K. David Harrison
Encyclopedia
K. David Harrison is a linguist, author and activist for the documentation and preservation of endangered languages teaching at Swarthmore College
and affiliated with the National Geographic Society
. His research focuses on the Turkic languages
of central Siberia and western Mongolia. He co-starred in Ironbound Films
' Emmy-nominated 2008 documentary film The Linguists
. He serves as director of research for the non-profit Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages
.
Harrison has done field work on endangered languages in Siberia and Mongolia Tuvan
, Tsengel Tuvan, Tofa
, Ös, Tuha, Monchak, Munda
, and also in Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, and India. He specializes in phonology
, particularly vowel harmony
, and in the study of language endangerment, extinction, and revitalization.
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
and affiliated with the National Geographic Society
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
. His research focuses on the Turkic languages
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
of central Siberia and western Mongolia. He co-starred in Ironbound Films
Ironbound Films
Ironbound Films is an independent documentary film production company. Their films often focus on stories of how people succeed and fail to connect. Their 2008 film The Linguists and 2010 film The New Recruits, were about characters whose missteps often undermined their stated intentions but also...
' Emmy-nominated 2008 documentary film The Linguists
The Linguists
The Linguists is an independent 2008 American documentary film produced by Ironbound Films about language extinction and language documentation...
. He serves as director of research for the non-profit Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages
Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages
The Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages is an organization based in Salem, Oregon, United States that scientifically documents endangered languages, and assists communities with maintaining and revitalizing knowledge of their native languages. The institute is led by two linguists,...
.
Harrison has done field work on endangered languages in Siberia and Mongolia Tuvan
Tuvan language
Tuvan , also known as Tuvinian, Tyvan or Tuvin, is a Turkic language spoken in the Republic of Tuva in south-central Siberia in Russia. The language has borrowed a great number of roots from the Mongolian language and more recently from the Russian language...
, Tsengel Tuvan, Tofa
Tofa language
Tofa, also known as Tofalar or Karagas, is one of the Turkic languages spoken in Russia's Irkutsk Oblast by the Tofalar. It is a moribund language: in 2001 only 28 people were reported to speak it....
, Ös, Tuha, Monchak, Munda
Munda languages
-Anderson :Gregory Anderson's 1999 proposal is as follows. Individual languages are highlighted in italics.*North Munda **Korku**Kherwarian***Santhali***Mundari*South Munda **Kharia–Juang***Juang***Kharia...
, and also in Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, and India. He specializes in phonology
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
, particularly vowel harmony
Vowel harmony
Vowel harmony is a type of long-distance assimilatory phonological process involving vowels that occurs in some languages. In languages with vowel harmony, there are constraints on which vowels may be found near each other....
, and in the study of language endangerment, extinction, and revitalization.