On the last day of the 20th century, one of the 20th century's legends in the field of linguists, Dr. Kenneth Pike, passed away. Dr. Pike studied in the late 1930s / early 1940s under some of the early founders of American linguistics - Sapir, Bloomfield, Trager and Fries - and made significant contributions in that early era in phonetics, phonology, English intonation and the study of Mixtec languages. He was perhaps best known for Tagmemics, his unique approach to linguistic theory, but it was probably his notion of the etic/emic distinction that has thus far had the most widespread impact not only in the field of linguistics but also in anthropology. His Tagmemic theories have not been in vogue within theoretical linguistics for several decades (some have suggested that his best ideas are still ahead of their time), but his impact continues both through his particular contributions and through many students from his 30 years at University of Michigan who are teaching today in the linguistics departments of universities around the world. - Peter --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Peter Constable Non-Roman Script Initiative, SIL International 7500 W. Camp Wisdom Rd., Dallas, TX 75236, USA Tel: +1 972 708 7485 E-mail: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
