Howard I. Aronson
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The Lecture The Speaker FOURTH ANNUAL KENNETH E. Howard I. Aronson received his NAYLOR MEMORIAL LECTURE IN The linguistic focus on the Balkans as a doctorate in Slavic linguistics from Indiana SOUTH SLAVIC LINGUISTICS unique and prototypical “Sprachbund” University in 1961. His wrote his doctoral (‘linguistic league’) can be viewed as a dissertation (Morphophonemic patterns of manifestation of what Edward Said has the Bulgarian inflection (compared with called “orientalism”, or by what Maria those of Russian)) on Bulgarian inflectional morphophonology. In the year 1961-62 he OWARD RONSON Todorova has called “Balkanism”. There H I. A has been a strong tendency to regard taught at the University of Wisconsin at Department of Slavic Languages linguistic leagues as somehow typologically Madison and since 1962 has been at the and Literatures exotic. Rather, I shall try to show that the University of Chicago, where he now holds University of Chicago Balkan languages typologically are closer to appointments in the Department of Slavic a Romance language type than, e.g., to North Languages and Literatures, the Department Slavic typology, and are in many ways more of Linguistics, the Committee on Jewish “Western European” than North Slavic. In Studies, and the undergraduate College. He THE BALKAN LINGUISTIC this respect, I shall argue that even English has served as Chair of the Slavic Department LEAGUE, ‘ORIENTALISM’, AND can be viewed as a “Balkan” language. and the Department of Linguistics and is LINGUISTIC TYPOLOGY Following Colin Masica, I shall attempt to currently acting chair of the Slavic show that it is counterproductive to put sharp Department. His areas of research interest boundaries on a “Sprachbund”, and that it is include Bulgarian and Balkan linguistics, Friday, May 25, 2001 more important to set up series of Georgian linguistics, Yiddish, and questions at 3:00 p.m. overlapping areas which extend in varying of the application of linguistics to the directions beyond the traditionally defined teaching of foreign languages. He is the linguistic area. So, for example, I shall try to author of numerous articles in these areas, and has written three influential books: The Ohio State University demonstrate that one critical “Balkanism”, the special treatment of definite direct Bulgarian Inflectional Morphology Faculty Club Grand Lounge (Mouton, 1968), Georgian: A Reading 181 South Oval Mall objects of a verb, extends to Hungarian to the north and Turkish and Armenian to the Grammar (Slavica, 1982), and Georgian Columbus, Ohio East. The study of the Balkan languages language and culture: a continuing course does indeed have much to offer to general with Dodona Kiziria of Indiana University linguistic theory, but such a statement would (Slavica, 1999). In addition, Professor Aronson has edited or co-edited five A reception at the Faculty Club likely be equally true for any linguistic area Grand Lounge will follow viewed in its context. Finally, I shall argue volumes, including a special Festschrift for the greater importance of dealing with issue of the International Journal of the structural features as opposed to formal Sociology of Language co-edited with the features. late Kenneth Naylor in honor of Edward Stankiewicz. The Professorship Kenneth E. Naylor, Jr. Brian D. Joseph Other Naylor Lectures The Kenneth E. Naylor Professorship of Born in New York in 1951, Brian D. Joseph The Department of Slavic and East European Kenneth E. Naylor, Jr. was born on February Languages and Literatures is pleased to South Slavic Linguistics was established on 27, 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was schooled at Yale University (B.A. Cum November 5, 1993 in the College of Laude, 1973, a major in Linguistics and a announce the Naylor Memorial Lecturer for received his B.A. in French Linguistics from 2002: Christina Kramer of the University of Humanities through gifts to The Ohio State Cornell University in 1958, and his M.A. in minor in Classics), and Harvard University University from the estate of Dr. Naylor. (M.A. 1976, Ph.D. 1978, both in Toronto. Dr. Kramer is a South Slavic spe- General Linguistics from Indiana University cialist, with Macedonian as her main focus. The professorship is a five-year renewable in 1960. At Indiana, he began to study Linguistics), with a year in Greece doing appointment, and is dedicated to preserving research on his dissertation. After a year as The Naylor Memorial Lectures are Slavic with Professor Edward