Distinguished Professor Paul Newman

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Distinguished Professor Paul Newman

Photo by: Paul Martens

Paul Newman
Department of Linguistics,
Director, West African Languages Institute, College of Arts and Sciences, University Graduate School, IU Bloomington

"In all respects and with whatever criteria you apply, Paul Newman is one of the most distinguished researchers and teachers working in any aspect of our field today."

—Larry Hyman, professor and chair of linguistics, University of California, Berkeley

In a career that spans 35 years and four continents, Paul Newman has garnered an international reputation for his contributions to linguistics. His works are cited by Africanist and theoretical linguists the world over, and leaders in his field consider him the founder of modern comparative Chadic linguistics. (The Chadic languages include more than 140 individual languages and dialects spoken in northern Nigeria, northern Cameroon and central Chad.) Moreover, with his nearly 800-page magnum opus, The Hausa Language: An Encyclopedic Reference Grammar, he has proved himself to be the world's living authority on Hausa, a major West African language spoken by more than 35 million people.

Newman has authored or co-authored 12 books, contributed more than 100 articles and reviews and founded the prestigious Journal of African Languages. With Martha Ratliff, he co-edited the book Linguistic Fieldwork, which helped to reawaken interest in anthropological linguistics.

Beyond books, articles and reviews, possibly his most significant contribution to his field is his investment in the careers of other linguists. As the director of the Centre for the Study of Nigerian Languages at Bayero University in Kano, Nigeria, Newman has launched the careers of such notable scholars as Russell Schuh, John Hutchison, Linda Hunter, Ibrahim Yaro Yahaya and Bello Said, among others.

Newman continues to inspire others through his many other roles. As Harold Conklin, Crosby Professor emeritus of anthropology at Yale University notes, "Paul Newman is an exceptional scholar, teacher, writer, philosopher, anthropologist, linguist, ethnomusicologist, administrator and colleague."

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Publication date: March 1, 2002
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