Brent Galloway
Encyclopedia
Brent D. Galloway is an American
linguist
noted for his work with endangered Amerindian languages.
Galloway received his B.A.
, C.Phil., and Ph.D.
in linguistics
at the University of California, Berkeley
in 1965, 1971, and 1977, respectively. He has done linguistic field work with the Haisla
language, Upriver Halkomelem (from 1970), Nooksack
(from 1974), the Samish
dialect of Northern Straits Salish (from 1984), and Gullah
(from 1994). In the case of Nooksack and Samish, he worked with the last surviving fluent speakers known then (one speaker has become a fluent speaker of Nooksack since 2002, and there may be 3 or 4 descendants who speak Samish.
From 1975 and 1980 he founded and headed the Halkomelem Language Program at the Coqualeetza Education Training Centre in Sardis, British Columbia
. He there developed the Stó:lō
Halkomelem orthography
which was subsequently adopted officially and is now in wide use throughout the Fraser Valley
. He also compiled the first grammar of Upriver Halkomelem, published in 1977, plus treatises on the region's ethnobotany
and ethnozoology
. According to Galloway, some words in Halkomelem "encapsulate the whole knowledge of the culture." The language has a rich oral literature
which shows a whole way of looking at the universe that is different from that of English or other European languages.
In 1988 he joined the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College's Department of Indian Languages, Literatures, & Linguistics and served as its head from 1988 to 1994. He continues to work extensively with Halkomelem and Nooksack language education and has completed dictionaries for Upriver Halkomelem (in press with University of California
Publications in Linguistics. 2 vols.) and Gullah
(co-authored with Virginia Geraty, now under consideration by a university press), "A Phonology, Morphology, and Classified Word List for the Samish Dialect of Straits Salish (1990 National Museum of Civilization, Canadian Ethnology Service, Mercury Series Paper #116), a "Grammatical Sketch and Classified Word List of Upriver Halkomelem" (1980, Coqualeetza Education Training Centre), a "Classified Word List of the Nooksack Language" (co-authored with George Adams, 2008 ms. being sent to prospective publishers, plus an on-line version of the same), "Nooksack Places" (2008, coauthored with Allan Richardson, an ethnogeography now being considered for University of British Columbia Press, First Nations Language series), and about 100 descriptive articles and papers Halkomelem and Nooksack and several on Assiniboine
and Samish
. He is now (Oct.2008) working to complete a Nooksack dictionary (about 75% done). His work on these language is based on original field work and recorded tapes now on CD.
In September 2009, The University of California Press
published his Dictionary of Upriver Halkomelem.
Galloway has also written a number of papers and articles on his theory of cognitive semantics
, first called Three-Dimensional Semantics and now called Multi-Dimensional Semantics. He retired in August 2008 from First Nations University of Canada and was appointed Professor Emeritus there.
Dr. Galloway is also a composer of classical music
(since 1956, mainly piano pieces, then synthesizer and orchestrated pieces), whose latest orchestral pieces, The Night Before Christmas, and Mexican Colors have been performed by the Regina Symphony Orchestra
1998-2005 and 2008.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
linguist
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
noted for his work with endangered Amerindian languages.
Galloway received his B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
, C.Phil., and Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1965, 1971, and 1977, respectively. He has done linguistic field work with the Haisla
Haisla
The Haisla are an indigenous people living at Kitamaat in the North Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Their indigenous Haisla language is named after them...
language, Upriver Halkomelem (from 1970), Nooksack
Nooksack (tribe)
The Nooksack are a Native American people in northwestern Washington state in the United States. The tribe lives in the mainland northwest corner of the state near the small town of Deming, Washington , and has over 1,800 enrolled members.In 1971, the tribe was ceded a one acre reservation after...
(from 1974), the Samish
Samish
The Samish are a Native American tribe who live in the U.S. state of Washington. The seat of their tribal government is in Anacortes. The Native American form of "Samish" is /sʔémǝš/, from /s–/, "nominalizer", /ʔé/, "be there", and /–mǝš/, "people".-Pre-Contact with Europeans:The Samish were less...
dialect of Northern Straits Salish (from 1984), and Gullah
Gullah
The Gullah are African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and Georgia, which includes both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands....
(from 1994). In the case of Nooksack and Samish, he worked with the last surviving fluent speakers known then (one speaker has become a fluent speaker of Nooksack since 2002, and there may be 3 or 4 descendants who speak Samish.
From 1975 and 1980 he founded and headed the Halkomelem Language Program at the Coqualeetza Education Training Centre in Sardis, British Columbia
Sardis, British Columbia
Sardis is a small community located within Chilliwack five kilometres south of Downtown Chilliwack in the Fraser River Valley located to the south of British Columbia Highway 1. Sardis includes many of Chilliwack's shopping malls and big box stores.-Climate:...
