I heard Yiddish when my father's family came to the house, which was as seldom as my mother could arrange it.

Life


Early life and education
(Main source: Croft 2003)
Joseph Greenberg was born on May 28 1915 to Jewish parents in Brooklyn New York. His first love was music. After finishing high school he decided to pursue a scholarly career rather than a musical one.

Joseph Harold Greenberg (May 28 1915 – May 7 2001) was a prominent American linguist principally known for his work in two areas linguistic typology and the genetic classification of languages.