Roger Marsh Blench (born August 1, 1953) is 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 ...

, ethnomusicologist and development

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

. He has an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and is based in

Cambridge, England Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge became ...

. He researches, publishes, and works as a consultant.

Career

Blench is known for his wide-ranging interests and has made important contributions to

African linguistics 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 Southern A ...

, Southeast Asian linguistics, anthropology,

ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

ethnobotany Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. An ethnobotanist thus strives to document the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for m ...

, and various other related fields. He has done significant research on the Niger–Congo, Nilo-Saharan, and

Afroasiatic The Afroasiatic languages (or Afro-Asiatic), also known as Hamito-Semitic, or Semito-Hamitic, and sometimes also as Afrasian, Erythraean or Lisramic, are a language family of about 300 languages that are spoken predominantly in the geographic su ...

families, as well as the

Arunachal languages Arunachal languages are the languages in Arunachal Pradesh, India, traditionally classified in Sino-Tibetan languages, but also possibly being language isolates and independent language families. Blench (2011) proposed four language isolates ( Hr ...

. Additionally, Blench has published extensively on the relationship between linguistics and archaeology. Blench is currently engaged in a long-term project to document the languages of central

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 ...

. He has also carried out extensive research on the

herder–farmer conflicts in Nigeria Herder–farmer conflicts in Nigeria are a series of disputes over land resources across Nigeria between mostly Muslim Fulani herders and mostly Christian non-Fulani farmers. They have been especially prominent in the Middle Belt (North Central) s ...

. Blench collaborated with the late Professor

Kay Williamson Kay Williamson (January 26, 1935, Hereford, United Kingdom – January 3, 2005, Brazil), born Ruth Margaret Williamson, was a linguist who specialised in the study of African languages, particularly those of the Niger Delta in Nigeria, where ...

, who died in January 2005, and is now a trustee of the Kay Williamson Educational Foundation, which exists both to publish the unpublished material left by Kay Williamson and to promote the study of

Nigerian languages There are over 525 native languages spoken in Nigeria. The Nigerian official language is English, the language of former colonial British Nigeria. As reported in 2003, Nigerian Pidgin was spoken as a second language by 60 million people in Nige ...

. A series of publications supported by the trust is under way with Rüdiger Köppe Verlag in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

. Blench has also conducted research and evaluations of international development activities worldwide, as a consultant and research fellow of the

Overseas Development Institute ODI (formerly the 'Overseas Development Institute') is a global affairs think tank, founded in 1960. Its mission is "to inspire people to act on injustice and inequality through collaborative research and ideas that matter for people and the ...

in London.Academic Curriculum Vitae
Roger Blench, January 2021.

Selected books

* * * * * * 2000. Blench, R. M. & MacDonald, K. C., eds. ''The Origin and Development of African Livestock.'' London: University College Press. * * * Sanchez-Mazas, Alicia; Blench, R. M. et al., eds. 2008. ''Human Migrations in Continental East Asia and Taiwan: matching archaeology, linguistics and genetics.'' London: Routledge.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blench, Roger Linguists from the United Kingdom Living people 1953 births Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Paleolinguists British Africanists Linguists of Southeast Asian languages Linguists of Nilo-Saharan languages Linguists of Nilotic languages Linguists of Niger–Congo languages Linguists of Afroasiatic languages Linguists of Sino-Tibetan languages Linguists of Shompen Linguists of Hrusish languages Linguists of Vazimba 20th-century linguists 21st-century linguists