Prior to receiving my Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii Linguistics department in 1984, I had spent much of my time in the (then) Indo-Pacific Languages department, where I studied Burmese, Thai, Khmer, Tibetan, Sanskrit, Pali, and even Arabic. Upon graduation, I embarked on a long and tortuous road as an attorney, first in Chicago and then returning to Honolulu in 1990. During that 40 year detour in the legal world, I continued my studies in Sino-Tibetan historical-comparative linguistics, and also developed an interest in the interface between law and language: specifically, a comparative study of how cultures derive their legal systems from sacred texts. I am currently teaching an introductory course in Classical Tibetan and hope to offer more, related classes as time goes on.
Sakamaki Hall A-313
Email: gkinkley@hawaii.edu