List of linguists

A linguist in the academic sense is a person who studies natural language (an academic discipline known as linguistics). Ambiguously, the word is sometimes also used to refer to a polyglot (one who knows several languages), or a grammarian (a scholar of grammar), but these two uses of the word are distinct (and one does not have to be a polyglot in order to be an academic linguist).^[1] The following is a list of notable linguists in the academic sense.

A[edit]

Abbott, Barbara (United States, 1943–), pragmatics, semantics
Abel, Carl (Germany, 1837–1906), comparative lexicography
Abdul Haq, Maulvi (India, 1870–1961), Urdu language
Abrams, Lise (United States), psycholinguistics
Abramson, Arthur S. (United States, 1925–2017), phonetics
Adamou, Evangelia (France), language contact
Adams, Douglas Q. (United States), English language, comparative linguistics, Tocharian language
Adler, George J. (Germany/United States, 1821–1868), lexicography, German language, English language
Aijmer, Karin (Sweden, 1939–), pragmatics, semantics
Aikhenvald, Alexandra Yurievna (Russia, 1957–), syntax, typology, Amazonian languages, Papuan languages, Hebrew language, Russian language
Aitken, Adam Jack (UK, 1921–1998), lexicography
Ajduković, Jovan (Serbia, 1968–), Slavic languages, sociolinguistics, contact linguistics, Russian language, Serbian language
Albright, William Foxwell (United States, 1891–1971), Semitic languages
Alexiadou, Artemis (1969–), Greek language, syntax
Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi (Oman, 718–786 CE), Arabic prosody
Al-Kisa'i (Iraq, d. 804), Arabic grammar
Allan, Keith (Australia, 1943–), semantics
Allen, Shanley (1964–), psycholinguistics, Inuktitut
Alleyne, Mervyn Coleridge (Trinidad and Tobago/Jamaica, 1933–2016), creole language
Ameka, Felix (Ghana, Australia, Netherlands, 1957–), pragmatics, semantics
Amerias (Greece, 3rd century BC), Ancient Macedonian language, lexicography
Anagnostopoulou, Elena (1967–), Greek language, theoretical linguistics
Anderson, Gregory D.S. (United States), Munda languages
Anderson, Stephen (United States, 1943–), morphology and history of linguistics
Aoun, Joseph (Lebanon/United States, 1953–), Arabic language, syntax
Aquilina, Joseph (Malta, 1911–1997), Maltese language
Ariel, Mira (Israel), Accessibility Theory, pragmatics
Arisaka Hideyo (Japan, 1908–1952), Japanese language
Aristar, Anthony (South Africa/United States, 1948–), linguistic infrastructure
Armstrong, Lilias (UK, 1882–1937), phonetics
Aronoff, Mark (Canada, 1949–), morphology
Ascoli, Graziadio Isaia (Italy, 1829–1907), substrata, Ladin language
Austin, John Langshaw (UK, 1911–1960), philosophy of language, speech act
Awobuluyi, Oladele (Nigeria, 1937–), African languages
Ayres-Bennett, Wendy (UK), history of French and history of linguistic thought
Azad, Humayun (Bangladesh, 1947–2004), Bengali language
Al-Harbi, Abdul Aziz (Saudi Arabia, 1965–)
Al-Mubarrad (Basra, c. 826–c. 898)

B[edit]

