Quizzes
Quick Facts
- Born:
- Jan. 12, 1910, Richmond, Ind., U.S.
- Died:
- May 17, 1996, Alameda county, Calif. (aged 86)
- Subjects Of Study:
- American Indian languages
- Muskogean languages
- Tunica language
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Mary R. Haas
American linguist
Also known as: Mary Rosamond Haas
Mary R. Haas (born Jan. 12, 1910, Richmond, Ind., U.S.—died May 17, 1996, Alameda county, Calif.) was a U.S. linguist. She studied with Edward Sapir at Yale University, where her dissertation was on Tunica, a moribund American Indian language. She continued her fieldwork on, and comparative studies of, American Indian languages, especially of the southeastern U.S., including the Natchez and Muskogean languages, for the rest of her life. She directed the Survey of California Indian Languages while on the University of California, Berkeley, faculty (1945–77). Many of her students have done invaluable descriptive work on nearly extinct languages.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica
Privacy Policy
and
Terms of Use.