I am Robert Beard, PhD in Linguistics from the University of Michigan, retired professor of Russian and Linguistics at Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. I taught Russian and linguistics courses at Bucknell for 35 years while developing a unique theory of words called the "Lexeme-Morpheme Base Hypothesis" (LMBM).

LMBM is actually a theory for which substantial evidence exists. It comprises three (sub)hypotheses: (1) The Separation Hypothesis, that the semantic derivation of new words and their affixation are two discrete processes, (2) The Unified Grammatical Function Hypothesis, that all languages draw from the same set of universal grammatical functions involved in the semantic derivation of words and in inflectional relations, and (3)The Base Rule Hypothesis, that these functions are part of a base component of grammar upon which all other component operate. The theory is briefly outlined on my Bucknell website.

Since retirement I founded yourDictionary.com with two partners then, in 2004, I started my own website, alphaDictionary where I share my insights into language with the world free of charge. I send out a daily "Good Word" to 25,000 subscribers--many of which I have been in correspondence with for 6-10 years. I also have a blog.

I have lived in the same house in Lewisburg since 1965. The house was standing where it stands today in 1847 though we do not know the exact date when it was built. My wife is a retired potter and my two sons live in Colorado. One is a software architect in Boulder; the other a regular architect in Denver.