Editing Larry Trask

{{Short description|American-British linguist (1944–2004)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{For|the X-Men character|Larry Trask (comics)}}
{{multiple issues|
{{refimprove|date=August 2024}}
{{obituary|date=May 2024}}
}}
{{Infobox academic
| honorific_prefix   = 
| name               = 
| honorific_suffix   = 
| image              = Larry Trask (1944–2004).jpg
| image_size         = 
| alt                = 
| caption            = 
| native_name        = 
| native_name_lang   = 
| birth_name         = Robert Lawrence Trask
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1944|11|10|df=yes}}
| birth_place        = [[Olean, New York]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|2004|03|27|1944|11|10|df=yes}}
| death_place        = [[Brighton]], England
| death_cause        = 
| region             = 
| nationality        = 
| citizenship        = 
| residence          = 
| other_names        = 
| occupation         = 
| period             = 
| known_for          = 
| home_town          = 
| title              = 
| boards             = 
| spouse             = {{ubl|Esther Barrutia (divorced)|Jan Lock}}
| partner            = 
| children           = 
| parents            =
| relatives          =
| awards             = 
| website            = {{url|buber.net/Basque/Euskara/Larry/WebSite/|The Larry Trask Archive}}
| education          = {{ubl|[[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]] (B.Sc. in chemistry)|[[Brandeis University]] (M.Sc. in chemistry)|[[University of Westminster#1970–1992: Polytechnic of Central London|Polytechnic of Central London]] (B.A. in linguistics)|[[SOAS|School of Oriental and African Studies]] (Ph.D. in linguistics)}}
| alma_mater         = 
| thesis_title       = Synchronic and Diachronic Studies in the Grammar of Basque
| thesis_url         = https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.339723
| thesis_year        = 1984
| school_tradition   = 
| doctoral_advisor   = Charles Ernest Bazell
| academic_advisors  = 
| influences         = 
| era                = 
| discipline         = [[Linguistics|Linguist]]
| sub_discipline     = 
| workplaces         = {{ubl|[[Middle East Technical University]] ({{circa|1970}})|[[University of Westminster#1970–1992: Polytechnic of Central London|Polytechnic of Central London]] (1970s)|[[University of Liverpool]] (1979{{ndash}}1988)|[[University of Sussex]] (1988{{ndash}}2004)}}
| doctoral_students  = 
| notable_students   = 
| main_interests     = {{ubl|[[Basque language]]|[[Historical linguistics]]}}
| notable_works      = 
| notable_ideas      = 
| influenced         = 
| signature          = 
| signature_alt      = 
| signature_size     = 
| footnotes          = 
}}
'''Robert Lawrence Trask''' (10 November 1944 – 27 March 2004) was an American-British professor of [[linguistics]] at the [[University of Sussex]], and an authority on the [[Basque language]] and the field of [[historical linguistics]].

==Biography== 
Born in [[Olean, New York]], he initially studied [[chemistry]] in his home country, but – after a brief stint in the [[Peace Corps]] – he took an interest in linguistics. He received his [[Doctor of Philosophy|doctorate]] in linguistics from the [[University of London]], and thereafter taught at various universities in the [[United Kingdom]]. He became a professor of linguistics at the University of Sussex.

He was considered an authority on the Basque language: his book ''The History of Basque'' (1997) is an essential reference on diachronic Basque linguistics and probably the best introduction to Basque linguistics as a whole. He was at work compiling an [[etymological dictionary]] of that language when he died; the unfinished work was posthumously published on the Internet by [[Max Wheeler (linguist)|Max W. Wheeler]].<ref>{{citation|author-last=Trask|author-first=R. Larry|title=Etymological Dictionary of Basque|year=2008|publisher=University of Sussex|location=Falmer, UK|url=http://www.sussex.ac.uk/english/documents/lxwp23-08-edb.pdf|editor-last=Wheeler|editor-first=Max W.|accessdate=2 March 2020}}</ref> He was also an authority on [[historical linguistics]], and had written about the problem of the [[origin of language]].
He also published two introductory books to linguistics: ''Language: The basics'' (1995) and ''Introducing Linguistics'' (coauthored with Bill Mayblin) (2000), and several dictionaries on different topics of this science: ''A dictionary of grammatical terms in linguistics'' (1993), ''A dictionary of phonetics and phonology'' (1996), ''A student's dictionary of language and linguistics'' (1997), ''Key concepts in language and linguistics'' (1999), ''The dictionary of historical and comparative linguistics'' (2000) and ''The Penguin dictionary of English grammar'' (2000).

Trask died on 27 March 2004 as a result of complications from [[ALS|amyotrophic lateral sclerosis]] (ALS), aged 59.<ref>{{cite web | last=Coates | first=Richard | title=Obituary: Larry Trask | website=the Guardian | date=2004-04-08 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/apr/08/guardianobituaries1 | access-date=2024-08-15}}</ref>

==Publication==
* ''Language Change'' (1994)
* ''Historical Linguistics'' (1996), {{ISBN|0-340-60758-0}}
* ''The Penguin Guide to Punctuation'' (1997)
* ''The History of Basque'' (1997), {{ISBN|0415131162}}
* ''The Dictionary of Historical and Comparative Linguistics'' (2000), {{ISBN|0-7486-1001-4}}
* ''The Penguin Dictionary of English Grammar'' (2000), {{ISBN|0-14-051464-3}}
* ''Time Depth in Historical Linguistics'' (co-editor) (2000), {{ISBN|1-902937-06-6}}
* ''Mind the Gaffe'' (2001), {{ISBN|0-14-051476-7}}
* ''How to Write Effective Emails'' (2005),  {{ISBN|0-14-101719-8}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.buber.net/Basque/Euskara/Larry/WebSite/ The Larry Trask Archive]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/life/interview/story/0,12982,984721,00.html Interview] with ''[[The Guardian]]''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304122333/http://linguistlist.org/ask-ling/search-ask-ling1.cfm?Panelist=51 Contributions] to [https://web.archive.org/web/20040209103341/http://linguistlist.org/ask-ling/ Ask-a-Linguist]
*[http://human-nature.com/nibbs/02/trask.html Larry Trask's review of ''The Atoms of Language: The Mind's Hidden Rules of Grammar'' by Mark C. Baker]
*[http://www.sussex.ac.uk/informatics/punctuation/ Larry Trask's Guide to Punctuation]
* Obituaries
** [https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,,1187897,00.html The Guardian]
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20091121222819/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1459361/Professor-Larry-Trask.html The Telegraph]
** [https://linguistlist.org/issues/15/15-1055/ Linguist List]
** [http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/467/2020722.html Peace Corps Online]
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20110514110953/http://www.sussex.ac.uk/press_office/bulletin/23apr04/article10.shtml University of Sussex Newsletter (includes a photograph)]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trask, Larry}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:2004 deaths]]
[[Category:Academics of the University of Liverpool]]
[[Category:Academics of the University of Sussex]]
[[Category:Academics of the University of Westminster]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Middle East Technical University]]
[[Category:Alumni of SOAS University of London]]
[[Category:American emigrants to England]]
[[Category:American expatriate academics in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Linguists of Basque]]
[[Category:Deaths from motor neuron disease in England]]
[[Category:Historical linguists]]
[[Category:20th-century people from New York (state)]]
[[Category:20th-century American linguists]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Polytechnic of Central London]]
[[Category:20th-century British linguists]]