My great-uncle David Young, who has died aged 94, was a university lecturer in English and a linguist who wrote the books Introducing English Grammar and The Structure of English Clauses.
These books, first published in the 1980s, are still in print by Routledge and are held by more than 1,000 universities and public libraries worldwide. Their continued relevance lies in showing how grammar can be used to communicate according to context and social cues, not strict rules.
This concept of a living and evolving language was informed by the principles of systemic functional linguistics theory, of which the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology (UWIST), in Cardiff, was an important centre of research. David had taken up a lectureship there, in the department of English and liberal studies, in the mid-60s, and this was his academic home thereafter.
The amalgamation of UWIST into Cardiff University in 1988 provided David with the opportunity to retire early, in his 50s. He enjoyed a very long retirement in the town of Usk, Monmouthshire, where he was a stalwart member of the Labour party and well known in the community, joining many local and regional cultural institutions and clubs.
David was born in Birmingham, to Constance (nee Jesper) and Harold Young, who both worked for the Tangye engineering firm; he was brought up by his mother and aunt after his father died of tuberculosis.
As a child during the second world war, David was evacuated out of the city to Sibford school in the Cotswolds, a Quaker institution. David was agnostic but his Quaker heritage and its communal ethos of calm reflection never left him. David introduced a fellow pupil, Marjorie, to his brother, John, and they eventually married. Following Sibford, David took an English degree at Birmingham University and then an MPhil in philology at Oxford.
His affinity for Sweden started in the 60s when he studied and taught at Uppsala University; the friends he made there resulted in a decades-long cultural exchange and personal friendships. He had a pair of cross-country skis, but the mild climate of south Wales provided little opportunity to repeat snowy outings in the Swedish forests.
David loved Wales, and expressed this through membership of the Cambrian Society, dedicated to Welsh heritage and archaeology, as well as his rambling club and enthusiasm for landscape painting; he was especially adept with watercolours. His closest friends and family remember spending summer days with him at a cottage on the cliffs of the Gower, his harpsichord recitals and fiercely competitive games of Scrabble.
David never married or had children but was very sociable, and was a supportive mentor to younger generations. His New Year’s Day lunch parties were memorable and he celebrated his 90th birthday with no fewer than three parties.
John predeceased him in 2016 and his niece, Jenifer (my mother), died earlier this year. He is survived by his nephew, Christopher, by me and his great-nieces, Emma and Rachel, and four great-great nieces and nephews.
