Harold C. Fleming
Encyclopedia
Harold Crane Fleming is an American anthropologist
and historical linguist
, specializing in the cultures and languages of the Horn of Africa
. As an adherent of the Four Field School of American anthropology, he stresses the integration of physical anthropology
, linguistics
, archaeology
, and cultural anthropology
in solving anthropological problems.
, continuing to the present as Research Fellow in the African Studies Center
and Emeritus Professor of Anthropology. He has conducted extensive field work in Northeastern Africa, mostly in Ethiopia
.
Early in his career Fleming published a paper (Fleming 1969) that outlined an important taxonomic
proposal, claiming that what had up to then been known as the "Western Cushitic" language family was not a part of Cushitic at all, but instead makes up a sixth primary branch of Afroasiatic, for which he coined the name Omotic. The proposal has since been widely but not universally accepted. He has since continued in the vein of solving taxonomic problems involving African languages and worldwide (Fleming 1976, 1987, 1988, 1991, 2002, 2006, etc.).
Fleming has been a vocal advocate of, and practitioner in, the effort to extend the application of historical linguistic methods as far as possible into the past, and to integrate its results with those of physical anthropology, genetics
, and archaeology, in order to produce a unified view of human prehistory
. Fleming is a strong supporter of the sometimes controversial proposals of Joseph Greenberg
, emphasizing the success of Greenberg's classification of "1500 [African] languages into four large taxa where almost all have stayed ever since" (Fleming 2000-2001).
In 1986, Fleming met the young members of the "Moscow Circle
" of historical linguists. Fleming was deeply impressed by the long-range linguistic probing of scholars in Moscow
who were trying to extend genetic taxonomy of human languages beyond the levels achieved in the 1950s and 1960s. In the fall of 1986 Fleming began circulating letters to linguists and anthropologists outside of Russia
. By the fourth issue (November 1987), the newsletter had acquired a more formal appearance and the name Mother Tongue
.
In 1989, what had been the "Long Range Comparison Club" was legally incorporated as the Association for the Study of Language In Prehistory (ASLIP). Fleming has served as President of ASLIP (1988–1996), Secretary-Treasurer (1996–98), and Vice President and Acting Treasurer (2004–present). ASLIP's mission is "to encourage international, interdisciplinary information sharing, discussion, and debate among biogeneticists, paleoanthropologists, archaeologists, and historical linguists on questions relating to the emerging synthesis on language origins and ancestral human spoken languages." Since 1995, ASLIP has published the journal Mother Tongue.
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
and historical linguist
Historical linguistics
Historical linguistics is the study of language change. It has five main concerns:* to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages...
, specializing in the cultures and languages of the Horn of Africa
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...
. As an adherent of the Four Field School of American anthropology, he stresses the integration of physical anthropology
Biological anthropology
Biological anthropology is that branch of anthropology that studies the physical development of the human species. It plays an important part in paleoanthropology and in forensic anthropology...
, 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....
, archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, and cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans, collecting data about the impact of global economic and political processes on local cultural realities. Anthropologists use a variety of methods, including participant observation,...
in solving anthropological problems.
Career
Since 1965, Fleming has been affiliated with Boston UniversityBoston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, continuing to the present as Research Fellow in the African Studies Center
African studies
African studies is the study of Africa, especially the cultures and societies of Africa .The field includes the study of:Culture of Africa, History of Africa , Anthropology of Africa , Politics of Africa, Economy of Africa African studies is the study of Africa, especially the cultures and...
and Emeritus Professor of Anthropology. He has conducted extensive field work in Northeastern Africa, mostly in Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
.
Early in his career Fleming published a paper (Fleming 1969) that outlined an important taxonomic
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
proposal, claiming that what had up to then been known as the "Western Cushitic" language family was not a part of Cushitic at all, but instead makes up a sixth primary branch of Afroasiatic, for which he coined the name Omotic. The proposal has since been widely but not universally accepted. He has since continued in the vein of solving taxonomic problems involving African languages and worldwide (Fleming 1976, 1987, 1988, 1991, 2002, 2006, etc.).
Fleming has been a vocal advocate of, and practitioner in, the effort to extend the application of historical linguistic methods as far as possible into the past, and to integrate its results with those of physical anthropology, genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
, and archaeology, in order to produce a unified view of human prehistory
Prehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
. Fleming is a strong supporter of the sometimes controversial proposals of Joseph Greenberg
Joseph Greenberg
Joseph Harold Greenberg was a prominent and controversial American linguist, principally known for his work in two areas, linguistic typology and the genetic classification of languages.- Early life and career :...
, emphasizing the success of Greenberg's classification of "1500 [African] languages into four large taxa where almost all have stayed ever since" (Fleming 2000-2001).
