Author Description

Sohn is a linguist of great versatility, who has done extensive work in two fields of areal linguistics: (i) Korean and Japanese, and (ii) Micronesian languages (Ulithian, Woleaian, Kwara ae, and others). To the languages in both of these groups he has applied methods and theories of phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic, and historical-comparative analysis. Not only does he cover these various bread-and-butter areas with equal skill, but he also manifests an adept approach to sociolinguistic issues and matters of language pedagogy. In treating various comparative problems, he further shows sensitive understanding of semantic and pragmatic values in English. Sohn's work will be of general appeal both to theoretical linguists and to non-theory-oriented students of Korean (or to some extent Japanese), because most analyses and accompanying discussions are predominantly data-based, without extensive involvement in the matters of abstract theoretical polemics.