Dr. Walter S. Avis: A Tribute

Extract

In the summer of 1954 a small group of scholars met at the University of Manitoba and founded the Canadian Linguistic Association. Among us were Henry Alexander of Queen’s University, J. B. Rudnyckyj of Manitoba, W. S. Avis of R.M.C., G. Dulong of Laval, and J.-P. Vinay of Montreal.

My association and friendship with them all began at that time, and in particular I formed a close personal and academic relationship with Wally Avis.

Thanks to the support of Wilfred Wees, who has done more than any other Canadian publisher to support studies in Canadian English, Dr. Avis, Dr. R. J. Gregg of British Columbia, and I began work on a series of dictionaries, culminating in 1967 with the publication of the Dictionary of Canadianisms, of which Dr. Avis was editor-in-chief. During the preparation of that work, Dr. Avis and I became close friends. In 1963, he spent a full year at the University of Calgary, and in 1965 he was able to devote the entire summer to editorial work at the University of Victoria.