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pointe et déchire l'écorce, à l'enfant qui naît, d'où le latin nascere (sic!), natus', he concludes that this brochure is a warning against the self-made polyglot. For its author is certainly what the French neatly term an autodidacte, if only he were -didacte at all. But then the treatise is merely the latest of a long line of such treatises; if only it could be the last!

ROLAND G. KENT

NOTES AND PERSONALIA

Oliver Farrar Emerson, a Signer of the Call that led to the foundation of the LINGUISTIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA, and a Foundation Member of the same, died at Ocala, Florida, on March 13.

He was born on May 24, 1860 near Traer, Iowa, and received his baccalaureate from Iowa College in 1882. After experience as teacher and superintendent in the schools of his native state, he went to Cornell University as Goldwin Smith Fellow in 1888, and remained as instructor in English, earning the degree of Ph.D. in 1891. From 1892 to 1896 he was Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and English Philology at Cornell, and then accepted a call to the Western Reserve University as Professor of English. This position he held until the time of his death. In February of the present year he received a leave of absence on account of his health, and went to Florida, but his condition became worse, until the end on March 13.

Professor Emerson was the author of a number of works on the history of the English language and of a Middle English Reader, as well as of many shorter articles; he had edited also a number of texts. He was a member of many scientific societies, among them the Modern Language Association of America, of which he was president in 1923; the American Dialect Society, of which he was secretary 1900-05 and president 1906-09; the Modern Humanities Research Association, of which he was vice-president 1920. He was active in the LINGUISTIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA from its start, being not merely a Signer of the Call and a Foundation Member, but one of the Executive Committee for 1925, and the Vice-President for 1926; in the latter capacity it fell to his lot to preside over the sessions of the Society at Cambridge. All who were in attendance will recall his rich scholarship and his gracious personality, and will regret the loss which they themselves have suffered personally, in addition to the loss suffered by the Society.

The American Council of Learned Societies has granted $10,000.00 a year for five years, beginning with 1927, for the recording and investigation of American Indian Languages. The expenditure of this money will be directed by a committee which, for the present, consists of Pro

fessor Franz Boas, Columbia University (chairman), Professor Edward Sapir, University of Chicago, and Professor Leonard Bloomfield, Ohio State University. The committee desires the cooperation of all students of linguistics and it is particularly anxious to secure the names and addresses of qualified persons who would like to undertake field work. The field is so large and promising and the number of those competent to undertake field work so small, that anyone familiar with the methods of linguistic research will find researches in this field eminently fruitful for linguistic science.

The committee will also compile, as promptly as possible, a list of works on the American Indian languages now complete and awaiting publication. While the present grant is insufficient to provide for any considerable amount of publication, the committee will try to secure from other sources, means of publishing at an early date the more important work now ready and of other important manuscripts as they come to hand.

Scholars interested in the study of the American Indian languages are invited to send suggestions for the prosecution of this work.

The Fourth Annual Meeting of the Society will be held at Cincinnati, at the invitation of the University of Cincinnati. The sessions will begin on December 27, when the separate sessions will be held. The American Philological Association meets in the same city on December 28-30, and one or more joint sessions will be arranged with that organization, possibly also with the Archaeological Institute, meeting on the same days. It may not be out of place to suggest that members of the Modern Language Association, meeting at Louisville on December 28-30, may attend the sessions of December 27 and then go on to Louisville.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science will meet at Nashville, during the same week, and in accordance with the vote of the Society at Cambridge, a Committee has been appointed, consisting of W. A. Oldfather, Chairman, G. M. Bolling, Edward Sapir, to arrange a program in that city also, taking due care not to draw attendants from the Cincinnati meeting.

The Linguistic Society has been elected to membership in the American Council of Learned Societies, and the President of the Society has appointed as the representatives to its council E. H. Sturtevant, to serve until December 31, 1930, and Leonard Bloomfield, to serve until December 31, 1928.

Louis H. Gray has been appointed the representative of the Linguistic Society upon the directorate of the proposed Bureau of Language Research.

