Derek Bickerton
| Derek Bickerton | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 25, 1926 Cheshire, England |
| Fields | Linguistics |
| Institutions |
University of Hawaii University of Leeds University of Guyana |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge (PhD 1976) |
| Known for | work in creole languages |
Derek Bickerton (born March 25, 1926) is a linguist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. Based on his work in creole languages in Guyana and Hawaii, he has proposed that the features of creole languages provide powerful insights into the development of language both by individuals and as a feature of the human species. He is the originator and main proponent of the language bioprogram hypothesis according to which the similarity of creoles is due to their being formed from a prior pidgin by children who all share a universal human innate grammar capacity.
Bickerton also wrote several novels. He is the father of contemporary artist Ashley Bickerton. His novels have been featured in the works of the Sun Ra Revival Post Krautrock Archestra, through spoken word and musical themes.
Bickerton was born in Cheshire in 1926. A graduate of the University of Cambridge, England in 1949, Derek Bickerton entered academic life in the 1960s, first as a lecturer in English Literature at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, and then, after a year's postgraduate work in linguistics at the University of Leeds, as Senior Lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Guyana (1967–71). For twenty-four years he was a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Hawaii, having meanwhile received a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Cambridge (1976).
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