Editing Kenneth Lee Pike

{{Short description|American linguist and anthropologist (1912–2000)}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=February 2013}}
{{Infobox academic
| name = Kenneth Lee Pike
| image = Kenneth L. Pike (Prof. of Linguistics, 1948-1979).jpg
| birth_date = {{birth date|1912|06|09}}
| birth_place = [[Woodstock, Connecticut]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|2000|12|31|1912|6|9}}
| death_place = [[Dallas, Texas]]
| residence = 
| citizenship = 
| nationality = American
| ethnicity = 
| discipline = [[Linguist]]
| work_institutions = 
| alma_mater = [[Gordon College (Massachusetts)|Gordon College]] and [[University of Michigan]]
| doctoral_advisor = [[Charles C. Fries]]
| doctoral_students = 
| known_for = [[Tagmemics]]<br>[[Emic and etic]]
}}

'''Kenneth Lee Pike''' (June 9, 1912 &ndash; December 31, 2000) was an American [[Linguistics|linguist]] and [[Anthropology|anthropologist]].  He was the originator of the theory of [[tagmemics]], the coiner of the terms [[Emic and etic|"emic" and "etic"]] and the developer of the [[constructed language]] [[Kalaba-X]] for use in teaching the theory and practice of translation.

In addition, he was the First President of the [[Bible translation|Bible-translating]] organization [[SIL International|Summer Institute of Linguistics]] (SIL), with which he was associated from 1935<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pike|first=Eunice|title=Ken Pike: Scholar and Christian|publisher=Summer Institute of Linguistics|year=1981|isbn=0-88312-920-5|location=Dallas, TX|pages=14–15}}</ref> until his death.<ref>[[David Crystal]] (2011). ''Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics''. Volume 30 of The Language Library. Edition 6. John Wiley & Sons. {{ISBN|9781444356755}}</ref>

==Life==
Pike was born in [[Woodstock, Connecticut]], and studied [[theology]] at [[Gordon College (Massachusetts)|Gordon College]], graduating with a [[Bachelor's degree|B.A.]] in 1933. He initially wanted to do [[missionary]] work in [[China]]. When this was denied him,  he studied linguistics with the [[SIL International|Summer Institute of Linguistics]] (SIL). He went to [[Mexico]] with SIL, learning [[Mixtec]] from native speakers there in 1935.<ref>Hildebrandt, Martha. 2003. "A Portrait of Kenneth L. Pike," in Language and Life: Essays in Memory of Kenneth L. Pike. (eds.) Mary Ruth Wise, Thomas N. Headland, and Ruth M. Brend. Arlington: University of Texas at Arlington, pp. 3-5.</ref>

In 1937 Pike went to the [[University of Michigan]], where he worked for his [[doctorate]] in linguistics under [[Charles C. Fries]]. His research involved living among the Mixtecs and developing a written system for the Mixtec language with his wife, Evelyn. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1942, Pike became the First President of the Summer Institute in Linguistics. Its main function was to produce translations of the [[Bible]] in unwritten [[language]]s, and in 1951 Pike published the ''Mixtec New Testament''. He was the President of SIL International from 1942 to 1979.<ref>Hildebrandt, Martha. 2003. "A Portrait of Kenneth L. Pike," in Language and Life: Essays in Memory of Kenneth L. Pike. (eds.) Mary Ruth Wise, Thomas N. Headland, and Ruth M. Brend.  Arlington: University of Texas at Arlington, pp. 5-9.</ref>

As well as and in parallel with his role at SIL, Pike spent thirty years at the [[University of Michigan]], during which time he served as chairman of its linguistics department, professor of linguistics, and director of its English Language Institute (he did pioneering work in the field of [[English language learning and teaching]])
and was later Professor Emeritus of the university.

==Work==
Pike is best known for his distinction between the [[Emic and etic|''emic'' and the ''etic'']].  "Emic" (as in "[[phonemics]]") refers to the role of cultural and linguistic categories as understood from within the cultural or linguistic system that they are a part of, while "etic" (as in "[[phonetics]]") refers to the analytical study of those sounds grounded outside of the system itself. Pike argued that only native speakers are competent judges of emic descriptions, and are thus crucial in providing data for linguistic research, while investigators from outside the linguistic group apply scientific methods in the analysis of language, producing etic descriptions which are verifiable and reproducible.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pike|first1=Kenneth L.|title=Language in Relations to a Unified Theory of Human Behavior|date=1967|publisher=The Hague: Mouton & Co.|pages=37–72|edition=Second Revised}}</ref> Pike himself carried out studies of indigenous languages in [[Australia]], [[Bolivia]], [[Ecuador]], [[Ghana]], [[Java (island)|Java]], [[Mexico]], [[Nepal]], [[New Guinea]], [[Nigeria]], the [[Philippines]], and [[Peru]].

Pike developed his theory of ''[[tagmemics]]'' to help with the analysis of languages from [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]], by identifying (using both [[Semantics|semantic]] and [[Syntax|syntactic]] elements) strings of linguistic elements capable of playing a number of different roles.

Pike's approach to the study of language put him outside the circle of the "generative" movement begun by [[Noam Chomsky]], a dominant linguist in the 20th century, since Pike believed that the structure of language should be studied in context, not just as single sentences, as seen in the title of his magnum opus, ''Language in Relation to a Unified Theory of the Structure of Human Behavior'' (1967).

He became well known for his "[[Monolingual fieldwork|monolingual demonstrations]]." He would stand before an audience, with a large number of chalkboards. A speaker of a language unknown to him would be brought in to work with Pike.  Using gestures and objects, not asking questions in a language that the person might know, Pike would begin to analyze the language before the audience.

