Kenneth J. Gregerson

Kenneth J. Gregerson, a distinguished linguist and former president of SIL International, passed away in Albuquerque, New Mexico on June 25, 2025. He was 89 years old. He is remembered for his groundbreaking work in Austroasiatic linguistics and his dedicated service to language communities around the world.

Dr. Gregerson grew up in Minnesota, Washington, Alaska, and Montana.  He attended Seattle Pacific University and began his linguistics training through the Summer Institute of Linguistics.  He went on to earn his Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Washington in 1971, with a dissertation on the Rengao language of Vietnam.

Dr. Gregerson and his wife, Dr. Marilyn Gregerson, lived in Vietnam for ten years during the war.  Their daughter, Susan, and son, Jonathan, were born in Vietnam. In 1975 the Gregerson family had to evacuate to the Philippines. In 1976 they moved to Irian Jaya (now Papua), Indonesia, where they lived for eight years. The Gregersons also lived in Thailand and Cambodia from 1996 to 2004.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Gregerson authored, co-authored, and edited numerous scholarly articles and compilations. He conducted field research in Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, and neighboring regions and edited the work of young field researchers. His academic work in mainland Southeast Asia focused primarily on Mon-Khmer languages, with influential studies on tone, register, and historical phonology, including important work on the family classification of Austroasiatic languages, particularly the Bahnaric languages.  In the last few years of his life, he wrote a Rengao grammar and dictionary based on his research in the 1960’s and 1970’s that will be published soon, and this will be among his most important linguistic legacies.  Much of his work remain important references in the field of Southeast Asian linguistics.

From 1979 to 1990, Dr. Gregerson served as president of SIL International. Under his leadership, SIL continued its mission to support language development, literacy, and Bible translation efforts around the globe.  While living in Irian Jaya, Thailand, and Cambodia, he served as a linguistics and Bible translation consultant to the SIL language teams in those areas.

A man of humility, deep faith, and intellectual rigor, Dr. Gregerson left an enduring legacy as both a scholar and a servant-leader. His work not only enriched the academic community but also helped preserve the voices of under-documented languages and the people who speak them.

Dr. Gregerson is survived by his daughter Susan, his son Jonathan, his grandchildren Caleb, Priya, and Phoebe, and his great-grandson Jude. He will be deeply missed by his family, colleagues, field linguists, and the many communities whose languages he studied and supported.