January 25, 2016 was a very important day, a mlilestone in the life of the Centre for Carribean Lexicography: the centre has officially been named after Richard and Jeannette Allsopp. The centre being part of the Department of LLL, I was partly involved in the organization of the event. At the level of my department, we inaugurated a Richard Allsopp Memorial Lecture, which will be held annually if possible. The naming ceremony took place at 10 am. Mr. Campus Registrar Ken Walters was the MC; Remarks were made respectively by Dr Jason Siegel, Research Fellow, PVC and Principal Prof. Eudine Barriteau, Prof. em. Woodville Marshall and Dr. Jeannette Allsopp. After the speeches, the plaque was unveiled by Prof. Barriteau and Dr Allsopp in the presence of more than 100 invitees. A tent was build in front of the McIntyre Building of the Cave Hill Campus to host the event.
Guyanese born Dr Richard Allsopp (1923-2009) was a reader in linguistics at the University of the West Indies, among the founding members of the Cave Hill Campus in the sixties. He occupied many positions of responsibility in the administration of the campus. His passion for the right word and expression brought him to create in 1972 the centre for lexicography, to which he dedicated the rest of his life. He fought courageously to keep the centre functioning despite many obstacles. He managed to raise funds for the survival of the centre with the lovely assistance of Jeannette. Nothing could stop him from doing what he aimed to do.
Guyanese born Dr Richard Allsopp (1923-2009) was a reader in linguistics at the University of the West Indies, among the founding members of the Cave Hill Campus in the sixties. He occupied many positions of responsibility in the administration of the campus. His passion for the right word and expression brought him to create in 1972 the centre for lexicography, to which he dedicated the rest of his life. He fought courageously to keep the centre functioning despite many obstacles. He managed to raise funds for the survival of the centre with the lovely assistance of Jeannette. Nothing could stop him from doing what he aimed to do.
In the evening at 7 pm, our department organized the Inaugural Richard Allsopp Memorial Lecture, with Prof. Ian Robertson as guest speaker. Friends, colleagues and family of the Allsopp attended the lecture. Dr. Jennifer Obidah opened the floor by welcoming the audience. I then made some remarks, followed by Dr. Jason Siegel before the lecture. Prof. Robertson is a former dean the Faculty of Humanities at the St Augustine Campus, Trinidad. A .student of Richard Allsopp at Queen's College back in Guiana, he was actually the best person to speak on Allsopp's work and achievements. We were not disappointed. I am particularly happy for Jeannette, because all these events went successfully. Thanks to my LLL colleagues for their professionalism.
What a great day! We really honoured an outstanding scholar whose pioneering work in the area of linguistics and lexicography is universally acknowledged by the specialists of Creole dictionaries. His opus magnum Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage makes him the "Caribbean par excellence", a legacy for the entire Caribbean. I knew Richard Allsopp as soon as I arrived in Barbados. He gave me books in French that he thought I would use for my teaching and personal development. There were among other classical outputs by Hugo, Baudelaire, Zola, Claudel, Peguy, etc. Thank you Richard for your love and commitment to the Caribbean.
Jeannette, his wife, is also an internationally acclaimed lexicographer whose knowledge and publications are seminal in the area. She is the renowned author of The Caribbean Multilingual Dictionary of Flora, Fauna and Food in English, French, French Creole and Spanish.She also deserved the recognition of the UWI Cave Hill. Congratulations chère amie Jeannette!
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