George Philip Krapp
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George Philip Krapp (1872–1934) was a scholar of the
English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...
who was born in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
. He graduated from
Wittenberg College Wittenberg University is a private liberal arts college in Springfield, Ohio. It has 1,326 full-time students representing 33 states and 9 foreign countries. Wittenberg University is associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Americ ...
in 1894 and received a PhD from
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
in 1899. His doctoral thesis was on the Legend of the Purgatory of St. Patrick. In 1897 Krapp joined the faculty of
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, becoming professor of English at the
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...
(1908–1910) before gaining the same title at Columbia (1910–1934). His best known achievement is conceiving and in large part undertaking the six volume
Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records The Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records (ASPR) is a six-volume edition intended at the time of its publication to encompass all known Old English poetry. Despite many subsequent editions of individual poems or collections, it has remained the standard refere ...
edition (begun in 1931, and concluded by Krapp's collaborator Elliott Van Kirk Dobbie in 1953). Krapp is also noted for his books ''Modern English: Its Growth and Present Use'' (1909) in which he argued "that 'good English' was not determined by the conformity to grammatical laws, but by the common use of language", and ''The English Language in America'' (1925) described by
Henry Blake Fuller Henry Blake Fuller (January 9, 1857 – July 28, 1929) was an American novelist and short story writer. He was born and worked in Chicago, Illinois. He is perhaps the earliest novelist from Chicago to gain a national reputation. His exploration ...
as "detailing the adventures of an old language in a new country" and a book that "contravenes many of our favorite notions about ourselves and our speech". He wrote six children's books about subjects such as "the Civil War, the Great Lakes, the frontier, and country life". In June 1924, Krapp wrote in ''The American Mercury'' several words in African American dialect were from common English usage that lingered in "Negro speech" while becoming archaic elsewhere. The article was noted in
Monroe Work Monroe Nathan Work (August 15, 1866 – May 2, 1945) was an African-American sociologist who founded the Department of Records and Research at the Tuskegee Institute in 1908. His published works include the ''Negro Year Book'' and '' A Bibliograph ...
's ''Negro Yearbook 1925-1926'' (page 45) and elsewhere.


Legacy

Following his death, his widow donated 500 of his books to Columbia University. His wife, Elisabeth Christina von Saltza, was the daughter of Swedish painter Carl Frederick von Saltza, and his brother-in-law was painter Philip von Saltza. His son was literary scholar Robert M. Adams.


References


Further reading

1872 births 1934 deaths American medievalists Anglo-Saxon studies scholars University of Cincinnati faculty Columbia University faculty Wittenberg University alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni {{US-English-academic-bio-stub