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Linguist

Franz Boas

boh-AHS (German: [ˈboːas])
Anthropological and Documentary Linguistics

German-American anthropologist and linguist regarded as a founder of modern American anthropology. Boas established the four-field approach integrating physical anthropology, archaeology, cultural anthropology and linguistics, directed the first PhD program in American anthropology at Columbia University from 1899, and argued that variation in language and culture reflects historical circumstance rather than evolutionary rank.

Facts
Birth Year
1858 1
Death Year
1942 1
Role
Anthropologist and linguist; pioneer of the four-field approach and of descriptive Native American linguistics 1
Birth Date
1858-07-09 1
Death Date
1942-12-21 1
Role
Role (category)
Linguist (general) 1
Role (category)
Anthropologist / Linguist 1
Classification
Nationality
United States 1
Connections

Associated With

Inuktitut, Languages
Source Wikipedia: Franz Boas

Influenced

Edward Sapir, Linguists

Sapir enrolled in an advanced anthropology seminar taught by Boas at Columbia, which redirected his career toward the description of Native American languages.

Source Wikipedia: Edward Sapir

Influenced By

Wilhelm von Humboldt, Linguists

Boas trained in the German tradition of philology and anthropology that carried forward Humboldt's ideas about language and thought before bringing them into American linguistics.

Source Wikipedia: Wilhelm von Humboldt
In the Other Atlases

Nationality

United States

Also in History Atlas: the nationality of this subject.

Sources
1. Wikipedia: Franz Boas
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Introduction; Linguistics section
    observer bias need not be personal, it can be cultural
  • Lead section
    Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 - December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and ethnomusicologist.
  • Associated With: Inuktitut, Lead
    He then participated in a geographical expedition to northern Canada, where he became fascinated with the culture and language of the Baffin Island Inuit.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Edward Sapir
Wikimedia FoundationInfluenced: Edward Sapir, Article text
Quote, Influenced: Edward Sapir, Article text
He also enrolled in an advanced anthropology seminar taught by Boas himself, a course that would completely change the direction of his career.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Wilhelm von Humboldt
Wikimedia FoundationInfluenced By: Wilhelm von HumboldtView the Source

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