William Shipley (linguist)
Encyclopedia
William F. Shipley was a linguist and speaker of the Maidu language
of Northern California
.
Shipley was a student of anthropologist and linguist Alfred Kroeber, and linguist Mary Haas
at UC Berkeley. During World War II
, he was part of a program to teach US Army soldiers to speak Mandarin Chinese at Berkeley.
Shipley began studying the Mountain Maidu language in 1953 with Maym Benner Gallagher, a Maidu elder.
He continued to work with Kenneth Holbrook to continue to document and record the Maidu language. Their collaboration led to a book of Maidu texts and dictionary. as well as a grammar
of Maidu.
Shipley taught as a professor of linguistics at UC Santa Cruz
from 1966 to 1991. After his retirement, he continued to work in spreading knowledge about the Maidu language and culture. His book of translated Maidu stories, The Maidu Indian Myths and Stories of Hánc’ibyjim, was published by Heydey Books in 1991. He died of complications from pneumonia
on January 20, 2011.
Maidu language
Maidu is a severely endangered Maiduan language spoken by Maidu peoples traditionally in the mountains east and south of Lassen Peak in the American River and Feather River river drainages...
of Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
.
Shipley was a student of anthropologist and linguist Alfred Kroeber, and linguist Mary Haas
Mary Haas
Mary Rosamund Haas was an American linguist who specialized in North American Indian languages, Thai, and historical linguistics.-Early work in linguistics:...
at UC Berkeley. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he was part of a program to teach US Army soldiers to speak Mandarin Chinese at Berkeley.
Shipley began studying the Mountain Maidu language in 1953 with Maym Benner Gallagher, a Maidu elder.
He continued to work with Kenneth Holbrook to continue to document and record the Maidu language. Their collaboration led to a book of Maidu texts and dictionary. as well as a grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
of Maidu.
Shipley taught as a professor of linguistics at UC Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
from 1966 to 1991. After his retirement, he continued to work in spreading knowledge about the Maidu language and culture. His book of translated Maidu stories, The Maidu Indian Myths and Stories of Hánc’ibyjim, was published by Heydey Books in 1991. He died of complications from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
on January 20, 2011.