Margaret M. Bryant

Margaret Mae Bryant (December 3, 1900 – July 15, 1993) was an American linguist and folklorist. She was an expert on grammar, and was twice president of the American Name Society.

Early life and education Bryant was born in Trenton, South Carolina, the daughter of John Bryant and Hattie Bryant. She graduated from Winthrop College in 1921, and earned a master's degree (1925) and a Ph.D. (1931), both at Columbia University. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Career Bryant was a professor of English at Brooklyn College for 41 years, from 1930 until she retired in 1971, and chair of the English department. She was a charter member and president of the American Name Society, president of the International Linguistic Association, and president of the American Society of Geolinguistics. She was also president of the New York City chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). In 1956, received the Mary Mildred Sullivan Medallion from Winthrop College, as an outstanding alumna. and attended the International Congress of Onomastic Sciences. In 1963, she endowed a fellowship for an international student at Winthrop College. In 1974, the American Name Society published a festschrift in her honor. American Speech, English Journal, Western Folklore, The Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary School Principals,

Books Psychology of English (1940, with Janet Rankin Aiken) Proverbs, and how to Collect Them (1945) Maple Sugar Language in Vermont (1947) Modern English and Its Heritage (1948) A Functional English Grammar (1959) Current American Usage (1962) A Dictionary of American Proverbs (1992) "What One Word Can Do" (1941) "Names in Everyday Speach" (1957) "Space Exploration Terms" (1968) "Blends are Increasing" (1974) "After 25 Years of Onomastic Study" (1976) "Marcel Proust's Interest in Names" (1978)