and, with Adele, for another ten
years wrote its "Among the New Words" column on neologisms. He was a
Fulbright Research Fellow and a Guggenheim Fellow at the University of
London, Visiting Professor at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, and
seminar leader for English teachers in Jerusalem.
John was fascinated with ritual, symbolism, and life's existential
mysteries. A 70-year member of the Theosophical Society, he served as
American President and International Vice-President. He rose to
Thirty-Third Degree in the Eastern Order of International Co-Freemasonry.
He lost his beloved Adele in 2010 and is survived by daughter Katie,
Scottsville, KY; son Thomas, Cincinnati, OH; and five grandchildren.
J.C. Kirby & Son Broadway Chapel has been entrusted with arrangements.
Cremation was chosen.

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The Frank J. McLoraine Distinguished Service Professor of Linguistics and the College
Professor, Committee on Evolutionary Biology
Professor, Committee on the Conceptual & Historical Studies of Science
Professor, Committee on African Studies
Interim Faculty Director, Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture
Extraordinary Professor, University of Western Cape, 2018-2021
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