Dell Hymes, 82, Linguistics, anthropology scholar

[Francis Hult]

The Washington Post

 

Dell Hymes, 82, Linguistics, anthropology scholar

 

Dell Hymes, an influential scholar of linguistics and anthropology who helped pioneer the study of how people use language in their everyday lives, died of kidney failure Nov. 13 at a nursing home in Charlottesville. The retired University of Virginia professor was 82 and had Alzheimer's disease. 

 

Dr. Hymes was a "giant" in both fields, said Deborah Tannen, a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University and a best-selling author. While scholars such as Noam Chomsky studied the abstract ways that people acquire grammar and other language skills, Dr. Hymes pursued a simpler question: How do people communicate? 

 

Full story:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/19/AR2009111904078.html

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