Angus McIntosh (linguist) facts for kids

Angus McIntosh (born January 10, 1914 – died October 25, 2005) was a smart British linguist and professor. He was especially good at studying how languages change over time, which is called historical linguistics.

Angus McIntosh was born in 1914 near Sunderland, England. His parents were from Scotland. He went to Ryhope Grammar School and then studied English at Oriel College, Oxford. Later, he learned about how languages are related at Merton College, Oxford. He also studied at Harvard University in the United States.

During the Second World War, McIntosh served in the British Army. He worked in a secret intelligence center called Bletchley Park. After the war, he taught at the University of Oxford. In 1948, he became the first Forbes Professor of English Language at the University of Edinburgh. He stayed there until he retired. He also worked on a big project about the English language from the Middle Ages.

Early Life and School Days

Angus McIntosh was born on January 10, 1914, in England. He went to Ryhope Grammar School. He was a very bright student and won a special scholarship. This allowed him to study English at Oriel College, Oxford. He earned his first degree in 1934.

Later, he studied something called comparative philology. This is about comparing different languages to see how they are connected. He did this at Merton College, Oxford. From 1936 to 1938, he studied at Harvard University in America.

His Time in the Military

In 1940, when the Second World War began, McIntosh joined the army. He became part of the Royal Tank Regiment. Because he was so good with languages, he joined the Intelligence Corps.

He worked at a top-secret place called Bletchley Park. His job was to help break secret German codes, like those from the Enigma machine. This was very important for the war effort. He finished the war as a major. For his service, he received several medals.

His Career as a Professor

McIntosh started teaching in 1938 at University College, Swansea. After the war, in 1946, he went back to the University of Oxford. He taught about Old English and Middle English. He also taught at Christ Church, Oxford.

But in 1948, he moved to the University of Edinburgh. He became the first Forbes Professor of English Language and General Linguistics there. He loved studying how Middle English and the Scots language developed. He retired from this role in 1979.

After retiring, he led a huge project. It was called the Middle English Dialect Atlas Project. This project created a map of how English was spoken in different parts of England during the late Middle Ages. It was published in 1986. Even after retirement, he continued to be a research fellow at the University of Glasgow.

His Family Life

In 1939, Angus McIntosh married Barbara. She was from America. They had three children together: two sons and one daughter. Barbara passed away in 1988.

Later that same year, he married Karina. She was the widow of another Oxford scholar. This marriage brought him three stepchildren: a daughter and two sons.

Angus McIntosh passed away on October 25, 2005. He was 91 years old. He was buried in Grange Cemetery in Edinburgh.

Awards and Recognition

Angus McIntosh received many honors for his work.

• In 1978, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE). This is a special group of smart people in Scotland.
• In 1989, he became a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA). This is a similar group for social sciences and humanities in the UK.
• Also in 1989, he won the Sir Israel Gollancz Prize. This award is given to experts in early English language and literature.

When he retired, two special books were written in his honor. They were called So Meny People, Longages and Tonges and Language Form and Linguistic Variation. These books showed how much his colleagues respected him. Today, there is a center at the University of Edinburgh named after him: the Angus McIntosh Centre for Historical Linguistics.

Selected Works