Robert L. Rankin

Robert Louis Rankin (January 17, 1939 – February 24, 2014) was an American linguist and scholar of the Siouan languages. He is best known for his contributions to the preservation of the Kansa language and to the study of Proto-Siouan, the reconstructed last common ancestor of all Siouan languages. He has been described as one of the most influential Siouanists, mentoring numerous other linguists in the field and being made an honorary citizen of the Sioux Nation for his language preservation efforts. Credited with single-handedly preserving the Kansa language, his ashes were given to the Kaw Nation following his death.

After developing an interest in linguistics after hearing foreign languages from Europe and Asia on his ham radio as a child, Rankin began studying Romance linguistics at Emory University. He earned his master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Chicago studying Romanian dialects in the country between 1966 and 1968 after earning a Fulbright Fellowship. After he was encouraged by his colleague at the University of Kansas, he began studying the Siouan languages, namely Quapaw and Kansa; Rankin worked with all three of the last speakers of Kansa and the last speaker of Quapaw, compiling dictionaries and grammars of both. Apart from his work in Siouan linguistics, Rankin also made contributions to historical linguistics, lexicography, and other Native American language families such as Iroquoian and Muskogean.