Roger Blench
Encyclopedia
Roger Blench is a British linguist
, ethnomusicologist
and development anthropologist. He has an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge
and remains based in Cambridge, England. He actively researches and publishes, although he works as a private consultant rather than in academia.
A noted expert in African lingusitics, Blench's main area of linguistic interest is the Niger–Congo language family although he has also researched the Nilo-Saharan and Afroasiatic families. He has also written about other language families and endangered languages. He has published extensively on the relationship between linguistics and archaeology, principally in Africa, but more recently also in East Asia. He is currently engaged in a long-term project to document the languages of Central Nigeria
.
He collaborated extensively with the late Professor Kay Williamson
, who died in January 2005, and is now a trustee of the Kay Williamson Educational Fund, which exists both to publish the unpublished material left by Kay Williamson and to promote the study of Nigerian languages. A series of publications supported by the trust is under way with Rüdiger Köppe Verlag in Cologne.
Blench has also conducted research and evaluations of international development activities worldwide, as a consultant and formerly as a research fellow of the Overseas Development Institute
in London.
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....
, ethnomusicologist
Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology is defined as "the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts."Coined by the musician Jaap Kunst from the Greek words ἔθνος ethnos and μουσική mousike , it is often considered the anthropology or ethnography of music...
and development anthropologist. He has an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
and remains based in Cambridge, England. He actively researches and publishes, although he works as a private consultant rather than in academia.
A noted expert in African lingusitics, Blench's main area of linguistic interest is the Niger–Congo language family although he has also researched the Nilo-Saharan and Afroasiatic families. He has also written about other language families and endangered languages. He has published extensively on the relationship between linguistics and archaeology, principally in Africa, but more recently also in East Asia. He is currently engaged in a long-term project to document the languages of Central Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
.
He collaborated extensively with the late Professor Kay Williamson
Kay Williamson
Kay Williamson , born Ruth Margaret Williamson was a linguist who specialised in the study of African languages, particularly those of the Niger Delta in Nigeria, where she lived for nearly fifty years. Her many publications include a grammar and dictionary of the Ijo language, a dictionary of Igbo...
, who died in January 2005, and is now a trustee of the Kay Williamson Educational Fund, which exists both to publish the unpublished material left by Kay Williamson and to promote the study of Nigerian languages. A series of publications supported by the trust is under way with Rüdiger Köppe Verlag in Cologne.
Blench has also conducted research and evaluations of international development activities worldwide, as a consultant and formerly as a research fellow of the Overseas Development Institute
Overseas Development Institute
The Overseas Development Institute is one of the leading independent think tanks on international development and humanitarian issues. Based in London, its mission is "to inspire and inform policy and practice which lead to the reduction of poverty, the alleviation of suffering and the achievement...
in London.
Books
- 1992. Crozier, D. H. & Blench, R. M. An Index of Nigerian Languages. Abuja: Language Development Centre; Ilorin: University of Ilorin; Dallas: SIL. ISBN 0-88312-611-7
- 1997. Blench, R. M. & Spriggs, M., eds. Archaeology and Language I: theoretical and methodological orientations. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-11760-7
- 1998. Blench, R. M. & Spriggs, M., eds. Archaeology and Language II: correlating archaeological and linguistic hypotheses. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-11761-5
- 1999a. Blench, R. M. & Spriggs, M., eds. Archaeology and Language III: Artefacts, languages, and texts. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-10054-2
- 1999b. Blench, R. M. & Spriggs, M., eds. Archaeology and Language, IV: language change and cultural transformation. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-11786-0
- 2000. Blench, R. M. & MacDonald, K. C., eds. The Origin and Development of African Livestock. London: University College Press.
- 2005. Sagart, L.; Blench, R. M. & Sanchez-Mazas, Alicia, eds. The Peopling of East Asia. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-32242-1
- 2006. Archaeology, Language, and the African Past. AltaMira Press. ISBN 0-759-10465-4
- 2008. Sanchez-Mazas, Alicia; Blench, R. M. et al., eds. Human Migrations in Continental East Asia and Taiwan: matching archaeology, linguistics and genetics. London: Routledge.