Peter Nielsen Ladefoged ( , ; 17 September 1925 – 24 January 2006) was a British
linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
and
phonetician.
He was Professor of Phonetics at
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...
(UCLA), where he taught from 1962 to 1991. His book ''
A Course in Phonetics'' is a common introductory text in phonetics, and ''
The Sounds of the World's Languages
''The Sounds of the World's Languages'', sometimes abbreviated ''SOWL'', is a 1996 book by Peter Ladefoged and Ian Maddieson which documents a global survey of the sound patterns of natural languages. Drawing from the authors' own fieldwork and e ...
'' (co-authored with
Ian Maddieson
Ian Maddieson (born September 1, 1942 in Watford, United Kingdom) is British-American linguist and professor emeritus of linguistics at the University of New Mexico, in the United States. He has served as Vice-President of the International Phone ...
) is widely regarded as a standard phonetics reference. Ladefoged also wrote several books on the phonetics of
African languages
The languages of Africa are divided into several major language families:
* Niger–Congo or perhaps Atlantic–Congo languages (includes Bantu and non-Bantu, and possibly Mande and others) are spoken in West, Central, Southeast and Souther ...
. Prior to UCLA, he was a lecturer at the universities of
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
(1953–59, 1960–1) and
Ibadan
Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
(1959–60).
Early life
Peter Ladefoged was born on 17 September 1925, in
Sutton
Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to:
Places
United Kingdom
England
In alphabetical order by county:
* Sutton, Bedfordshire
* Sutton, Berkshire, a location
* Sutton-in-the-Isle, Ely, Cambridgeshire
* ...
(then in
Surrey, now in
Greater London), England. He attended
Haileybury College from 1938 to 1943, and
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...
,
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
from 1943 to 1944. He received an
MA (1951) and a PhD (1959) in Phonetics from the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
in 1959.
Career
Ladefoged was involved with the phonetics laboratory at UCLA, which he established in 1962. He also was interested in listening to and describing every sound used in spoken human language, which he estimated at 900
consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced wi ...
s and 200
vowel
A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (leng ...
s. This research formed the basis of much of ''
The Sounds of the World's Languages
''The Sounds of the World's Languages'', sometimes abbreviated ''SOWL'', is a 1996 book by Peter Ladefoged and Ian Maddieson which documents a global survey of the sound patterns of natural languages. Drawing from the authors' own fieldwork and e ...
''. In 1966 Ladefoged moved from the UCLA English Department to join the newly established Linguistics Department.
While at UCLA, Ladefoged was hired as a consultant on the movie ''
My Fair Lady
''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...
''. He wrote the transcriptions that can be seen in Professor Higgins's notebook, and his voice was used in the scenes where Higgins describes vowel pronunciation.
Ladefoged was also a member of the
International Phonetic Association
The International Phonetic Association (IPA; French: ', ''API'') is an organization that promotes the scientific study of phonetics and the various practical applications of that science. The IPA's major contribution to phonetics is the Interna ...
for a long time, and was President of the Association from 1986 to 1991. He was deeply involved in maintaining its
International Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin script. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century as a standardized representation ...
, and was the principal mover of the 1989
International Phonetic Association Kiel Convention
The International Phonetic Alphabet was created soon after the International Phonetic Association was established in the late 19th century. It was intended as an international system of phonetic transcription for oral languages, originally for ...
. He was also editor of the ''Journal of the International Phonetic Association''. Ladefoged served on the board of directors of the
Endangered Language Fund since its inception.
Ladefoged was a founding member of the
Association for Laboratory Phonology.
Personal life
Ladefoged married Jenny MacDonald in 1953, a marriage which lasted over 50 years.
They had three children: Lise Friedman, a bookseller; Thegn Ladefoged,
archaeologist and professor of
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
at
University of Auckland
, mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work
, established = 1883; years ago
, endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021)
, chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant
, vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
; and Katie Ladefoged, attorney and
public defender, residing in
Nashville, Tennessee.
He also had five grandchildren Zelda Ladefoged, Ethan Friedman, Amy Friedman, Joseph Weiss, and Catherine Weiss.
On May 5, 1970, Ladefoged was arrested and suffered injuries from police while participating in an anti–Vietnam War protest at
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
. He was initially charged with failure to disperse, but the charge was later changed to assault on a police officer. He was acquitted in the first trial.
Death
Ladefoged died on 24 January 2006 at the age of 80 in hospital in London, England after a research trip to India.
He was on his way home to Los Angeles, California from his research trip.