Babiniotis, Georgios (Greece, 1939–), Greek language
Babych, Nadiya (Ukraine, 1943–2021), phraseology
Bach, Emmon (United States, 1929–2014), syntax, phonology, Haisla language
Baker, Mark (United States, 1959–), Mohawk language, generative grammar
Bally, Charles (Switzerland, 1865–1947), French language, phraseology
Bardovi-Harlig, Kathleen (United States, 1954–), second-language acquisition, tense and aspect, pragmatics
Bar-Hillel, Yehoshua (Israel, 1915–1975), machine translation, categorial grammar
Barker, (Philip) Muhammad Abd-al-Rahman (United States, 1930–2012), Urdu language, Indian languages
Barlow, Robert Hayward (United States, 1918–1951), Nahuatl language
Barnhart, David K. (United States, 1941–), lexicography, English language
Barnhart, Robert (United States, 1933–2007), lexicography, English language
Barsky, Robert (Canada), discourse analysis
Barthes, Roland (France, 1915–1980)
Bartlett, John Russell (United States, 1805–1886)
Basbøll, Hans (Denmark, 1943–), phonology, Danish
Baudouin de Courtenay, Jan Niecisław (Poland, 1845–1929), phonology, Polish language
Bauer, Robert Stuart (United States, 1946–), syntax, phonology, Sino-Tibetan languages (especially Cantonese)
Baugh, John (United States, 1949–), sociolinguistics, linguistic profiling, forensic linguistics
Beckman, Mary E. (United States, 1953–), phonetics, phonology
Beckwith, Christopher (United States, 1945–), Asian languages, Tibetan language
Beddor, Patrice (United States), Phonetics, speech perception
Bedirxan, Celadet Alî (Syria , 1893–1951) Kurdish language
Beeken, Jeannine (Belgium, 1961–), lexicography, syntax, Dutch language
Bello, Andrés (Venezuela, 1781–1865), Spanish language, philology
Bellugi, Ursula (United States, 1931–2022), sign language, neurolinguistics
Ben-Yehuda, Eliezer (Israel, 1858–1922), lexicography, Revival of the Hebrew language
Bender, M. Lionel (United States, 1934–2008), African languages
Benedict, Paul K. (United States, 1912–1977), Sino-Tibetan languages, Tai–Kadai languages, historical linguistics
Benveniste, Émile (France, 1902–1976)
Berez-Kroeker, Andrea L. (United States, 1972–), language documentation
Berlitz, Charles Frambach (United States, 1914–2003), language acquisition
Berlitz, Maximilian Delphinius (United States, 1852–1921), language acquisition
Bhartrihari (India, 450–510), Sanskrit
Bickel, Balthasar (Switzerland, 1965–), language typology, Kiranti languages
Bickerton, Derek (United States, 1926–2018), creole languages, origin of language
Bleek, Wilhelm Heinrich Immanuel (Germany, 1827–1875), languages of Africa
Bloch, Bernard (United States, 1907–1965), Japanese language
Bloch, Jules (France, 1880–1953), languages of India
Bloomfield, Leonard (United States, 1887–1949), structural linguistics
Blust, Robert (United States, 1940–2022), Austronesian languages
Boas, Franz (United States, 1858–1942), indigenous languages of the Americas
Bœck, Égide de (Belgium, Belgish Congo, 1875–1944), Bangala language, Lingala
Boersma, Paul (Netherlands, 1959–), phonetics
Boiagi, Mihail G. (Habsburg monarchy, 1780–uncertain), Aromanian grammar
Bohn, Ocke-Schwen (Germany, 1953–), phonetics, second-language acquisition
Bolinger, Dwight Le Merton (United States, 1907–1992), semantics, Spanish language
Bomhard, Allan R. (United States, 1943–), Nostratic languages, historical linguistics
Bopp, Franz (Germany, 1791–1867), Indo-European languages, comparative linguistics
Boyd, Julian Charles (United States, 1931–2005), English language
Bowerman, Melissa (1942–2011), psycholinguistics, language acquisition
Bowern, Claire, historical linguistics
Bresnan, Joan (United States, 1945–), syntax
Bright, William (United States, 1928–2006), Native American languages, South Asian languages
Brinton, Laurel J. (Canada, 1953–), grammaticalization, discourse markers
Brody, Michael (Hungary, 1954–), syntax
Broselow, Ellen (United States, 1949–), second language acquisition, phonology
Browman, Catherine (United States, 1945–2008), phonetics, phonology
Brugmann, Karl (Germany, 1849–1919), Indo-European languages, Sanskrit, comparative linguistics
Bucholtz, Mary (United States, 1966–), sociolinguistics
Burgess, Anthony (UK, 1917–1993), English language, phonetics
Burling, Robbins (United States, 1926–2021), languages of India
Burridge, Kate (Australia), Germanic languages
Butt, Miriam (Germany, 1966–), syntax, South Asian languages
Butzkamm, Wolfgang (Germany, 1938–), applied linguistics, English language
Byington, Cyrus (United States, 1793–1868), translated English religious text into Choctaw language
Badawi, El-Said (Egypt, 1929–2014), Arabic

C[edit]

