J. K. "Jack" Chambers (born 12 July 1938 in
Grimsby, Ontario
Grimsby is a town on Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. Grimsby is at the eastern end of the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area. It is named after the English fishing town of Grimsby in north-east Lincolnshire. The majority of r ...
) is a Canadian
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 a well-known expert on
language variation and change, who has played an important role in research on
Canadian English since the 1980s; he has coined the terms "
Canadian Raising
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
" and "Canadian Dainty",
the latter used for Canadian speech that mimics the British, popular till the mid-20th century. He has been a professor of linguistics at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...
since receiving his a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
from the
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...
in 1970. He has also been a visiting professor at many universities worldwide, including
Hong Kong University
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fir ...
,
University of Szeged
, mottoeng = Truth. Bravery. Freedom.
, established =
, type = Public research university
, founder = Emperor Franz Joseph I
, affiliation = European University Association, Science Without Borders, Confucius Institute
, budget = US$220 m ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
,
University of Kiel
Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...
in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Canterbury University
The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...
in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, the
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...
and the
University of York in the
UK. He is the author of the website Dialect Topography, which compiles information about dialectal variation in the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada.
Chambers has also written extensively on
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
, including such figures as
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...
and
Duke Ellington.
Bibliography
His works include:
* 1975 ''Canadian English: Origins and Structures''
* 1979 ''The Languages of Canada''
* 1983 ''Milestones I: The Music and Times of Miles Davis to 1960''
* 1985 ''Milestones II: The Music and Times of Miles Davis since 1960''
* 1991 ''Dialects of English: Studies in Grammatical Variation'' (with Peter Trudgill)
* 1998 ''Dialects and Accents'' (with David Britain)
* 1998 ''Dialectology'' (with Peter Trudgill)
* 2002 ''The Handbook of Language Variation and Change'' (with Peter Trudgill and Natalie Schilling-Estes)
* 2003 ''Sociolinguistic Theory: Linguistic Variation and Its Social Significance. Third, revised edition (first ed. published in 1995)''
See also
*
Linguistic marketplace
References
External links
Jack Chambers' Homepage Dialect TopographyJohn Kenneth (Jack) Chambers archival papers
held at th
University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
Other notable Canadian dialectologists
* Walter S. Avis
* Charles Boberg
* Sali Tagliamonte
* Sandra Clarke
* Robert J. Gregg
1938 births
Living people
Linguists from Canada
People from Grimsby, Ontario
Sociolinguists
University of Toronto faculty
Academics of the University of York
{{Canada-academic-bio-stub