Edward Sapir
Anthropologist, Academic
1884 – 1939
Who was Edward Sapir?
Edward Sapir was an American anthropologist-linguist, who is widely-considered to be one of the most important figures in the early development of the discipline of linguistics.
Born in German Pomerania, Sapir's parents emigrated to America when he was a child. He studied Germanic linguistics at Columbia, where he came under the influence of Franz Boas who inspired him to work on Native American languages. While finishing his Ph.D. he went to California to work with Alfred Kroeber documenting the indigenous languages there. He was employed by the Geological Survey of Canada for fifteen years, where he came into his own as one of the most significant linguists in North America, the other being Leonard Bloomfield. He was offered a professorship at the University of Chicago, and stayed for several years continuing to work for the professionalization of the discipline of linguistics. By the end of his life he was professor of anthropology at Yale, where he never really fit in. Among his many students were the linguists Mary Haas and Morris Swadesh, and anthropologists such as Fred Eggan and Hortense Powdermaker.
We need you!
Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!
- Born
- Jan 26, 1884
Lębork - Also known as
- Сепир, Эдуард
- 萨丕尔
- 愛德華·薩丕爾
- Religion
- Judaism
- Ethnicity
- Jewish people
- Germans
- Nationality
- United States of America
- Germany
- Profession
- Education
- Columbia University
- Employment
- University of Chicago
- Died
- Feb 4, 1939
New Haven
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Edward Sapir." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/edward_sapir>.
Discuss this Edward Sapir biography with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In