Today in History

Linguist Ken Pike Awarded Honorary Doctorate.
On this day, October 26, 1973, the University of Chicago awarded Ken Pike an honorary doctorate for linguistic work that enables non-experts to systematically crack foreign languages.

In 1928, when Ken was a shy, weakly teenager, his father nearly died. Ken promised God he would become a minister if his dad lived. When his dad recovered, Ken knew he must keep his promise.

Too nervous to write to colleges, he had his mother do it. Accepted at Gordon College, he worked in the kitchen to pay his way, even becoming crew chief.

However, when he applied to the China Inland Mission, he was rejected because he seemed nervous and failed their linguistics test. So Ken worked at spraying trees. Weak and terrified of heights, he inched his way upward with much prayer.

Wycliffe Mission accepted Ken, who enrolled in a phonetics class. He was asked to teach the class next year. Ken studied Mexican languages to share the gospel in them. During an illness, he read Language by anthropologist Edward Sapir. This formed his thinking.

His teaching successful, Ken was asked to prepare a manual on phonetics. Halfheartedly, he agreed, but didn't act. When he snapped a leg, he realized he was wrong and, despite being sick with malaria, wrote the book. This was a crucial step that led to his honorary degree in Chicago.
Read more about Pike at Christian History Institute. ©2004.