Samuel Hoyt Elbert
Encyclopedia
Samuel Hoyt Elbert was a linguist who made major contributions to Hawaiian and Polynesian lexicography
and ethnography
. Born on a farm in Des Moines, Iowa
, to Hugh and Ethelind Elbert, Sam grew up riding horses, one of his favorite pastimes well into retirement. After graduating from Grinnell College
with an A.B. in 1928, he earned a certificate in French at the University of Toulouse
and traveled in Europe before returning to New York City, where he waited tables, clerked for a newspaper, reviewed books, and studied journalism at Columbia University
. Wanderlust took him to French Polynesia
, first to Tahiti
and then to the Marquesas, where he quickly became proficient in Marquesan
.
In 1936, he went to work for the United States Geological Survey
in Hawaii
. There he met researchers on Pacific languages and cultures at the Bishop Museum
, chief among them Mary Kawena Pukui
, from whom he learned Hawaiian and with whom he worked closely over a span of forty years. When war broke out in the Pacific, the U.S. Navy employed him as an intelligence officer studying the languages of strategically important islands. He was posted to Samoa
in 1943, then to Micronesia
, where he collected and published wordlists for several island languages.
After the war, encouraged by academics at the Bishop Museum and the University of Hawaii
, he studied at Yale and at Indiana University, where he earned a Ph.D. in folklore in 1950, writing his thesis on 'The Chief in Hawaiian Mythology'. He was hired by the University of Hawaii in 1949, and taught classes in Hawaiian language
and linguistics
until he retired in 1972, introducing new teaching methods and new levels of rigor into Hawaiian language classes, which until then had a reputation for being easy.
In 1957, he began a longtime collaboration with the Danish scholar, Torben Monberg, on the Polynesian outliers of Rennell and Bellona
in the Solomon Islands
, making four trips to the islands and spending a year in Denmark
on a Fulbright scholarship
in 1964-64 collaborating with Monberg on a monograph on the oral traditions of Rennell and Bellona. In 1988, he published a grammar of the language.
Lexicography
Lexicography is divided into two related disciplines:*Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries....
and ethnography
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
. Born on a farm in Des Moines, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, to Hugh and Ethelind Elbert, Sam grew up riding horses, one of his favorite pastimes well into retirement. After graduating from Grinnell College
Grinnell College
Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, U.S. known for its strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of pioneer New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College....
with an A.B. in 1928, he earned a certificate in French at the University of Toulouse
University of Toulouse
The Université de Toulouse is a consortium of French universities, grandes écoles and other institutions of higher education and research, named after one of the earliest universities established in Europe in 1229, and including the successor universities to that earlier university...
and traveled in Europe before returning to New York City, where he waited tables, clerked for a newspaper, reviewed books, and studied journalism at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. Wanderlust took him to French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
, first to Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
and then to the Marquesas, where he quickly became proficient in Marquesan
Marquesan language
Marquesan is a collection of East-Central Polynesian dialects, of the Marquesic group, spoken in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. They are usually classified into two groups, North Marquesan and South Marquesan, roughly along geographic lines....
.
In 1936, he went to work for the United States Geological Survey
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. There he met researchers on Pacific languages and cultures at the Bishop Museum
Bishop Museum
The Bishop Museum , is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu...
, chief among them Mary Kawena Pukui
Mary Kawena Pukui
Mary Abigail Kawenaulaokalaniahiiakaikapoliopelekawahineaihonuaināleilehuaapele Wiggin Pukui , known as Kawena, was a Hawaiian scholar, dancer, composer, and educator.-Life:...
, from whom he learned Hawaiian and with whom he worked closely over a span of forty years. When war broke out in the Pacific, the U.S. Navy employed him as an intelligence officer studying the languages of strategically important islands. He was posted to Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
in 1943, then to Micronesia
Micronesia
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
, where he collected and published wordlists for several island languages.
