Theodore B. Fernald is a

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 the chair of the Department of

Linguistics 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 ...

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

. He is a specialist in

semantics Semantics (from grc, σημαντικός ''sēmantikós'', "significant") is the study of reference, meaning, or truth. The term can be used to refer to subfields of several distinct disciplines, including philosophy Philosophy (f ...

and the

Navajo language Navajo or Navaho (; Navajo: or ) is a Southern Athabaskan language of the Na-Dené family, through which it is related to languages spoken across the western areas of North America. Navajo is spoken primarily in the Southwestern United States ...

. As of 2012, he was collaborating with Ellavina Perkins under the auspices of Swarthmore and the

Navajo Language Academy The Navajo Language Academy (NLA; Navajo ''Diné Bizaad Naalkaah'') is a non-profit educational and advocacy organization which focuses on the Navajo language. Overview The NLA organizes efforts of linguists and language instructors to train teac ...

to produce a reference

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...

of Navajo, a project which has received a major grant from the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

. He has also served as vice-chair of the

References

External links

Biography
at

1960 births Living people Linguists from the United States Linguists of Navajo Swarthmore College faculty Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni Ohio State University Graduate School alumni University of California, Santa Cruz alumni {{US-linguist-stub