Mrs. Robert M. Littlejohn (Rebecca Bolling), Miss Charlotte Townsend Littlejohn, and Mr. A. M. Huntington have become Benefactors of the Society, by the payment into the treasury of Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars each. This sum, which starts the Endowment Fund, has been properly invested by the trustees, Mr. F. Corlies Morgan, Treasurer of the University of Pennsylvania; Mr. Arthur R. Spencer, Assistant to the Dean of the College of the University of Pennsylvania; and the Treasurer of the Society. It is hoped that other Benefactors and Life Members will come forward to add to the Fund.

Acceptances have been received from all those who were elected to honorary membership at the last meeting; the Secretary makes the following extracts from their replies:

"Zu meinem grossen Erstaunen erhielt ich von Ihnen die freundliche Mitteilung, dass ich von der Linguistic Society of America zum Ehrenmitglied ernannt worden bin, und ich gestehe Ihnen offen, dass mich dabei die Gleichstellung mit Leuten wie . . . . etwas bedrückt. Umsomehr fühle ich mich durch diese Ernennung hochgeehrt und umso lebhafter ist mein Dank dafür. Ich bitte Sie, diese meine Gefühle Ihrer Gesellschaft zu übermitteln zugleich mit dem Versprechen, dass ich diese Verbindung mit der Linguistic Society allzeit hochhalten und mich in den gemeinsamen wissenschaftlichen Zielen mit ihr eins fühlen werde. . . . A. Debrunner."

"Thank you very much for your kind letter of January 20, in which you inform me that I have been elected honorary member of the Linguistic Society of America. Allow me through you to express my deep-felt thanks to the Society: I appreciate very much indeed the great honour shown to me and hope that I shall prove myself not too unworthy of it through my future publications in the fields of general linguistics and the historical study of English. . . . Otto Jespersen."

"Je suis très touché de l'honneur que me fait la Linguistic Society, et je vous prie de lui dire mes vifs remerciements. Je suis d'autant plus flatté de cet honneur que j'apprécie hautement la belle activité que, dès ses débuts, déploie votre Société. . . . . A. Meillet."

"C'est un très grand honneur pour moi d'avoir été élu membre d'hon

neur de votre belle Société conjointement avec cinq savants éminents dont je connais toute la haute valeur. Je vous prie de transmettre à vos collègues l'expression de mes sentiments reconnaissants et de leur dire tout l'intérêt que je porte à la belle Société à laquelle un lien nouveau m'unite. . P. Rivet."

"In Ihrem Schreiben vom 20. Januar teilen Sie mir mit, dass die Linguistic Society of America mich zu einem Honorary Member ernannt hat. Wollen Sie der Gesellschaft meinen ergebenen Dank für diese Ehrung übermitteln. Ich schätze es sehr von einem Kreise trefflicher Gelehrten einer solchen Anerkennung gewürdigt zu werden, und werde fortfahren die lehrreichen Publikationen der Gesellschaft als ein dankbarer Leser zu studieren. Ihnen, sehr geehrter Herr Kollege, danke ich noch besonders für die freundliche Mitteilung über die Umstände meiner Ernennung. . . . . J. Wackernagel.”

"I have great pleasure in accepting the compliment which the Linguistic Society of America has paid me in electing me among its first group of Honorary Members. I beg that you will be good enough to express to the President and other Officers of the Society my grateful thanks for, and keen appreciation of, the honour done me. Hy. Cecil Wyld."

Francis A. Wood, Professor of Germanic Philology at the University of Chicago, is retiring from active teaching at the end of the present academic year, after twenty-four years' service in this position. He will be succeeded by Leonard Bloomfied, now Professor of German and Linguistics at the Ohio State University, and the latter's place will be taken by Hans Kurath, at present Assistant Professor of German at Northwestern University.

In addition to the 9 members for 1927 secured before the beginning to the year, the following 20 members have been received into the Society in the first three months of 1927:

Mr. Phillips Barry, 5 Craigie Circle, Cambridge, Mass. (Private tutor)

Mr. Charles F. Bauer, 3446 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. (History, Camden, N. J., High Schools)

Prof. Adolph B. Benson, 548 Orange St., New Haven, Conn. (German

and Scandinavian, Yale Univ.)

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