Jonathan Kaye (born 1942) studied linguistics at

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 ...

under

Uriel Weinreich Uriel Weinreich ( yi, אוריאל ווײַנרײַך ''Uriel Vaynraykh'', ; May 23, 1926 – March 30, 1967) was a Jewish–American linguist. Life Uriel Weinreich was born in Wilno, Poland (since 1945, Vilnius, Lithuania), the first child of ...

and Robert Austelitz, earning his Ph.D. in 1970. He wrote his thesis on Desano, a

South American language The languages of South America can be divided into three broad groups: * the languages of the (in most cases, former) colonial powers; * many indigenous languages, some of which are co-official alongside the colonial languages; * and various ...

he studied through a year of field work in the

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. In 1967 he took up his first teaching position 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 ...

. While there he focused his studies on the Ottawa language, an Algonquian language spoken in Wikwemikong,

Manitoulin Island Manitoulin Island is an island in Lake Huron, located within the borders of the Canadian province of Ontario, in the bioregion known as Laurentia. With an area of , it is the largest lake island in the world, large enough that it has over 100 ...

, Ontario. In 1974 he spent his sabbatical leave as a visiting professor at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

, and in 1975 he accepted a position at the

Université du Québec à Montréal The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Qué ...

. At UQAM he continued his studies on Ottawa and began to focus on the Algonquin language in Lac Simon, Québec as well. As a result of his studies he co-edited the book ''Linguistic Studies of Native Canada'' with Eung-Do Cook. ''Linguistic Studies'' was published in 1978 by the

University of British Columbia Press The University of British Columbia Press (UBC Press) is a university press that is part of the University of British Columbia. It was established in 1971. The press is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and has editorial offices in Kelo ...

. By the early 1980s Kaye's focus moved to West African languages. He was the primary editor of volume 2 of ''Current Approaches to African Linguistics'', printed by

Walter de Gruyter Walter de Gruyter GmbH, known as De Gruyter (), is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature. History The roots of the company go back to 1749 when Frederick the Great granted the Königliche Realschule in Be ...

publishing house in 1983. Kaye moved to the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury a ...

at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in 1988. It was there he published ''Phonology: A Cognitive View'' in 1989, considered to be his seminal work. In 1999 he moved, this time to the

Guangdong University of Foreign Studies Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS) is a public university with emphasis in foreign languages and cultures, overseas economy and trade, and international strategies in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. The university offers 61 bachel ...

. He stayed there until he moved to Girona, Spain in 2001. He left Girona and moved to Gorizia, Italy in August 2008. He is still active in research and PhD supervision. He has recently given courses at the University of Ljubljana and at the University of Nova Gorica. He now lives in Kent, England, and volunteers at numerous local libraries. 2003 saw the publication of ''Living on the Edge: 28 Papers in Honour of Jonathan Kaye'', a book dedicated to his life and work.

Travels

Kaye traveled extensively, studying native languages in the area (Ex. languages of

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and

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, the Ivory Coast, Slavic, Semitic,

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, and others) and would frequently protest the idea that languages were radically different from one another:

From our point of view as English speakers, a language such as Chinese might seem totally different from our own. In fact, these two languages as well as all other human languages are nearly identical. The differences that seem all important to us are relatively minor. (Jonathan Kaye 1989: 54).

Travels

References

Further reading