Academic timeline
* 1953–55: Assistant Lecturer in Phonetics, University of Edinburgh
* 1955–59: Lecturer in Phonetics, University of Edinburgh
* 1959–60: Lecturer in Phonetics,
University of Ibadan
The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 19 ...
, Nigeria
* 1960–61: Lecturer in Phonetics, University of Edinburgh
* 1961–62: Field fellow, Linguistic Survey of West Africa, Nigeria
* Summer 1960:
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
* Summer 1961:
Royal Institute of Technology,
ungliga Tekniska högskolan or KTH (
Stockholm,
Sweden)
* 1962–63: Assistant Professor of Phonetics, Department of English, UCLA
* 1962: Established, and directed until 1991, the UCLA Phonetics Laboratory
* 1963–65: Associate Professor of Phonetics, Department of Linguistics], UCLA
* 1965–91: Professor of Phonetics, Department of Linguistics, UCLA
* 1977–80: Chair, Department of Linguistics, UCLA
* 1991: "retired" to become UCLA Research Linguist, Distinguished Professor of Phonetics Emeritus
* 2005: Leverhulme Professor, University of Edinburgh
* 2005–06: Adjunct professor at the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
(USC)
Academic honours
* Fellow of the
Acoustical Society of America
The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is an international scientific society founded in 1929 dedicated to generating, disseminating and promoting the knowledge of acoustics and its practical applications. The Society is primarily a voluntary org ...
* Fellow of the
American Speech and Hearing Association
* Distinguished Teaching Award, UCLA 1972
* President,
Linguistic Society of America
The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) is a learned society for the field of linguistics. Founded in New York City in 1924, the LSA works to promote the scientific study of language. The society publishes three scholarly journals: ''Language'', ...
, 1978
* President of the Permanent Council for the Organization of International Congresses of Phonetic Sciences, 1983–1991
* President,
International Phonetic Association
The International Phonetic Association (IPA; French: ', ''API'') is an organization that promotes the scientific study of phonetics and the various practical applications of that science. The IPA's major contribution to phonetics is the Interna ...
, 1987–1991
* UCLA Research Lecturer 1989
* Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
1990
* UCLA College of Letters and Science Faculty Research Lecturer 1991
* Gold medal, XIIth International Congress of Phonetic Sciences 1991
* Corresponding Fellow of the
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars spa ...
1992
* Honorary D.Litt., University of Edinburgh, 1993
* Foreign Member,
Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters
{{Infobox organization
, name = The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters
, full_name =
, native_name = Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab
, native_name_lang =
, logo = Royal ...
, 1993
* Silver medal,
Acoustical Society of America
The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is an international scientific society founded in 1929 dedicated to generating, disseminating and promoting the knowledge of acoustics and its practical applications. The Society is primarily a voluntary org ...
1994
* Corresponding Fellow,
Royal Society of Edinburgh, 2001
* Honorary D.Sc.
Queen Margaret University
Queen Margaret University is a university, founded in 1875 and located in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is named after the Scottish Queen Saint Margaret.
History
The university was founded in 1875, as ''The Edinburgh School of Cookery and Domestic ...
, Edinburgh, 2002
Selected publications
*
Monograph supplement to ''Revista do Laboratório de Fonética Experimental da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Coimbra''
(Journal of Experimental Phonetics Laboratory of the Faculty of Arts, University of Coimbra).
* Paperback edition 1971. Translation into Japanese, Taishukan Publishing Company, 1976. Second edition, with added chapters on computational phonetics 1996.
* Reprinted 1968.
*
*
*
* 2nd ed 1982, 3rd ed. 1993, 4th ed. 2001, 5th ed. Boston:
Thomson/Wadsworth
Cengage Group is an American educational content, technology, and services company for the higher education, K-12, professional, and library markets. It operates in more than 20 countries around the world.(Jun 27, 2014Global Publishing Leaders ...
2006, 6th ed. 2011 (co-author Keith Johnson) Boston: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Japanese translation 2000.
*
* 2001, 2nd ed. 2004.
*
*
*
Works involved in or about
*
George Cukor (director),
Alan Jay Lerner (lyricist): ''
My Fair Lady
''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...
''. Motion picture film. (1964).
*
References
External links
*
Peter Ladefoged's home page at UCLA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ladefoged, Peter
1925 births
2006 deaths
People from Sutton, London
Linguists from England
Phoneticians
Speech perception researchers
People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Academics of the University of Edinburgh
University of California, Los Angeles faculty
British expatriates in Nigeria
University of Ibadan faculty
Linguists of Eskaleut languages
Linguists of Muskogean languages
Linguistic Society of America presidents
Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy
20th-century linguists
Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh