The J. C. Catford papers are significant for insight into the life and career of their creator and also for their information on linguistics, phonetics, and the instruction and acquisition of second languages. In addition to research articles co-authored by Catford, there are video-recordings from a series of lectures he delivered before his retirement from the University of Michigan. The collection consists of two series: Lectures and Written Materials.
John ("Ian") Cunnison Catford was born on March 26, 1917 in Edinburgh, Scotland and studied at the University of Edinburgh and the Institut de Phonétic of the University of Paris in the late 1930s. In 1939, he traveled to Athens, Greece to work at the Institute of English Studies and from 1941-1946, he resided in the Middle East, serving with the British Council in Greece, Egypt, and Palestine.
After the long interruption of the Second World War, Catford returned to Britain in 1946 and completed his formal education at the University of London in 1952. He then returned to Scotland and to the University of Edinburgh where he was first research lecturer with The Linguistic Survey of Scotland and then senior lecturer and director of the School of Applied Linguistics.
Joining the faculty of the University of Michigan in 1964, Catford served first as director of the English Language Institute and professor of linguistics. He was active in departmental, college, and University affairs; served a term on SACUA; headed the Laboratory of Communicative Sciences; and on two different occasions assumed the chairmanship of the Department of Linguistics.
Catford's books and articles dealt with all aspects of phonetics, with the theory of translation, and with the application of linguistic knowledge to methods of second language instruction. He was also keenly interested in the languages of the Caucuses and renowned for his ability to pronounce a wide variety of words and linguistic sounds. His expertise was internationally known and led to invitations to Britain, North America and the Near East as well as Uganda, Japan, Hong Kong and the USSR. Catford retired from active faculty status on May 31, 1986 but continued to publish articles and participate in conferences for years afterwards. Catford and his wife, Lotte, had two children, Lorna and Julian; he died of complications from pneumonia on October 6, 2009 in Seattle, Washington.
*From Proceedings of the Board of Regents (1984-1987) pages 711-712