After the war, encouraged by academics at the Bishop Museum and the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
, he studied at Yale and at Indiana University, where he earned a Ph.D. in folklore in 1950, writing his thesis on 'The Chief in Hawaiian Mythology'. He was hired by the University of Hawaii in 1949, and taught classes in Hawaiian language
Hawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
and 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....
until he retired in 1972, introducing new teaching methods and new levels of rigor into Hawaiian language classes, which until then had a reputation for being easy.
In 1957, he began a longtime collaboration with the Danish scholar, Torben Monberg, on the Polynesian outliers of Rennell and Bellona
Rennell and Bellona
In 1793 Bellona Island was named after a passing British ship, the Bellona. Rennell Island may have been named for the oceanographer James Rennell, FRS . In 1799 according to a chart both islands were named Bellonas Island. In 1816 the islands were referred to as Rennell’s Isles.The names the...
in the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, making four trips to the islands and spending a year in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
on a Fulbright scholarship
Fulbright Award
The Fulbright Award is a scholarship awarded as part of the Fulbright Program to foster international research and collaboration. The program also awards a fellowship to Ph.D.'s to lecture and teach in foreign universities...
in 1964-64 collaborating with Monberg on a monograph on the oral traditions of Rennell and Bellona. In 1988, he published a grammar of the language.
Selected works
- 1957. Hawaiian-English Dictionary (rev. and enl. 1986) (with Mary Kawena PukuiMary Kawena PukuiMary Abigail Kawenaulaokalaniahiiakaikapoliopelekawahineaihonuaināleilehuaapele Wiggin Pukui , known as Kawena, was a Hawaiian scholar, dancer, composer, and educator.-Life:...
) - 1959. Selections from Fornander's Hawaiian Antiquities and Folk-lore
- 1965. From the Two Canoes: Oral Traditions of Rennell and Bellona (with Torben Monberg)
- 1970. Spoken Hawaiian
- 1970. Na Mele o Hawaii Nei: 101 Hawaiian Songs (with Noelani K. Mahoe)
- 1974. Place Names of Hawaii (with Mary Kawena PukuiMary Kawena PukuiMary Abigail Kawenaulaokalaniahiiakaikapoliopelekawahineaihonuaināleilehuaapele Wiggin Pukui , known as Kawena, was a Hawaiian scholar, dancer, composer, and educator.-Life:...
and Esther T. Mookini) - 1979. Hawaiian Grammar (with Mary Kawena PukuiMary Kawena PukuiMary Abigail Kawenaulaokalaniahiiakaikapoliopelekawahineaihonuaināleilehuaapele Wiggin Pukui , known as Kawena, was a Hawaiian scholar, dancer, composer, and educator.-Life:...
) - 1988. Echo of a Culture: A Grammar of Rennell and Bellona Oceanic Linguistics Special Publication No. 22
- 1989. Pocket Place Names of Hawaii (with Mary Kawena PukuiMary Kawena PukuiMary Abigail Kawenaulaokalaniahiiakaikapoliopelekawahineaihonuaināleilehuaapele Wiggin Pukui , known as Kawena, was a Hawaiian scholar, dancer, composer, and educator.-Life:...
and Esther T. Mookini) - 1990. The Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary: Hawaigo-Nihongo (with Mary Kawena PukuiMary Kawena PukuiMary Abigail Kawenaulaokalaniahiiakaikapoliopelekawahineaihonuaināleilehuaapele Wiggin Pukui , known as Kawena, was a Hawaiian scholar, dancer, composer, and educator.-Life:...
, Esther T. Mookini, and Yuko Nishizawa) - 1992. New Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary with a Concise Grammars and Given Names in Hawaiian (with Mary Kawena PukuiMary Kawena PukuiMary Abigail Kawenaulaokalaniahiiakaikapoliopelekawahineaihonuaināleilehuaapele Wiggin Pukui , known as Kawena, was a Hawaiian scholar, dancer, composer, and educator.-Life:...
, Esther T. Mookini, and Yu Mapuana Nishizawa)