28.468, All: Obituary: James Wells Gair (1927-2016)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-28-468. Mon Jan 23 2017. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 28.468, All: Obituary: James Wells Gair (1927-2016)

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Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2017 13:35:43
From: Barbara Lust [bcl4 at cornell.edu]
Subject: Obituary: James Wells Gair (1927-2016)

 James Wells Gair, born December 27, 1927, died at age 88 in Ithaca, New York on December 10, 2016. He was an eminent linguist whose study of South Asian languages was paradigm shifting. 

James Gair is survived by Barbara Lust, his wife and scholarly collaborator who has lived and worked side by side with him for 38 years; his son, Alex Gair and his wife, Diane; his grandchildren, Brian and Amelia, and countless friends, students and colleagues.

After receiving a BA and MA in English from the University of Buffalo, James Gair attained a PhD in Linguistics from Cornell University in 1963, followed by an honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka in 1993, where he was awarded the title of  Sahitya Chakravartin: “Benevolent Emperor of Literature”. 

James Gair was invited to become an assistant professor of linguistics at Cornell immediately on completing his PhD, where he remained until his retirement in 2000.  Before teaching at Cornell, James Gair also taught at the University of Buffalo and the State University of New York at Utica, and served a year in the US Army in Korea. He was a founding member of the Association for Asian Studies, and served on the board of directors for the American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies.

James Gair studied and taught several South Asian languages, including Sinhala, Tamil, Hindi, Dhivehi, Malayalam and Pali, as well as various stages of English language development and Blackfoot. He helped initiate and sustain Cornell’s South Asia Program, and initiated its collaboration with Syracuse University. His extensive scholarship steered the program to become the pre-eminent place for Sri Lankan studies, establishing the first and only Sinhala language program in the western hemisphere. 

His long collaboration with Prof. Karunatillake began with the latter’s studies at Cornell and continued throughout their lives.  This collaboration resulted in a series of major works, including Literary Sinhala, A New Course in Reading Pali: Entering the Word of the Buddha. Their collaboration culminated in the publication of The Sidat Sangara, Text, Translation and Glossary with notes on the classic 13th century Sinhala grammar and its commentaries.  Professors Gair and Karunatillake labored together on this monumental work for almost three decades.

The depth and scope of James Gair’s work led to major developments in the fields of theoretical and applied linguistics, in a wide range of areas: syntax, typology, language change, and language pedagogy. His work also contributed significantly to the study of first and second language acquisition, as well as language loss in dementia, and related cognitive science.

James Gair’s intensely inquisitive mind led him to voracious reading, passionate interest in cooking (he became a master South Asian chef, with a Sri Lankan cookbook underway when he died), travel, cars, as well as the intense enjoyment of children riding carousels.

James Gair was a lover of words. These included the words of Wallace Stevens, whose poetry remained in his mind until the end, and the works of Shakespeare, whom he quoted with perfect relevance on his deathbed. They also included the words of everyone with whom his path crossed, understanding them as unique individuals, insisting on knowing them by name, eager to share his wit and humanity with each. 

The immense knowledge and understanding housed in James Gair’s mind, which he freely shared, were unfathomable to those who knew him.  The integration of intellect and humanity was unsurpassed.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Cornell University Library James Wells  Gair Endowment (Check payable to Cornell Library c/o Jennifer Sawyers, Director of Library Affairs and Development, 130 E Seneca St, Ithaca NY 15850) and/or to Hospicare,  Ithaca New York. http://www.hospicare.org/donate

A memorial is planned for the Spring. Ness Funeral Home in Trumansburg is assisting the family.



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