Michael Fortescue
Michael David Fortescue is a British-born linguist specializing in Arctic and native North American languages, including Kalaallisut, Inuktun, Chukchi and Nitinaht. He gained his PhD in Linguistics from the University of Edinburgh in 1978.
Fortescue is known for his reconstructions of the Eskimo-Aleut, Chukotko-Kamchatkan, Nivkh, and Wakashan proto-languages.Education
He was educated at Abingdon School.Career
He is professor emeritus of General Linguistics at the University of Copenhagen and chairman of the Linguistic Circle of Copenhagen. His Comparative Eskimo Dictionary, co-authored with Steven Jacobson and Lawrence Kaplan, is the standard work in its area, as is his Comparative Chukotko-Kamchatkan Dictionary. In his book Whiteheadian Linguistics, Fortescue explores the possibilities of a linguistic theory based on the philosophical theories of Alfred North Whitehead.Selected works
- 1984. Some Problems Concerning the Correlation and Reconstruction of Eskimo and Aleut Mood Markers. Institut for Eskimologi, Københavns Universitet.
- 1990. From the Writings of the Greenlanders: Kalaallit Atuakklaannit. University of Alaska Press.
- 1991. Inuktun: An Introduction to the Language of Qaanaaq, Thule. Institut for eskimologis skriftrække, Københavns Universitet.
- 1992. Editor. Layered Structure and Reference in a Functional Perspective. John Benjamins Publishing Co.
- 1994. With Steven Jacobson and Lawrence Kaplan. Comparative Eskimo Dictionary with Aleut Cognates. Alaska Native Language Center.
- 1998. Language Relations across Bering Strait: Reappraising the Archaeological and Linguistic Evidence. London and New York: Cassell.
- 2001. Pattern and Process: A Whiteheadian Perspective on Linguistics. John Benjamins Publishing Co.
- 2002. The Domain of Language. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press.
- 2005. Comparative Chukotko-Kamchatkan Dictionary. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
- 2007. Comparative Wakashan Dictionary. Munich: LINCOM Europa.
- 2016. Comparative Nivkh Dictionary. Munich: LINCOM Europa.
