Lyle Richard Campbell (born October 22, 1942) is an American scholar and
linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
known for his studies of
indigenous American languages, especially those of
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
, and on
historical linguistics
Historical linguistics, also known as diachronic linguistics, is the scientific study of how languages change over time. It seeks to understand the nature and causes of linguistic change and to trace the evolution of languages. Historical li ...
in general. Campbell is professor emeritus of linguistics at the
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Hawaiʻi system and houses the main offic ...
.
Life and career
Campbell was born on October 22, 1942, and grew up in rural
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
. He received a
B.A.
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...
in
archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
and
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
from
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
in 1966, then an
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
in
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
from the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
in 1967, followed by doctoral studies at
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
, earning a Ph.D. in 1971.
Campbell has held appointments at the
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...
(1971–1974), the
State University of New York at Albany
The State University of New York at Albany (University at Albany, UAlbany, or SUNY Albany) is a public research university in Albany, New York, United States. Founded in 1844, it is one of four "university centers" of the State University of N ...
(1974–1989),
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
(1989–1994), the
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...
, in
Christchurch
Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
(1994–2004), the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
(2004–2010), and finally the University of Hawai'i at Manoa (2010–). He has been a visiting professor at
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
,
Colegio de México,
Memorial University
Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...
,
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
,
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...
,
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...
,
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...
,
Universidad del País Vasco
The University of the Basque Country (, ''EHU''; , ''UPV''; officially EHU) is a Spanish public university of the Basque Autonomous Community.
Heir of the University of Bilbao, initially it was made up of the Faculty of Economic and Business Sc ...
,
University of Turku
The University of Turku (, shortened ''UTU'') is a multidisciplinary public university with eight faculties located in the city of Turku in southwestern Finland. The university also has campuses in Rauma and Pori and research stations in Kevo ...
, and at three universities in
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. He has held joint appointments in Linguistics, Anthropology, Behavioral Research, Latin American Studies, and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
.
Campbell's research and teaching specializations include: historical linguistics, American Indian languages, documentation and revitalization of endangered languages, typology, sociolinguistics,
linguistic anthropology
Linguistic anthropology is the interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life. It is a branch of anthropology that originated from the endeavor to document endangered languages and has grown over the past century to encompass mo ...
, and Uralic languages.
Campbell is the author of 25 books and 200+ articles; two of his books (''American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America'' and ''Historical Syntax in Cross-Linguistic Perspectives'', co-written with
Alice C. Harris) were awarded the
Leonard Bloomfield Book Award by the
Linguistic Society of America
The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) is a learned society for the field of linguistics. Founded in New York City in 1924, the LSA works to promote the scientific study of language. The society publishes three scholarly journals: ''Language'', ...
for the best book in linguistics published two years prior. He is also co-founder of the
Catalogue of Endangered Languages, and member of the Governance Council for the
Endangered Languages Project
The Endangered Languages Project (ELP) is a worldwide collaboration between indigenous Language planning, language organizations, linguists, institutions of higher education, and key industry partners to strengthen endangered languages. The foun ...
.
Published books
*Campbell, Lyle & Blair, Robert et al. (1971). ''Cakchiquel Basic Course''. Provo: Peace Corps.
*Campbell, Lyle (1977). ''Quichean Linguistic Prehistory'' (University of California Publications in Linguistics, 81). Berkeley: University of California Press.
*Campbell, Lyle et al. (1978). ''Bibliography of Mayan Languages and Linguistics''. Institute for Mesoamerican Studies, Publication 3. SUNY Albany.
*Campbell, Lyle & Mithun, Marianne (Eds.) (1979). ''The Languages of Native America: An Historical and Comparative Assessment''. Austin: University of Texas Press.
*Campbell, Lyle (1980). ''El Idioma Cacaopera''. (Colección Antropología e Historia, 16.) Administración del patrimonio cultural. San Salvador, El Salvador: Ministerio de Educación, Dirección de publicaciones.
*Campbell, Lyle & Justeson, John (Eds.) (1984). ''Phoneticism in Mayan Hieroglyphic Writing''. (Institute for Mesoamerican Studies, Pub. 9.) SUNY Albany/University of Texas Press.