==Honors==
Pike was a member of the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]], the [[Linguistic Society of America]] (LSA), the [[Linguistic Association of Canada and the United States]] (LACUS), and the [[American Anthropological Association]]. He served as president of LSA and LACUS and later was nominated for the [[Templeton Prize]] three years in a row.<ref name="headland2001">{{cite news|author=Headland, Thomas N.|date=2001|title=Kenneth Lee Pike (1912&ndash;2000)|journal=American Anthropologist|volume=103|issue=2|pages=505–509}}</ref>

When he was named to the Charles Carpenter Fries Professorship of Linguistics at the University of Michigan in 1974, the Dean's citation noted that "his lifelong originality and energetic activity verge on the legendary."<ref>p. xiii. Jankowsky, Kurt R., ed. 1996. ''The Mystery of Culture Contacts, Historical Reconstruction, and Text Analysis: An Emic Approach.'' Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.</ref> Pike was awarded honorary degrees by a number of institutions, including Huntington College, University of Chicago, Georgetown University, L'Université Réné Descartes (Sorbonne), and Albert-Ludwig Universität. Though the Nobel Prize committee did not publicize nominations, in 1983 US Senator [[Alan J. Dixon]] and US Congressman [[Paul Simon (politician)|Paul Simon]] announced that they had nominated Pike for the Nobel Peace Prize. Academic sponsors for his nomination included [[Charles F. Hockett]], [[Sydney Lamb]] (Rice University), Gordon J. van Wylen (Hope College), Frank H. T. Rhodes (Cornell University), [[André Martinet]] (Sorbonne), David C.C. Li (National Taiwan Normal University), and Ming Liu (Chinese University of Hong Kong).<ref>p. xiv, xv. Jankowsky, Kurt R., ed. 1996. ''The Mystery of Culture Contacts, Historical Reconstruction, and Text Analysis: An Emic Approach.'' Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.</ref><ref>p. 9-15. Adam Makai, ed., 1984. ''Languages for Peace''. Lake Bluff, IL: Jupiter Press.</ref>

==Bibliography==
*See [http://www.sil.org/resources/search/contributor/pike-kenneth-l Complete list of Pike's publications] (over 250)
*1943: ''Phonetics, a Critical Analysis of Phonetic Theory and a Technique for the Practical Description of Sounds'' (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press)
*1967: {{ cite book |title= Language in Relation to a Unified Theory of the Structure of Human Behavior |year= 1954 |place= The Hague |publisher= Mouton |url=https://archive.org/details/languageinrelati0000pike_x6i4/page/n3/mode/2up?view=theater |url-access= registration |via= [[Internet Archive]]}}
*1970: ''Rhetoric: Discovery and Change'', with [[Richard E. Young]] and [[Alton L. Becker]] (New York: Harcourt, Brace, & World)

==See also==
*{{section link|Americanist phonetic notation|Pike}}
*[[Wycliffe Global Alliance]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Brend, Ruth M. 1987. ''Kenneth Lee Pike Bibliography''. Bloomington, IN: Eurasian Linguistics Association.
*[[Emily A. Denning]], "Kenneth L. Pike", in ''[[Encyclopedia of Anthropology]]'' ed. [[H. James Birx]] (2006, SAGE Publications; {{ISBN|0-7619-3029-9}})
*Headland, Thomas N. 2001. "Kenneth Lee Pike (1912-2000)." [[American Anthropologist]] 103(2): 505–509.
*Hildebrandt, Martha. 2003. "A Portrait of Kenneth L. Pike," in ''Language and Life: Essays in Memory of Kenneth L. Pike''. (eds.) Mary Ruth Wise, Thomas N. Headland, and Ruth M. Brend. Arlington: University of Texas at Arlington, pp.&nbsp;3–10.
*Pike, Eunice V. 1981. ''Ken Pike: Scholar and Christian''.  Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
*Makkai, Adam. ''Languages for Peace: Tribute to Kenneth L. Pike''. 1985. Lake Bluff, IL: Jupiter Press.
*Wise, Mary Ruth, Thomas N. Headland, and Ruth M. Brend, (eds.) 2003. ''Language and Life: Essays in Memory of Kenneth L. Pike''. Arlington: University of Texas at Arlington.

==External links==
*[http://www.sil.org/klp/ www.sil.org/klp/ Biographical profile at SIL], with autobiographical essays by Pike
*[http://www.sil.org/klp/klp-chronology.htm Detailed chronology of Pike's life at SIL] 
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041023151822/http://www.langmaker.com/db/mdl_kalabax.htm Langmaker profile of Kalaba-X]
* [http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/pike-kenneth.pdf Thomas N. Headland, "Kenneth Lee Pike", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2004)]
*[[iarchive:languagebygesture|Language By Gesture]], a televised 1966 example of one of Pike's "monolingual demonstrations" 
*[https://www.sil.org/about/klp/influence/nature-field-work-monolingual-setting The Nature of Field Work in a Monolingual Setting], article that describes his method
*[https://archive.org/details/PikePhonetics1943 Pike's ''Phonetics''] at Archive.org
*{{Internet Archive author |sname= Kenneth Lee Pike |sopt=t}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pike, Kenneth Lee}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:2000 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Woodstock, Connecticut]]
[[Category:American Christian writers]]
[[Category:Translators of the Bible into indigenous languages of the Americas]]
[[Category:American missionary linguists]]
[[Category:Constructed language creators]]
[[Category:Christian Peace Conference members]]
[[Category:Gordon College (Massachusetts) alumni]]
[[Category:University of Michigan alumni]]
[[Category:University of Michigan faculty]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American translators]]
[[Category:Linguistic Society of America presidents]]
[[Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:20th-century American anthropologists]]
[[Category:20th-century American linguists]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Merit (Philippines)]]
[[Category:American phoneticians]]