A. C. Gimson Explained

A. C. Gimson
Birth Date:	1917 6, df=yes
Nationality:	British
Alma Mater:	University College London
Influences:	Daniel Jones
Discipline:	Phonetician
Workplaces:	University College London
Influenced:	John C. Wells

Alfred Charles "Gim" Gimson (; 7 June 1917 – 22 April 1985^[1]) was an English phonetician.

Life

Gimson was educated at Emanuel School London, and University College London, where later in 1966 he became Professor of Phonetics, and in 1971 head of the Department of Phonetics and Linguistics.

He was a pupil and colleague of Daniel Jones, and is known for having updated and extended Jones's description of standard British English pronunciation (Received Pronunciation, or RP). Through his Introduction to the Pronunciation of English, first published in 1962, Gimson became an authority on Received Pronunciation. He succeeded Jones as editor of the English Pronouncing Dictionary, making significant changes to its content and presentation. He was known to generations of students and colleagues simply as 'Gim'.

Books

• Arnold, G.F. and Gimson, A.C (1965). English Pronunciation Practice. London: University of London Press
• Gimson, A.C (1962). Introduction to the Pronunciation of English. London: Arnold. Fourth edition (1989) revised by Ramsaran, S.; sixth edition (2001) revised by Cruttenden, A.
• Gimson, A.C (1975). A Practical Course of English Pronunciation: A Perceptual Approach. London: Arnold^[2]
• Gimson, A.C (ed.) (1977). English Pronouncing Dictionary. London: Dent

Further reading

• Encyclopedia: Gimson, Alfred Charles [Gim] . MacMahon . M. K. C. . 23 Sep 2004 . 10.1093/ref:odnb/46942 . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . none.
• Wells . J. C. . Obituary: Professor A. C. Gimson . International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders . 1985 . 20 . 2 . 117–118 . 10.3109/13682828509012253 . none.
• Book: Studies in the Pronunciation of English: A Commemorative Volume in Honour of A.C. Gimson. Ramsaran . Susan . Routledge . London . 2015 . 1990 . 978-1-138-91845-0 . 10.4324/9781315688367 . none.
• News: Obituary: Professor A. C. Gimson: Authority on Pronunciation of English . The Times . 27 Apr 1985 . 10 . . none.

External links

• A biography, by John Ch. Wells, Gimson’s successor at University College, London

Notes and References

1. Wells . J. C. . Professor A. C. Gimson 1917–1985 . Journal of the International Phonetic Association . 1985 . 15 . 1 . 2–4 . 10.1017/S0025100300002875. free .
2. Lewis . J. Windsor . A. C. Gimson, A Practical Course of English Pronunciation. (Pp. viii + 80. Edward Arnold: London, 1975.) . Journal of the International Phonetic Association . June 1976 . 6 . 1 . 35–39 . 10.1017/S0025100300001481 . en . 1475-3502.