Arika Okrent
Arika Okrent /ˈɛrɪkə ˈoʊkrɛnt/[1] is an American linguist and writer of popular works on linguistic topics.
Early life and education[edit]
Okrent was born in Chicago to parents of Polish and Transylvanian descent. She was fascinated by languages beginning at an early age, which is what made her pursue a career in linguistics.
After graduating from Carleton College in 1992,[2] she left for Hungary to teach there for a year.[3] She earned an M.A. in Linguistics from the Gallaudet University,[4] and a Ph.D. in Psycholinguistics from the University of Chicago in 2004.[5]
Career[edit]
Okrent is known particularly for her 2009 book In the Land of Invented Languages: Esperanto Rock Stars, Klingon Poets, Loglan Lovers, and the Mad Dreamers Who Tried to Build A Perfect Language, a result of her five years of research into the topic of constructed languages.[6][7] Her well-received 2021 book, Highly Irregular, written with Sean O'Neill, explains how the history of English explains a number of its modern irregularities and exceptions.[8][9]
She is featured in Sam Green's 2011 Esperanto documentary entitled, The Universal Language.[10]
She is a regular contributor on linguistics and language topics to the online magazine Mental Floss.[11]
Honors and awards[edit]
In 2015 Okrent became the second winner of the Linguistic Society of America's Linguistics Journalism Award.[12]
Personal life[edit]
She can communicate in English, Hungarian, American Sign Language and Klingon,[6] and has a good passive command of Esperanto.[13][14]
She is the niece of writer and editor Daniel Okrent.
Books[edit]
- Okrent, Arika (2009). In the Land of Invented Languages: Esperanto Rock Stars, Klingon Poets, Loglan Lovers, and the Mad Dreamers Who Tried to Build A Perfect Language. Spiegel & Grau. pp. 352. ISBN 978-0-385-52788-0.
- Okrent, Arika and O'Neill, Sean (2021). Highly Irregular: Why Tough, Through, and Dough Don't Rhyme And Other Oddities of the English Language. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0197539408.
References[edit]
- ^ Arika Okrent's homepage
- ^ Linguistics. "Man vs. Language! Language Wins! public talk by linguist and author Arika Okrent ('92) - Carleton College". www.carleton.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
- ^ "Arika Okrent '92". Linguistics: Alumni. Carleton College. 2009. Archived from the original on 2013-06-12. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
- ^ "Linguistics for Laypeople | Tableau". tableau.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
- ^ "Alumni | Linguistics". linguistics.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
- ^ a b M. J. Stephey, "Arika Okrent: Speaking Klingon", Time, May 18, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
- ^ "Dreaming of a Perfect Language". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
- ^ "Highly Irregular by Arika Okrent book review | The TLS". TLS. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
- ^ "Review of Highly Irregular". old.linguistlist.org. Archived from the original on February 11, 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
- ^ "Esperanto documentary: The Universal Language". Esperanto Language Blog | Language and Culture of the Esperanto-Speaking World. 2011-01-12. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
- ^ "Arika Okrent". Mental Floss. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
- ^ "Arika Okrent announced as winner of LSA Linguistics Journalism Award | Linguistic Society of America". www.linguisticsociety.org. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
- ^ Questions Answered: Invented Languages, Schott's Vocab.
- ^ Arika Okrent about Esperanto in CNN, September 17, 2010.
External links[edit]
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