Word: whatmough
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...when President Lowell was looking for someone to teach Comparative Philology at Harvard, Joshua Whatmough, on leave from a lectureship at University College, North Wales, was teaching Latin to Egyptian students at Cairo University. Most of these students spoke English as a second language to Arabic, but by governmental decree, instruction at the University was conducted in French. "It was a Gilbert and Sullivan situation," Whatmough recalls, "--teaching Latin in French to Egyptians who knew Arabic and English." When Lowell selected him to fill the vacancy at Harvard, Whatmough did not delay his acceptance for a moment...
...thing, several persons in America thought they were in the running for the Comparative Philology chair, so that Lowell's choice gave great offense. Then, too, I have a reputation for being outspoken." No one would dispute this last admission; in his thirty-seven years at the University, Whatmough has done more speaking out than the rest of the Faculty combined. He loves to give opinions, delights in praising or damning with vehemence, and brooks no contradictions from his audience. "As a result I often find myself in hot water," he says with obvious pleasure, "but I don't mind...
Many of his "outrageous opinions" have eventually changed Harvard for the better, and it is therefore fortunate that Cambridge life has never mellowed Joshua Whatmough. Shortly after he arrived, he stirred up protests against the management of the University Library that culminated in a reorganization of Widener's system. At his irrepressible insistence, Harvard's diffuse studies of language were forged into a vigorous Department of Comparative Philology (the name became "Department of Linguistics" in 1951 to conform to current usage). His relentless emphasis on statistical method in the analysis of language has enabled this department to pioneer...
Last year Whatmough was president of the Ninth International Congress of Linguistics. He has contributed to numerous publications, including the Encyclopedia Brittanica...
...colorful lecturer, Whatmough speaks precisely and dresses nattily. He often spends at least half of his lectures in Linguistics 100 relating his ideas on life and the world...