Campbell, Lyle (United States, 1942–), Native American languages
Canger, Una (Denmark, 1938–), Mesoamerican languages
Canonge, Elliott D. (United States, 1921–1971), Comanche, Inuit
Capell, Arthur (Australia, 1902–1986), Australian languages, Austronesian languages, Papuan languages
Cardona, George (United States, 1936–), Indo-European studies
Carnap, Rudolf (Germany, 1891–1970), syntax, constructed languages
Carnie, Andrew (Canada, 1969–), syntax
Caro Baroja, Julio (1914–1995), Basque language
Caro, Miguel A. (Colombia, 1843–1909), Spanish language, Colombian Spanish
Carpenter, William Henry (United States, 1853–1936), Icelandic language
Cart, Théophile (France, 1855–1931), Esperanto
Carter, Hazel (UK, 1928–2016), Bantu languages
Catford, J. C. (UK, 1917–2009), phonetics
Chadwick, John (UK, 1920–1998), Linear B
Chafik, Mohamed (Morocco, 1926–), writer and specialist in the Berber or Amazigh languages, dialects, and literature
Chafe, Wallace (United States, 1927–2019), cognitive linguistics, semantics
Chao Yuen Ren (PR China, 1892–1982), Chinese language
Chakrabarti, Byomkes (India, 1923–1981), Santali language, Bengali language, comparative linguistics
Champollion, Jean-François (France, 1790–1832), Egyptian hieroglyphs
Chambers, Jack (Canada, 1938–), sociolinguistics
Chatterji, Suniti Kumar (India, 1890–1977), Bengali language
Chelliah, Shobhana, Tibeto-Burman languages
Chierchia, Gennaro (Italy, 1953–), semantics, pragmatics
Choijinzhab (PR China, 1931–2022), Mongolian language
Chomsky, Noam (United States, 1928–), syntax, universal grammar
Choueiri, Lina (Lebanon), syntax, Lebanese Arabic
Chyet, Michael L. (United States, 1957–), Kurdish language
Clark, Eve V. (UK/United States, 1942–), psycholinguistics, language acquisition
Clyne, Michael George (Australia, 1939–2010), Germanic languages
Cohen, Paul S. (United States), 1942–), phonology, etymology
Cohen, Maurice Abraham (Australia), 1851–1923), Urdu
Collitz, Hermann (Germany/United States, 1855–1935), historical linguistics
Comrie, Bernard (UK, 1947–), typology
Cook, Guy (UK, 1951–), applied linguistics
Cook, Vivian (UK, 1940–2021), applied linguistics
Corder, Stephen Pit (UK, 1918–1990), applied linguistics
Coşeriu, Eugen (Romania/Germany, 1921–2002), Romance languages
Couper-Kuhlen, Elizabeth (1943–), interactional linguistics
Cowgill, Warren (United States, 1929–1985), Indo-European studies
Cowper, Elizabeth (Canada, 1952–), syntax
Creissels, Denis (France, 1943–), syntax, phonology, Niger–Congo languages, Nakh-Daghestanian languages
Croft, William (United States, 1956–), syntax, cognitive linguistics
Crystal, David (UK, 1941–), English language, language death, applied linguistics
Cuervo, Rufino José (Colombia, 1844–1911), Spanish language, Colombian Spanish
Culicover, Peter W. (United States), syntax, language change
Culioli, Antoine (France, 1924–2018), general linguistics
Cumakunova, Gülzura (Kyrgyzstan, 1954–), Turkic languages
Curme, George Oliver, Sr. (United States, 1860–1948), German language, English language
Curzan, Anne (United States), English language, Descriptivism, Prescriptivism, lexicography
Calvet, Louis-Jean (France, 1942-), Sociolinguistique

D[edit]

Dal, Vladimir (Russia, 1801–1872), lexicography, Russian language
Dahl, Östen (Sweden, 1945–), tense and aspect in linguistic typology
Darzi, Ali (Iran, 1959–), generative syntax, minimalist program
Das, Khudiram (India, 1916–2002), Bengali and Santali language
Dani, Ahmad Hasan (Pakistan, 1920–2009), South Asian languages
Daniels, Peter T. (United States, 1951–), writing systems
Davies, Shaun (Australia), Yugambeh language
Dayal, Veneeta (United States, 1956–), semantics, syntax
Deacon, Terrence (United States, 1950–), language change, origin of language, cognitive linguistics
Dehkhoda, Ali-Akbar (Iran, 1879–1959), lexicography, Persian language
De Houwer, Annick (Belgium, 1958–), early child bilingualism
Delbrück, Berthold (Germany, 1842–1922), Indo-European languages, syntax, comparative linguistics
DeLancey, Scott (United States, 1949–), Tibeto-Burman languages, linguistic typology, historical linguistics
Dempwolff, Otto (Germany, 1871–1938), Austronesian languages
Diderichsen, Paul (Denmark, 1905–1964), Danish
Diffloth, Gérard (United States, 1939–2023), Mon–Khmer languages
van Dijk, Teun Adrianus (Netherlands, 1943–), pragmatics, discourse analysis, text linguistics
Dik, Simon (the Netherlands, 1940–1995) Functional Grammar, theoretical linguistics
Dixon, Robert Malcolm Ward (Australia, 1939–), syntax, typology, Australian languages, Amazonian languages
Dobrovský, Josef (Czech Republic, 1753–1829), Slavic languages, Czech language, lexicography
Dobson, Veronica Perrule (Australia, 1944–), Arrernte language
Doke, Clement Martyn (South Africa, 1893–1980), Bantu languages, Lamba language
Dolgopolsky, Aharon (Russia/Israel, 1930–2012), Nostratic languages
Dorian, Nancy (United States, 1936–), language death, Scottish Gaelic
Dougherty, Ray C. (United States, 1940–), transformational grammar, computational linguistics
Dowty, David (United States, 1945–), semantics, syntax
Dozier, Edward P. (United States, 1916–1971), Native American languages, languages of the Philippines
Dressler, Wolfgang U. (Austria, 1939–), phonology, morphology, text linguistics
van Driem, George (Netherlands, 1957–), Tibeto-Burman languages, symbiosism, Dzongkha language
Dryer, Matthew (United States), typology, syntax, language documentation
Duden, Konrad (Germany, 1829–1911), lexicography, German language
Dunn, John Asher (United States,1939–2017), Tsimshian language
Dušková, Libuše (Czech Republic, 1930–), English language, functional linguistics

E[edit]

