K. David Harrison

K. David Harrison
Born	1966 (age 50–51) Ponoka, Alberta, Canada
Nationality	American-Canadian
Citizenship	United States, Canada
Alma mater	American University, Yale University, Jagiellonian University
Occupation	Linguist, anthropologist, author, language activist
Known for	Author, When Languages Die: The Extinction of the World's Languages and the Erosion of Human Knowledge; The Last Speakers: The Quest to Save the World's Most Endangered Languages, Documentary film star in 2008 film The Linguists
Home town	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

K. David Harrison (born 1966), is an American-Canadian linguist anthropologist, author and activist for the documentation and preservation of endangered languages teaching at Swarthmore College and affiliated with the National Geographic Society. His research focuses on the Turkic languages of central Siberia and western Mongolia. He co-starred in Ironbound Films' Emmy-nominated 2008 documentary film The Linguists. He serves as director of research for the non-profit Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages.

Harrison has done field work on several endangered languages in Siberia and Mongolia including Tuvan, Tsengel Tuvan, Tofa, Ös, Monchak, Munda, and also in Paraguay, Chile, Papua New Guinea, India, Micronesia and Vanuatu. He specializes in phonology, particularly vowel harmony, lexicography, and in the study of language endangerment, extinction and revitalization.