. He there developed the Stó:lō
Stó:lo
The Sto:lo , alternately written as Stó:lō, Stó:lô or Stó:lõ and historically as Staulo or Stahlo, and historically known and commonly referred to in ethnographic literature as the Fraser River Indians or Lower Fraser Salish, are a group of First Nations peoples inhabiting the Fraser Valley of...
Halkomelem orthography
Orthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
which was subsequently adopted officially and is now in wide use throughout the Fraser Valley
Fraser Valley
The Fraser Valley is the section of the Fraser River basin in southwestern British Columbia downstream of the Fraser Canyon. The term is sometimes used to refer to the Fraser Canyon and stretches upstream from there, but in general British Columbian usage of the term refers to the stretch of the...
. He also compiled the first grammar of Upriver Halkomelem, published in 1977, plus treatises on the region's ethnobotany
Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany is the scientific study of the relationships that exist between people and plants....
and ethnozoology
Ethnozoology
Ethnozoology is the study of the past and present interrelationships between human cultures and the animals in their environment. It includes classification and naming of zoological forms, cultural knowedge and use of wild and domestic animals...
. According to Galloway, some words in Halkomelem "encapsulate the whole knowledge of the culture." The language has a rich oral literature
Oral literature
Oral literature corresponds in the sphere of the spoken word to literature as literature operates in the domain of the written word. It thus forms a generally more fundamental component of culture, but operates in many ways as one might expect literature to do...
which shows a whole way of looking at the universe that is different from that of English or other European languages.
In 1988 he joined the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College's Department of Indian Languages, Literatures, & Linguistics and served as its head from 1988 to 1994. He continues to work extensively with Halkomelem and Nooksack language education and has completed dictionaries for Upriver Halkomelem (in press with University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
Publications in Linguistics. 2 vols.) and Gullah
Gullah
The Gullah are African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and Georgia, which includes both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands....
(co-authored with Virginia Geraty, now under consideration by a university press), "A Phonology, Morphology, and Classified Word List for the Samish Dialect of Straits Salish (1990 National Museum of Civilization, Canadian Ethnology Service, Mercury Series Paper #116), a "Grammatical Sketch and Classified Word List of Upriver Halkomelem" (1980, Coqualeetza Education Training Centre), a "Classified Word List of the Nooksack Language" (co-authored with George Adams, 2008 ms. being sent to prospective publishers, plus an on-line version of the same), "Nooksack Places" (2008, coauthored with Allan Richardson, an ethnogeography now being considered for University of British Columbia Press, First Nations Language series), and about 100 descriptive articles and papers Halkomelem and Nooksack and several on Assiniboine
Assiniboine language
The Assiniboine language is a Nakotan Siouan language of the Northern Plains, spoken by around 200 Assiniboine people, most of them elderly. The name Asiniibwaan is an Ojibwe term meaning "Stone Siouans"...
and Samish
Samish
The Samish are a Native American tribe who live in the U.S. state of Washington. The seat of their tribal government is in Anacortes. The Native American form of "Samish" is /sʔémǝš/, from /s–/, "nominalizer", /ʔé/, "be there", and /–mǝš/, "people".-Pre-Contact with Europeans:The Samish were less...
. He is now (Oct.2008) working to complete a Nooksack dictionary (about 75% done). His work on these language is based on original field work and recorded tapes now on CD.
In September 2009, The University of California Press
University of California Press
University of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish books and papers for the faculty of the University of California, established 25 years earlier in 1868...
published his Dictionary of Upriver Halkomelem.
Galloway has also written a number of papers and articles on his theory of cognitive semantics
Cognitive semantics
Cognitive semantics is part of the cognitive linguistics movement. The main tenets of cognitive semantics are, first, that grammar is conceptualisation; second, that conceptual structure is embodied and motivated by usage; and third, that the ability to use language draws upon general cognitive...
, first called Three-Dimensional Semantics and now called Multi-Dimensional Semantics. He retired in August 2008 from First Nations University of Canada and was appointed Professor Emeritus there.
Dr. Galloway is also a composer of classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
(since 1956, mainly piano pieces, then synthesizer and orchestrated pieces), whose latest orchestral pieces, The Night Before Christmas, and Mexican Colors have been performed by the Regina Symphony Orchestra
Regina Symphony Orchestra
The Regina Symphony Orchestra was founded by Frank Laubach, in Regina, Saskatchewan, as the Regina Orchestral Society in 1908, giving its inaugural concert December 3 of that same year...
1998-2005 and 2008.