Eckert, Penelope (United States, 1942–), sociolinguistics, language and gender
Edmondson, Jerold A. (United States, 1941–2023), Tai–Kadai languages, languages of Southeast Asia
Edwards, Jonathan, Jr. (United States, 1745–1801), North American languages, historical linguistics, Mohegan language
Ehret, Christopher (United States, 1941–), languages of Africa, historical linguistics
Elbert, Samuel Hoyt (United States, 1907–1997), Polynesian languages of Hawaiʻi and Rennell and Bellona, Puluwatese language
Elgin, Suzette Haden (United States, 1936–2015), constructed languages, transformational grammar
Ellis, Rod (UK), second-language acquisition
Elman, Jeffrey L. (United States, 1948–2018), language processing, neurolinguistics
Emeneau, Murray Barnson (United States, 1904–2005), Dravidian languages, linguist areas
Emre, Ahmet Cevat (Turkey, 1876–1961), Member of the Turkish Language Association, Turkish alphabet
Engberg-Pedersen, Elisabeth (Denmark, 1952–), semantics, Danish Sign Language
Epps, Patience L., Amazonian languages, language documentation
Erdal, Marcel (Turkey, 1945–), Turkic languages
Esenç, Tevfik (Turkey, 1904–1992), Ubykh language
Esling, John (Canada, 1939–), phonetics
Evans, Nicholas (Australia, 1956–), Indigenous Australian languages, Papuan languages, typology
Evans, Vyvyan (UK, 1968–), cognitive linguistics, digital communication, and emoji
Even-Shoshan, Avraham (Belarus/Israel, 1906–1984), Hebrew language, lexicography
Everett, Daniel Leonard (United States, 1951–), languages of Brazil, Pirahã language
Everson, Michael (United States/Ireland, 1963–), writing systems, historical linguistics

F[edit]

Fairuzabadi (Iran, 1329–1414), lexicography, Arabic grammar
Fierz-David, Linda (Germany, 1891–1955), philology
Fillmore, Charles J. (United States, 1929–2014), syntax, lexical semantics, cognitive linguistics, lexicography
Firbas, Jan (Czech Republic, 1921–2000), English language, functional linguistics
Firth, John Rupert (UK, 1890–1960), phonetics, phonology, prosody
Fischer-Jørgensen, Eli (Denmark 1911–2010), phonetics, phonology, Danish language
Fishman, Joshua (United States, 1926–2015), sociology of language
Fiske, Willard (United States, 1831–1904), Northern European languages, Icelandic language
Fodor, Janet Dean (United States, 1942–2023), psycholinguistics, semantics, syntax
Fodor, Jerry Alan (United States, 1935–2017), psycholinguistics, language of thought
Foley, William A. (Australia, 1949–), Papuan languages, Austronesian languages
Ford, Jeremiah Denis Mathias (United States, 1873–1958), Spanish language
Fowler, Carol A. (United States), phonetics, phonology
François, Alexandre (France), Austronesian languages, historical linguistics, language contact
Freiman, Aleksandr Arnoldovich (Poland/Russia, 1879–1968), Iranian languages
French, David Heath (United States, 1918–1994), Native American languages
Friedrich, Johannes (Germany, 1893–1972), Hittite language
Fromkin, Victoria (United States, 1923–2000), theoretical linguistics, constructed languages
Fujitani Nariakira (Japan, 1738–1779), Japanese language

G[edit]

Galloway, Brent D. (United States, 1944–2014), Amerindian languages, Halkomelem language
Gamkrelidze, Thomas V. (Georgia, 1929–2021), Indo-European studies, Georgian language
Gans, Eric (United States, 1941–), origin of language
Garnier, Romain (France, 1976–), Indo-European linguistics
Gazdar, Gerald (UK, 1950–), computational linguistics, syntax, semantics
Gebauer, Jan (Czech Republic, 1838–1907), Czech language
Geeraerts, Dirk (Belgium, 1955–), semantics, lexicography
van Geert, Paul (Netherlands, 1950–), second language development
Giles, Howard (Wales/United States, 1946–), sociolinguistics
Givón, Talmy (Israel/United States, 1936–), syntax, semantics, pragmatics, typology, functionalism
Giegerich, Heinz (Germany/UK, 1952–), English language, phonology
Gleason, Jean Berko (United States, 1931–), psycholinguistics, language acquisition
Goatly, Andrew (UK), English language, Chinese language
Goddard, Cliff (Australia, 1953–), semantics, pragmatics
Goddard, R.H. Ives, III (United States, 1941–), Algonquian languages, historical linguistics
Gode, Alexander (Germany/United States, 1906–1970), constructed languages, Germanic languages
Goldberg, Adele (United States, 1963–), syntax, psycholinguistics
Goldsmith, John Anton (United States, 1951–), phonology, computational linguistics
Goldstein, Louis M. (United States), phonetics, phonology
Gong Hwang-cherng (Republic of China, 1934–2010), Sino-Tibetan languages, Old Chinese, Tangut language
Gordon, Cyrus Herzl (United States, 1908–2001), ancient languages, cuneiform script
Gramsci, Antonio (Italy, 1891–1937), Italian language
Gray, Louis Herbert (United States, 1875–1955), Indo-Iranian languages, phonology
Green, Lisa (United States), syntax of African American English
Greenberg, Joseph Harold (United States, 1915–2001), typology, language universals, languages of Africa
Grice, (Herbert) Paul (UK/United States, 1913–1988), pragmatics
Grierson, George Abraham (Ireland, 1851–1941), languages of India
Gries, Stefan Th. (Germany/United States, 1970–), corpus linguistics, computational linguistics, cognitive linguistics, construction grammar
Grimm, Jakob Ludwig Carl (Germany, 1785–1863), historical linguistics, comparative linguistics, German language
Grinder, John Thomas (United States, 1940–), neurolinguistics
Grosz, Barbara J. (United States, 1948– ), natural language processing, computational modeling of discourse
Groupe µ (Belgium, 1967–), rhetorics, semiotics
Grube, Wilhelm (Germany, 1855–1908), Tungusic languages, Nivkh language, Jurchen language
Grønnum, Nina (Denmark, 1945–), intonation of Danish
Gumperz, John Joseph (United States, 1922–2013), sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, linguistic anthropology
Gutiérrez Eskildsen, Rosario María (Mexico, 1899–1979), Spanish language, dialectology
Guy, Gregory (United States, 1950–), sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, phonetics, phonology
Guthrie, Malcolm (Britain, 1903–1972), Bantu languages
Gygax, Pascal (Swiss, 1974–), inclusive language in French