In 1986, Fleming met the young members of the "Moscow Circle
Moscow linguistic circle
The Moscow linguistic circle was a group of important thinkers in semiotics, literary theory, and linguistics active in Moscow from 1915 to ca. 1924. Its members included Roman Jakobson, Grigory Vinokur, and Petr Bogatyrev. The group was a counterpart to the St...
" of historical linguists. Fleming was deeply impressed by the long-range linguistic probing of scholars in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
who were trying to extend genetic taxonomy of human languages beyond the levels achieved in the 1950s and 1960s. In the fall of 1986 Fleming began circulating letters to linguists and anthropologists outside of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. By the fourth issue (November 1987), the newsletter had acquired a more formal appearance and the name Mother Tongue
Mother Tongue (journal)
Mother Tongue is the yearly periodical of the Association for the Study of Language In Prehistory and was established in 1995. Its goal is to encourage international and interdisciplinary information sharing, discussion, and debate among geneticists, paleoanthropologists, archaeologists, and...
.
In 1989, what had been the "Long Range Comparison Club" was legally incorporated as the Association for the Study of Language In Prehistory (ASLIP). Fleming has served as President of ASLIP (1988–1996), Secretary-Treasurer (1996–98), and Vice President and Acting Treasurer (2004–present). ASLIP's mission is "to encourage international, interdisciplinary information sharing, discussion, and debate among biogeneticists, paleoanthropologists, archaeologists, and historical linguists on questions relating to the emerging synthesis on language origins and ancestral human spoken languages." Since 1995, ASLIP has published the journal Mother Tongue.
A selection of works by Harold C. Fleming
- 1965. The age-grading culture of East Africa: an historical inquiry. University of Pittsburgh.
- 1969. "Asa and Aramanik: Cushitic Hunters in Masai-Land." In Ethnology, VIII.
- 1969. "The classification of West Cushitic within Hamito-Semitic." In Eastern African History, edited by Daniel McCall, Norman Bennett, and Jeffrey Butler, 3-27. Boston University Studies in African History 3.
- 1976. "Cushitic and Omotic." In Language in Ethiopia, edited by M. Lionel Bender et al., 34-53.
- 1978. "Ethiopians and East Africans." In The International Journal of African Historical Studies, XI, 2.
- 1978. "Microtaxonomy: Language and blood groups in the Horn of Africa." In Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Session B, April 13–16, 1978, edited by Robert Hess, 25-49.
- 1979-1980. "Linguistic and biological view on Somali prehistoric relations." In Somalia and the World, 34-37.
- 1982. "Kuliak external relations: Step one." In Nilotic Studies, from Proceedings of the International Symposium on Languages and History of the Nilotic Peoples, Cologne, January 4–6, 1982, Volume 2, 423-478.
- 1987. "Hadza and Sandawe genetic relations." In Proceedings of the International Symposium on African Hunters and Gatherers, edited by Franz Rottland, 157-189. Sprache und Geschichte in Africa, Volume 7.2.
- 1988. "Towards a definitive classification of human languages", review of A Guide to the World’s Languages by Merritt Ruhlen. Diachronica 4, 159-223.
- 1991. "A new taxonomic hypothesis: Borean or Boralean." Mother Tongue 14 (Newsletter of ASLIP), 16 pp.
- 2000. "Glottalization in Eastern Armenian." Journal of Indo-European Studies 28.1-2, 155-196.
- 2000-2001. "Joseph H. Greenberg: A tribute and an appraisal." Mother Tongue: The Journal 6, 9-28.
- 2002. "Shabo: A new African phylum or a special relic of Old Nilo-Saharan?" Mother Tongue: The Journal 7, 1-38.
- 2002. "Afrasian and its closest relatives: The Borean hypothesis" (Abstract of paper.)
- 2006. Ongota: A Decisive Language in African Prehistory. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.
See also
- Afroasiatic languages
- Ethiopian StudiesEthiopian StudiesEthiopian Studies refers to a multi-disciplinary academic cluster dedicated to research on Ethiopia within the cultural and historical context of the Horn of Africa. The classical concept of Ethiopian Studies, developed by European scholars, is based on disciplines like philology and linguistics,...
- Somali StudiesSomali StudiesSomali Studies is the scholarly term for research concerning Somalis and Somalia. It consists of several disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, linguistics, historiography and archaeology...
- Mother Tongue (journal)Mother Tongue (journal)Mother Tongue is the yearly periodical of the Association for the Study of Language In Prehistory and was established in 1995. Its goal is to encourage international and interdisciplinary information sharing, discussion, and debate among geneticists, paleoanthropologists, archaeologists, and...