Royal Skousen
Encyclopedia
Royal Jon Skousen is a professor of linguistics
and English
at Brigham Young University
(BYU), where he is editor of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project. He is "the leading expert on the textual history of the Book of Mormon
" and the founder of the Analogical Modeling
approach to language modeling.
, Ohio
to a Latter-day Saint (LDS or Mormon) family, and was one of ten children. He graduated from Sunset High School in Beaverton, Oregon
. After his father's unexpected death from lung cancer
in 1964, Skousen served as a missionary
in Finland
from 1965 to 1967. He is fluent in Finnish
.
Skousen received his B.A.
degree from BYU, with a major in English
and a minor in mathematics
. Skousen went on to study linguistics
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
, there earning his Ph.D.
degree in 1972. He was then an assistant professor of linguistics at the University of Texas at Austin
until 1979, when he joined the faculty of BYU. Skousen was also a visiting professor at the University of California, San Diego
in 1981, a Fulbright
lecturer at the University of Tampere
in Finland in 1982, and a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
in Nijmegen, Netherlands
in 2001. In 1999, BYU presented him the Karl G. Maeser Excellence in Research and Creative Arts Awards.
Since 1999, Skousen has served as the president of the Utah Association of Scholars, an affiliate of the National Association of Scholars
. He has also been associate editor of the Journal of Quantitative Linguistics since 2003.
. They now live in Spanish Fork, Utah
.
Skousen is the older brother of libertarian economist and author Mark Skousen
and survivalist/political author Joel Skousen
. He is the nephew of conservative author Cleon Skousen
.
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....
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
at Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
(BYU), where he is editor of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project. He is "the leading expert on the textual history of the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
" and the founder of the Analogical Modeling
Analogical modeling
Analogical modeling is a formal theory of exemplar-based analogical reasoning, proposed by Royal Skousen, professor of Linguistics and English language at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. It is applicable to language modeling and other categorization tasks...
approach to language modeling.
Biography
Skousen was born in ClevelandCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
to a Latter-day Saint (LDS or Mormon) family, and was one of ten children. He graduated from Sunset High School in Beaverton, Oregon
Beaverton, Oregon
Beaverton is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, seven miles west of Portland in the Tualatin River Valley.As of the 2010 census, the population is 90,267. This makes it the second-largest city in the county and Oregon's sixth-largest city...
. After his father's unexpected death from lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
in 1964, Skousen served as a missionary
Missionary (LDS Church)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
from 1965 to 1967. He is fluent in Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
.
Skousen 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...
degree from BYU, with a major in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and a minor in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
. Skousen went on to study 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 Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
, there earning his Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
degree in 1972. He was then an assistant professor of linguistics at the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
until 1979, when he joined the faculty of BYU. Skousen was also a visiting professor at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
in 1981, a Fulbright
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
lecturer at the University of Tampere
University of Tampere
The University of Tampere is a university in Tampere, Finland. It has 15,400 degree students and 2,100 employees. It was originally founded in 1925 in Helsinki as a Civic College , and from 1930 onwards it was known as a School of Social Sciences...
in Finland in 1982, and a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
The Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics is an institute for scientific research in the area of psycholinguistics. The institute is located in Nijmegen in the province of Gelderland in The Netherlands. The institute is a member of the German Max Planck Society and is the only institute of...
in Nijmegen, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in 2001. In 1999, BYU presented him the Karl G. Maeser Excellence in Research and Creative Arts Awards.
Since 1999, Skousen has served as the president of the Utah Association of Scholars, an affiliate of the National Association of Scholars
National Association of Scholars
The National Association of Scholars is a non-profit organization in the United States that opposes multiculturalism and affirmative action and seeks to counter what it considers a "liberal bias" in academia...
. He has also been associate editor of the Journal of Quantitative Linguistics since 2003.
Family
Skousen married Sirkku Unelma Härkönen in 1968. They had seven children and lived in Orem, UtahOrem, Utah
Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the north-central part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is about south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Utah and...
. They now live in Spanish Fork, Utah
Spanish Fork, Utah
Spanish Fork is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 31,497 as of the 2008 census estimate.-History:Spanish Fork was settled by LDS pioneers in 1851...
.
Skousen is the older brother of libertarian economist and author Mark Skousen
Mark Skousen
Mark Skousen is an American economist, investment analyst, newsletter editor, college professor and author of more than 25 non-fiction books.- Early life, education and family :...
and survivalist/political author Joel Skousen
Joel Skousen
Joel M. Skousen is an American conservative political commentator non-fiction Survivalist author, and retreat consultant who specializes in preparedness topics, particularly survival retreat and fallout shelter design and construction, as well as in what he calls "strategic relocation." Skousen is...
. He is the nephew of conservative author Cleon Skousen
Cleon Skousen
Willard Cleon Skousen was an American author, conservative American Constitutionalist and faith-based political theorist. He was also a prolific popularizer among Latter-day Saints of their theology...
.