H[edit]

Haarmann, Harald (Germany, 1946–), evolutionary linguistics, language contact
Haas, Mary Rosamund (United States, 1910–1996), Native American languages, Thai language, historical linguistics
Haase, Martin (Germany, 1962–), Romance languages
Hagberg, Carl August (Sweden, 1810–1864), Scandinavian languages
Hajič, Jan (Czech Republic), computational linguistics
Hajičová, Eva (Czech Republic, 1935–), corpus linguistics
Hale, Kenneth Locke (United States, 1934–2001), syntax, phonology
Hall, Kira (United States, 1962–), sociocultural linguistics
Hall, Robert A., Jr. (United States, 1911–1997), Romance languages, Pidgins and Creoles
Halle, Morris (Latvia/United States, 1923–2018), phonology, morphology
Halliday, Michael Alexander Kirkwood (UK/Australia, 1925–2018), systemic functional grammar, ecolinguistics, applied linguistics
Hammarström, Harald (Sweden, 1977–), computational linguistics, historical linguistics, linguistic typology
Hammond, Michael (United States, 1957–), phonology, computational linguistics, syntax
Hamp, Eric P. (United States, 1920–2019), Indo-European languages, Native American languages
Hanzeli, Victor (United States, 1925–1991), Romance languages
Haq, Mehr Abdul (Pakistan, 1915–1995), Saraiki language
Harder, Peter (Denmark, 1950–), English language, functional linguistics
Harkavy, Alexander (Belarus/United States, 1863–1939), Yiddish language, lexicography
Harley, Heidi B. (United States, 1969–), distributed morphology, syntax
Harrington, John Peabody (United States, 1884–1961), Native American languages, phonetics
Harris, Roy (UK, 1931–2015), semiology, integrationism
Harris, Zellig Sabbetai (Ukraine/United States, 1909–1992), structural linguistics, discourse analysis, Semitic languages
Harrison, K. David (United States, 1966–), phonology, endangered languages, language extinction
Hartmann, Reinhard Rudolf Karl (Austria/UK, 1938–), lexicography, contrastive linguistics
Hasan, Ruqaiya (India/Australia, 1931–2015), systemic functional grammar, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics
Hashimoto Mantarō (Japan, 1932–1987), Japanese language
Hashimoto Shinkichi (Japan, 1882–1945), Old Japanese language, Japanese language
Haspelmath, Martin (Germany, 1963–), typology, language change, language contact, Lezgian language
Haugen, Einar Ingvald (United States, 1906– 1994), sociolinguistics, Old Norse
Hawkins, John A. (UK), psycholinguistics, historical linguistics
Hayakawa, Samuel Ichiye (Canada/United States, 1906–1992), semantics
Hayes, Bruce (United States, 1955–), phonology
Hays, David Glenn (United States, 1928–1995), computational linguistics, machine translation, dependency grammar, corpus linguistics, natural language processing, cognitive science
Heath, Jeffrey (United States, 1949–), historical linguistics, morphology, linguistic anthropology
Heim, Irene Roswitha (Germany/United States, 1954–), semantics
Heine, Bernd (Germany, 1939–), languages of Africa, sociolinguistics, language contact
Hepburn, James Curtis (United States, 1815–1911), Japanese language, lexicography
Herbert, Robert Knox (United States, 1952–2007), phonology, languages of Africa, sociolinguistics
Hetzron, Robert (Hungary/United States, 1937–1997), Afro-Asiatic languages
Hewitt, John Napoleon Brinton (United States, 1859–1937), Iroquoian languages
Hjelmslev, Louis (Denmark, 1899–1965), comparative linguistics, semantics
Hobbs, Jerry R. (United States, 1942–), computational linguistics, discourse analysis, syntax, semantics
Hock, Hans Henrich (Germany/United States, 1938–), historical linguistics, comparative linguistics, Sanskrit
Hockett, Charles Francis (United States, 1916–2000), phonology, morphology
Hoey, Michael (UK, 1948–2021), lexical priming, textual interaction, corpus linguistics
Hoff, Erika (United States, 1951—), Psycholinguistics
Hoffmann, John-Baptist (Germany, 1857–1928), Mundari language
Hogg, Richard M. (UK, 1944–2007), phonology, historical linguistics
Hoijer, Harry (United States, 1904–1976), Athabaskan languages, Tonkawa language
Hopper, Paul (UK/United States), historical linguistics, emergent grammar
Hornstein, Norbert (United States), syntax
Hryhorchuk, Lidiia (Ukraine, 1926–2018), Ukrainian language
Hrozný, Bedřich (Czech Republic, 1879–1952), Hittite language, ancient languages
Huddleston, Rodney D. (UK/Australia, 1937—), English language
Hudson, Richard (UK, 1939–), syntax, word grammar, linguistics in education
von Humboldt, Wilhelm (Germany, 1787–1835), Basque language
Hunston, Susan (UK, 1953–), corpus linguistics, lexical semantics
Hupel, August Wilhelm (Germany/Estonia, 1737–1819), Estonian language, lexicography
Hurford, James R. (UK, United States, 1941–), phonetics, semantics, grammar, computational linguistics, evolutionary linguistics
Husain Khan, Masud (India, 1919–2010), Urdu language, phonetics, stylistics, linguistic description
Hyman, Larry M. (United States, 1947–), phonology, languages of Africa
Hymes, Dell Hathaway (United States, 1927–2009), sociolinguistics, Kathlamet language

