Alton L. Becker
| Alton Lewis (Pete) Becker | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
April 6, 1932 Monroe, Michigan |
| Died |
November 15, 2011 Michigan |
| Residence | Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Linguistics, Philology, Anthropology |
| Institutions | Kambawza College (Taunggi, Burma), University of Connecticut, Ripon College, University of Michigan |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
| Thesis | A Generative Description of the English Subject Tagmemes (1967) |
| Doctoral advisor | Kenneth Pike |
| Doctoral students | Marc Benamou |
| Known for | Translation, Philology, Rhetoric, Southeast Asian languages, Ethnography of Communication, Anthropology of Language |
Alton L. (Pete) Becker (April 6, 1932 – November 15, 2011) was an American linguist known for his studies of Burmese grammar and other Southeast Asian languages, including Malaysian, Javanese and Kawi. He was a professor of linguistics at the University of Michigan from 1968 to 1986. Becker published studies in philology, rhetoric, and the ethnography of communication. He was coauthor with Richard E. Young and Kenneth L. Pike of the widely influential college writing textbook, Rhetoric: Discovery and Change, which introduced a Rogerian framework for communication and rhetoric studies as an alternative to the Aristotelian approach. To recognize his significant contributions and publications of translations from Southeast Asian languages to English, the Association for Asian Studies awards the annual A. L. Becker Prize to honor his significant contributions.
Becker was born in Monroe, Michigan. In Southeast Michigan, he often attended jazz performances in Detroit, and he also began a lifelong love of canoeing. He studied English literature at the University of Michigan, where he completed a Bachelor's degree in 1954. He married Judith Omans in 1953. He later attended the University of Connecticut, where earned a master's degree in 1956 and also taught. From 1958 to 1961, he lived and worked in Taunggyi, Burma. He moved to Burma with his wife Judith and their son Matthew, and their son Andrew was born there. In Burma, he taught English at Kambawza College under the Fulbright program. He credited this experience in Burma and his study of Burmese for his change in scholarly interests from English literature to linguistics, particularly his work in language and culture, the ethnography of communication, and for his studies of Southeast Asian languages and ancient texts. He returned to Southeast Asia in 1969, when he held a two-year position teaching linguistics at the Universitas Negeri Malang, in Malang, Indonesia.
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