*Justeson, John, William Norman, Lyle Campbell & Terrence Kaufman) (1985). ''The Foreign Impact of Lowland Mayan Languages and Script''. (Middle American Research Institute, publication 53.) New Orleans: Tulane University.
*Campbell, Lyle (1985)
''The Pipil Language of El Salvador'' Berlin: Mouton Publishers.
*Campbell, Lyle (1988). ''The Linguistics of Southeast Chiapas''. (Papers of the New World Archaeological Foundation, 51.) Provo, Utah.
*Migliazza, Ermnesto & Lyle Campbell (1988). ''Panorama General de las Lenguas Indígenas en las Amerícas''. Historia General de América, tomo 10. Instituto Panamericano de Geografía e Historia. Caracas, Venezuela.
*Harris, Alice C. & Lyle Campbell (1995). ''Historical syntax in cross-linguistic perspective''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
inner of the Leonard Bloomfield Book Award, 1998.*Hill, Jane, P. J. Mistry, & Lyle Campbell (Eds.) (1997). ''The Life of Language: Papers in Linguistics in Honor of William Bright''. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
*Campbell, Lyle (1997). ''American Indian languages: the historical linguistics of Native America''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. .
inner of the Linguistic Society of America's "Leonard Bloomfield Book Award," 2000, for the best book in linguistics for the previous two years. Named 1998 Outstanding Academic Book by Choice.*Campbell, Lyle (Eds.) (2003). ''Grammaticalization: a critical assessment''. (Special issue of Language Sciences, vol. 23, numbers 2–3.)
*Campbell, Lyle et al. (2004). ''New Zealand English: its Origins and Evolution''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
*Campbell, Lyle (2004). ''Historical Linguistics: an Introduction'' (2nd edition). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, and Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
*Campbell, Lyle and William J. Poser (2008). ''Language Classification: History and Method''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .
*Campbell, Lyle and Verónica Grondona (Eds.) (2012)
''"The Indigenous Languages of South America: A Comprehensive Guide."''Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
*Campbell, Lyle (ed.) (2017). ''Language Isolates''. London: Routledge. .
*Campbell, Lyle and Anna Belew (eds.) (2018). ''Cataloguing the World's Endangered Languages''. London: Routledge. .
*Rehg, Kenneth and Lyle Campbell (eds.) (2018) ''The Oxford Handbook of Endangered Languages''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. .
*Campbell, Lyle (2020). ''Historical Linguistics: an Introduction''. Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press
Edinburgh University Press is a scholarly publisher of academic books and journals, based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
History
Edinburgh University Press was founded in the 1940s and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh ...
. (4th edition.)
st edition 1998–1999, 2nd edition 2004, 3rd edition 2013, 4th edition 2020
*Campbell, Lyle, Luis Díaz & Fernando Ángel (2020). ''Nivaclé Grammar''. Utah: Utah Press.
*Campbell, Lyle (2024). ''The Indigenous Languages of the Americas''. New York: Oxford University Press. .
See also
*
Classification of indigenous languages of the Americas
This is a list of different language classification proposals developed for the Indigenous languages of the Americas or Amerindian languages. The article is divided into North, Central, and South America sections; however, the classifications d ...
References
External links
University of Hawaii Faculty page for Lyle Campbell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Lyle
1942 births
Historical linguists
American Mesoamericanists
Linguists of Mesoamerican languages
Scholars of the Aztecs
Mayanists
Brigham Young University alumni
University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
Louisiana State University faculty
University of Utah faculty
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa faculty
20th-century Mesoamericanists
21st-century Mesoamericanists
Academic staff of the University of Canterbury
Living people
University of Missouri faculty
20th-century American linguists
21st-century American linguists
20th-century American writers
21st-century American writers
Writers from Oregon
Linguists of Algic languages
Linguists of Hokan languages
Linguists of Muskogean languages
Linguists of Uto-Aztecan languages
20th-century American male writers
Linguists of Indigenous languages of the Americas
Fellows of the Linguistic Society of America