I[edit]

Ibn Sidah (Andalusia, c. 1007–1066)
Ibn Manzur (c. 1233–1311/1312)
Ibn Jinni (c. 932–1002)
Illich-Svitych, Vladislav Markovich (Ukraine/Russia, 1934–1966), comparative linguistics, Nostratic languages
Ivanov, Aleksei Ivanovich (Russia, 1878–1937), Chinese language, Tangut language
Ivanov, Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich (Russia, 1929–2017), Indo-European studies
Ivić, Pavle (Serbia, 1924–1999), South Slavic languages, phonology, Serbo-Croatian language

J[edit]

Jackendoff, Ray (United States, 1945–), syntax, lexical semantics
Jackson, Abraham Valentine Williams (United States, 1862—1937), Indo-Iranian languages, Avestan language
Jackson, Kenneth Hurlstone (UK, 1909—1991), Brythonic languages, Gaelic languages
Jacobsen, Lis (1882–1961), Danish and Nordic languages
Jacques, Guillaume (France, 1979—), Old Chinese, Rgyalrongic languages, Tangut language
Jagić, Vatroslav (Croatia, 1838—1923), Croatian language, Slavic languages
Jakobson, Roman Osipovich (Russia/Czech Republic/United States, 1896—1982), structuralism, phonology
Jarring, Gunnar (Sweden, 1907—2002), Turkic languages
Jasanoff, Jay (United States, 1942–), Indo-European linguistics
Jaszczolt, Katarzyna (UK, 1963—), semantics, pragmatics, philosophy of language
Jaunius, Kazimieras (Lithuania, 1848—1908), Lithuanian language, comparative linguistics
Jendraschek, Gerd (Germany), Basque language, Turkish language, Iatmul language
Jensen, Eva Skafte (Denmark, 1966—), Danish language
Jespersen, Otto (Denmark, 1860—1943), English language, phonetics, constructed languages
Johnson, David E. (United States, 1946–), syntax
Jones, Daniel (UK, 1881—1967), phonetics
Jones, Sir William (UK, 1746—1794), Indo-European studies, Sanskrit, comparative linguistics
Joshi, Aravind Krishana (India/United States, 1929–2017), computational linguistics
Junast (PR China, 1934–2010), Mongolian language, Monguor language, Eastern Yugur language, Phags-pa script
Jurafsky, Daniel (United States, 1962—), computational linguistics

K[edit]

