Robert L. Rankin

**Robert Louis Rankin** (Janairu 17, 1939 - Fabrairu 24, 2014) masanin harshe ne na Amurka kuma masanin Harsunan Siouan . An fi saninsa da gudummawar da ya bayar wajen adanawa Harshen Kansa da kuma nazarin Proto-Siouan, kakannin karshe na dukkan yarukan Siouan. An bayyana shi a matsayin daya daga cikin masu rinjaye na Siouanists, yana jagorantar wasu masana harsuna da yawa a fagen; an sanya shi ɗan ƙasa mai daraja na Sioux Nation saboda kokarin kiyaye harshe. An ba shi lambar yabo tare da adana harshen Kansa, an ba da tokarsa ga Kaw Nation bayan mutuwarsa.

Bayan ya ci gaba da sha'awar ilimin harshe bayan ya ji harsunan kasashen waje daga Turai da Asiya ham rediyo na ham tun yana yaro, Rankin ya fara karatun ilimin harshe na Romance a Jami'ar Emory. Ya sami digiri na biyu da digiri na biyu a Jami'ar Chicago yana nazarin yarukan Romania a kasar tsakanin 1966 da 1968 bayan ya sami Fulbright Fellowship . Bayan abokin aikinsa a Jami'ar Kansas ya karfafa shi, sai ya fara nazarin yarukan Siouan, wato Quapaw da Kansa; Rankin ya yi aiki tare da dukkan masu magana uku na karshe na Kansa da mai magana na karshe na Quapaw, yana tattara ƙamus da ƙamus na duka biyun. Baya ga aikinsa a ilimin harshe na Siouan, Rankin ya kuma ba da gudummawa ga ilimin harshe ya tarihi, ƙamus, da sauran iyalan yaren 'yan asalin Amurka kamar Iroquoian da Muskogean.

## Rayuwa ta farko da ilimi
Robert Louis Rankin shi ne ɗan fari da aka haifa wa Harvey W. da Helen E. Rankin a Pennsylvania" id="mwLQ" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Bellefonte, Pennsylvania">Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, a ranar 17 ga Janairu, 1939.  Iyalin sun ƙaura daga Pennsylvania zuwa New York zuwa Louisiana zuwa Florida, amma daga ƙarshe sun zauna a Tifton, Jojiya, inda Rankin ya shafe mafi yawan ƙuruciyarsa.  Yayinda yake saurayi, Rankin ya kafa reshen Tifton na Ground Observer Corps kuma yana aiki a cikin ƙungiyar Boy Scout ta gida. Ya ci gaba da sha'awar harsuna bayan ya yi wasa tare da rediyo da yarukan ji daga Turai da Asiya.   A shekara ta 1956, Rankin ta kammala karatu daga makarantar sakandare ta Tifton, ta ci gaba da karatun Mutanen Espanya da Faransanci a Jami'ar Emory da ke Atlanta, ta kammala karatu a shekara ta 1960.  

Bayan karbarsa a makarantar digiri na Jami'ar Chicago, an sanya Rankin a matsayin Fulbright Fellow kuma shi da matarsa sun tafi Kwaminisanci Romania, inda suka zauna daga 1966 har zuwa 1968 yayin da yake nazarin yarukan yankin ƙasar. A shekarar da ya dawo, an ba shi digiri na biyu a fannin ilimin harshe.   A shekara ta 1972, an ba shi digirin digirinsa a fannin ilimin harshe daga Jami'ar Chicago .   Rubutun nasa, wanda ya ci gaba da mayar da hankali kan aikinsa a Romania, ana kiransa Magana ta Ƙarshe a Rumanian: Matsaloli a cikin Synchronic da Diachronic Dialectology . 

## Ayyuka
Jami'ar Kansas ce ta hayar Rankin a shekarar 1969 a matsayin mataimakin farfesa na ilimin harshe, wanda ya dogara da kwarewarsa a harsunan Turai. A kan roƙon abokin aikinsa, Dale Nicklas, Rankin ya fara bincika harsunan 'yan asalin Amurka a yankin; a cewar Rankin, Nicklas ya yi jayayya cewa "aikin kowane masanin harshe na Amurka ne ya yi ƙoƙari ya rubuta akalla yaren' yan asalin Amurka ɗaya".

Bayan ya kasa samun isasshen albarkatu don fara nazarin Quapaw, Rankin ya fara aiki a kan Harshen Kansa a lokacin rani na 1973, neman masu magana uku na ƙarshe na yaren a Shidler, Oklahoma. Ɗaya daga cikin masu magana, Maude McCauley Rowe, ya amince da haɗin gwiwa, amma ya ki raba labaru har zuwa lokacin hunturu, daidai da al'adar Indiya ta Filayen. Maimakon haka, Rankin ta rubuta karatun Addu'ar Ubangiji. Lokacin da ya dawo washegari, sai ya kawo masa rubutun kuma ya karanta mata, ya girgiza ta. Da yake ta yi imanin cewa ba za a iya rubuta yarinta ba kuma za a iya halakawa, sai ta nemi a yi amfani da hoton rubutun wanda ta yada a duk faɗin kabilar. Rankin da Rowe sun hadu na sa'o'i biyu a kowane rana don yin rikodin a cikin makonni biyu.

Rankin ya yi aiki tare da Rowe da sauran masu magana biyu, Ralph Pepper da Walter Kekahbah, na tsawon shekaru uku, suna yin rubutu mai zurfi da yin rikodin sa'o'i da yawa na magana. Ya kuma kwatanta nasa bayanin kula da na James Owen Dorsey, masanin harshe na Amurka kuma mai wa'azi a ƙasashen waje wanda ya yi nazarin harshe a cikin 1880s da 1890s. Kodayake an rubuta wasu bayanan Dorsey a cikin Latin don kauce wa dokokin adawa da lalata na zamani, Rankin na iya karanta Latin. Yayinda yake kwatanta bayanan Dorsey da fassarorin Rowe, ya taɓa karanta labarin lalata ga Rowe bayan ya kasa shirya bayanansa da ya dace a wannan safiya. Daga baya ya ba da labarin cewa:

## manazarta