Stankiewicz, published in the newly-created Naylor and continuing the scholarly legacy of Dr. who became a personal friend and mentor. an Izaak Walton Killam Postdoctoral Fellow Naylor. Professor Brian D. Joseph, a at the University of Alberta, he began in Memorial Lecture Monograph Series. The When Professor Stankiewicz moved to the 1998 Lecture by Victor Friedman (“Lin- Balkan/Greek scholar of the Department of University of Chicago, Kenneth Naylor went 1979 as Assistant Professor of Linguistics at Linguistics at the Ohio State University and The Ohio State University, where he has guistic Emblems and Emblematic Lan- with him. There he received his doctorate in guages: On Language as Flag in the Bal- a colleague of Dr. Naylor, has the Russian and South Slavic linguistics in 1966. been ever since, becoming a full professor in distinguished honor of being the first 1988, and serving as Chair of Linguistics kans”) and the 1999 Lecture by Ronelle Dr. Naylor was an assistant professor at the Alexander (“In Honor of Diversity: The Lin- Kenneth E. Naylor Professor. He now holds University of Pittsburgh from 1964 to 1966. from 1987 to 1997. Dr. Joseph has been the joint appointments in the Department of recipient of numerous awards and honors, guistic Resources of the Balkans”) are now In 1966, he began teaching Slavic linguistics available and the 2000 lecture by Wayles Linguistics and the Department of Slavic at The Ohio State University. At the time of including the 1995 OSU Alumni and East European Languages and Distinguished Teaching Award, an Erskine Browne (“What is a Standard Language his death, Dr. Naylor was the Acting Good For, and Who Gets to Have One?”) Literatures. Director of the Center for Slavic and East Visiting Fellowship at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand in the summer will be available later this year; for European Studies at the Ohio State information, contact the Department of The Lecture Series University. Dr. Naylor was the recipient of of 1997, a Fulbright Research Award in Greece in 1987, an NEH Fellowship for Slavic and East European Languages and numerous awards, grants and fellowships Literatures (614-292-6733). As part of the Naylor Professorship, from many sources, including the American 2002, and the currently held Kenneth E. Professor Joseph has established an annual Council of Learned Societies, the Fulbright Naylor Professorship of South Slavic Lecture on South Slavic Linguistics in program, and the countries of Bulgaria and Linguistics. Professor Joseph is recognized Kenneth Naylor’s memory that will bring Yugoslavia, from which he was awarded worldwide as one of the leading specialists leading scholars in the field to OSU each medals of honor (the Jubilee Medal and the in the history and structure of Greek and in Spring to give a public lecture and to lecture Order of the Yugoslav Flag with Golden Balkan linguistics. His primary scholarly in Professor Joseph’s South Slavic classes. Wreath, respectively). In 1990, he testified interest is in historical linguistics, with an before the U.S. House of Representatives, emphasis on the latter history of Greek. This Foreign Affairs Committee on ethnic rivalry has led him to study Greek in relation to its in Yugoslavia and the development of the neighboring languages in the Balkans, Serbo-Croatian language. Dr. Naylor’s including the South Slavic languages. His research centered on the Serbo-Croatian work on the Balkan Sprachbund explores the language and on South Slavic linguistics in effects of years of language contact and general. He served as editor of the journals bilingualism which have led to converging Balkanistica, Folia Slavica, and The linguistic developments in the languages of American Bibliography of Slavic and East the area. This area of research was one in European Studies. The overwhelming which Dr. Naylor was also deeply interested. majority of his seventy articles focused on Author or co-author of 5 books and editor or Serbo-Croatian and Balkan linguistics. His co-editor of 12 volumes, Professor Joseph’s dedication and many accomplishments live long list of publications includes many on in his work and in the love of the field he dealing with Balkan linguistics. He is Brian D. Joseph, first and current Kenneth instilled in his students. currently working with Professor Victor E. Naylor Professor of South Slavic Friedman, the first Naylor Lecturer (in The late, distinguished professor of South Linguistics 1998), on a book on the Balkan languages Slavic linguistics, Dr. Kenneth E. Naylor for Cambridge University Press..