Kaplan, Ronald M. (United States, 1946—), computational linguistics
Karadžić, Vuk Stefanović (Serbia, 1787—1864), Serbian language, lexicography
Kari, James (United States), Native American languages
Kasravi, Ahmad (Iran, 1890—1946), ancient languages, Iranian languages
Katz, Jerrold J. (United States, 1932—2002), semantics, generative grammar
Kaufman, Terrence (United States, 1937—2022), historical linguistics, contact linguistics, Mesoamerican languages
Kay, Martin (UK, United States, 1935–2021), computational linguistics
Kay, Paul (United States, 1934—), construction grammar
Kayne, Richard S. (United States, 1944—), syntax, transformational grammar
Kazama Kiyozō (Japan, 1928–), Japanese language
Keating, Patricia (United States, 1952—), phonetics
Kellogg, Samuel H. (United States, 1839–1899), Hindi language
Kenyon, John Samuel (United States, 1874—1959), English language, lexicography, phonology
Keyser, Samuel Jay (United States, 1935–), phonology, English language
Kiesling, Scott Fabius (United States), sociolinguistics
Kindaichi Haruhiko (Japan, 1913–2004), Japanese language
Kindaichi Kyōsuke (Japan, 1882–1971), Ainu language
Kinkade, M. Dale (United States, 1933—2004), Salishan languages
Kiparsky, Paul (Finland/United States, 1941–), phonology, morphology
Kirby, Simon (UK), computational linguistics, evolutionary linguistics
Klima, Edward (United States, 1931—2008), sign language
Klinkenberg, Jean-Marie (Belgium, 1944–), rhetorics, semiotics, stylistics
Kloekhorst, Alwin (Netherlands, 1978–), Anatolian languages
Knechtges, David R. (United States, 1942–), East Asian languages, Chinese language
Knorozov, Yuri Valentinovich (Russia, 1922—1999), Maya hieroglyphics, writing systems
Kober, Alice (UK/United States, 1906—1950), Linear B
Komárek, Miroslav (Czechia, 1924–2013), Czech language, morphology, phonology
Kordić, Snježana (Croatia, 1964–), Serbo-Croatian language, syntax, sociolinguistics
Kornai András (Hungary/United States, 1957–), mathematical linguistics, phonology, morphology, Hungarian language, syntax
Kornfilt, Jaklin, theoretical linguistics, syntax, morphology, Turkic languages, Germanic languages
Korsakov, Andrey Konstantinovich (Russia/Ukraine, 1916—2007), Germanic languages, English language, morphology, syntax
Korzybski, Alfred Habdank Skarbek (Poland/United States, 1879—1950), general semantics
Koster, Jan (Netherlands, 1945–), generative grammar
Krahe, Hans (Germany, 1898—1965), Indo-European languages, Illyrian language
Krashen, Stephen (United States, 1941–), second-language acquisition
Kratzer, Angelika (United States/Germany), semantics
Krauss, Michael E. (United States, 1941–2019), Native American languages
Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (India, 1929–2012), Dravidian languages
Kroeber, Alfred Louis (United States, 1876—1960), Native American languages
Kučera, Henry (Czech Republic/United States, 1925–2010), computational linguistics
Kuno Susumu (Japan/United States, 1933–), Dravidian languages, Japanese language, syntax
Kurath, Hans (Austria/United States, 1891—1992), English language, lexicography, dialectology
Kuroda Shigeyuki (Japan, 1934–2009), Japanese language
Kuryłowicz, Jerzy (Poland, 1895—1978), Indo-European languages, syntax, morphology
Kvergić, Hermann Feodor (Slovakia, 1895–sometime after 1948), Turkish language
Kychanov, Evgenij Ivanovich (Russia, 1932–2013), Tangut language

L[edit]

Labov, William (United States, 1927–), sociolinguistics, phonology, English language
Lado, Robert (United States, 1915–1995), applied linguistics, contrastive analysis
Ladefoged, Peter Nielsen (UK/United States, 1925–2006), phonetics, endangered languages
Laird, Charlton (United States, 1901–1984), lexicography, English language
Lakoff, George P. (United States, 1941–), cognitive linguistics, transformational grammar, generative semantics, syntax
Lakoff, Robin Tolmach (United States, 1942–), sociolinguistics
Lamb, Sydney MacDonald (United States, 1929–), stratificational grammar, Native American languages, historical linguistics, computational linguistics
Lambdin, Thomas Oden (United States, 1927–2020), Semitic languages, Egyptian language
Lane, Harlan (United States, 1936–2019), speech, Deaf culture, sign language
Langacker, Ronald W. (United States, 1942–), cognitive linguistics
Langdon, Margaret (United States, 1926–2005), Native American languages
LaPolla, Randy J. (United States), morpho-syntax, Chinese, Qiang, Rawang
Lasersohn, Peter (United States), semantics
Lasnik, Howard (United States, 1945–), syntax
Laycock, Donald (Australia, 1936–1988), languages of Papua New Guinea
Lee, Joan H. (Canada, 1981–), text messaging
Leech, Geoffrey (UK, 1936–2014), applied linguistics, English language
Lees, Robert (United States, 1922–1996), machine translation
Lehiste, Ilse (United States, 1922–2010), phonetics, Estonian language, Serbo-Croatian, phonology
Lehmann, Winfred P. (United States, 1916– 2007), historical linguistics, Proto-Indo-European language
Leonard, Robert A. (United States), Forensic linguistics
Lepsius, Karl Richard (Germany, 1810– 1884), Egyptian language, Nubian languages, phonology
Leslau, Wolf (Polish-born American, 1906–2006), Semitic languages, Languages of Ethiopia
Leskien, August (Germany, 1840–1916), comparative linguistics, Baltic languages, Slavic languages
Levin, Beth (United States, 1955–), semantics
Levinson, Stephen C. (UK/Netherlands, 1947–), pragmatics
Levstik, Fran (Slovenia, 1831–1881), Slovene language
Li Fanwen (PR China, 1932–), Tangut language
Li, Fang-Kuei (PR China/United States, 1902–1987), Mattole language, Tai languages, Old Chinese, Tibetan language
Li, Paul Jen-kuei (Taiwan, 1936–), Formosan languages, Austronesian languages, historical linguistics, lexicography
Liberman, Alvin Meyer (United States, 1917–2000), speech perception, phonology
Liberman, Anatoly (Russia/United States, 1937–), etymology, Germanic languages
Liberman, Mark (United States), phonetics, prosody
Lieber, Rochelle (United States, 1954–), morphology, syntax, lexical semantics
Lieberman, Philip (United States, 1934–2022), phonetics, language evolution
Lillo-Martin, Diane (United States), signed languages
Lisker, Leigh (United States, 1918–2006), phonetics, Dravidian languages
Local, John (UK, 1947–), phonetics, phonology, conversation analysis
Lounsbury, Floyd Glenn (United States, 1914–1998), Native American languages, Mayan languages
Lowman, Guy Sumner, Jr. (United States, 1909–1941), phonetics
Ludlow, Peter (United States, 1957–), syntax, semantics
Lukoff, Fred (United States, 1920–2000), Korean language, phonology
Lunde, Ken (United States, 1965–), East Asian languages
Lynch, John (Australia, 1946–2021), Austronesian languages, historical linguistics

