John Samuel Kenyon (July 26, 1874 – September 6, 1959) was an American
linguist.
Born in
Medina, Ohio, he graduated from
Hiram College in 1898 and taught there as a professor of English from 1916 to 1944, when he retired and became an
emeritus professor until his death. Together with
Thomas A. Knott, he wrote ''
A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English
''A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English'', also referred to as Kenyon and Knott, was first published by the G. & C. Merriam Company in 1944, and written by John Samuel Kenyon and Thomas A. Knott. It provides a phonemic transcription of Gen ...
'' (1944). Kenyon had also earlier published ''American Pronunciation'' (1924) and served as the consulting editor of
pronunciation
Pronunciation is the way in which a word or a language is spoken. This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used in speaking a given word or language in a specific dialect ("correct pronunciation") or simply the way a particular ...
to the second edition of ''
Webster's New International Dictionary
''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758–1843), as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's ...
'' in his career as a pioneering expert on the study of American English, which earned him the
epithet "the dean of American phoneticians".
Works
*''American Pronunciation'' (1924/1950), Tenth Edition, Ann Arbor: George Wahr.
*''A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English'', with Thomas A. Knott (1944/1953) "
KK", Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.
Articles
* 'Ye and You in the King James Version.' Modern Language Association, PMLA , 1914, Vol. 29, No. 3 (1914), pp. 453-471.
External links
Brief profile from the Hiram College archives
1874 births
1959 deaths
Linguists from the United States
Phoneticians
Hiram College alumni
{{US-linguist-stub