M[edit]

Maclovitch, Elliott (Canada), linguist, machine translation
MacWhinney, Brian (United States, 1945–), language acquisition, second-language acquisition, corpus linguistics
Maddieson, Ian (United States, 1942–), phonetics
Fray Francisco Maldonado (1571– c. 1640), Guatemalan Franciscan linguist and historian
Manzini, Rita (Italy), generative syntax, Romance languages
Malkiel, Yakov (United States, 1914–1998), etymology, philology
Manaster Ramer, Alexis (United States/Poland, 1956–), phonology, syntax, poetics, etymology
Marantz, Alec (United States, 1959–), distributed morphology
March, Francis Andrew (United States, 1825–1911), comparative linguistics, lexicography, Old English language, English language
Margolis, Max Leopold (Lithuania/United States, 1866–1932), Semitic languages
Marr, Nikolay Yakovlevich (Georgia/Russia, 1865–1934), historical linguistics, comparative linguistics, origin of language
Martin, James (Sydney, Australia, 1950–), genre
Martin, Samuel Elmo (United States, 1924–2009), Korean language, Japanese language
Martinet, André (France, 1908–1999), structuralism, historical linguistics, constructed languages
Martinet, Jeanne (France, 1920–2018), semiotics, constructed languages
Massam, Diane (Canada), syntax, Austronesian languages
Mathesius, Vilém (Czech Republic, 1882– 1945), phonology, syntax, English language, Czech language
Matisoff, James A. (United States, 1937–), Tibeto-Burman languages, phonology
Matthews, Peter Hugoe (UK, 1934–2023), morphology, syntax
Matthews, Stephen (UK/PR China), typology, syntax, semantics, Cantonese language
Mattingly, Ignatius G. (United States, 1927–2004), phonetics, speech synthesis, speech perception
Matveyev, Aleksandr (Russia, 1926–2010), onomastics, etymology
McArthur, Tom (UK, 1938–2020), English language, lexicography
McCarthy, John J. (United States, 1953–), phonology, morphology, optimality theory
McCawley, James D. (UK/United States, 1938–1999), syntax, semantics, phonology
McConnell-Ginet, Sally (United States, 1938–), language of gender and sexuality
McCulloch, Gretchen (Canada), internet linguistics
McCune, George McAfee (North Korea/United States, 1908–1988), Korean language
McNamara, Barbara (United States, 1942–), Chinese language
McGregor, William B. (Australia, 1952–), Australian Aboriginal languages, theoretical linguistics, Shua language
McWhorter, John Hamilton (United States, 1965–), creole languages, Saramaccan language
Meillet, Antoine (France, 1866–1936), Comparative Linguistics, Armenian language, Philology
Meinhof, Carl Friedrich Michael (Germany, 1857–1944), languages of Africa
Melchert, H. Craig (United States, 1945–), Anatolian languages
Michaelis, Laura A. (United States), syntax, English language
Michaud, Alexis (France, 1975–), Phonetics, Tonology, Naish languages, Vietnamese
Miklosich, Franz (Slovenia/Austria, 1813–1891), Slavic languages
Miller, Wick R. (United States, 1932–1994), Keresan languages, Uto-Aztecan languages
Miller, Roy Andrew (United States, 1924–2014), Tibetan language, Japanese language
Mithun, Marianne (United States, 1946–), Native American languages
Mitxelena Elissalt, Koldo (Spain, 1915–1987), Basque language
Miura Tsutomu (Japan, 1911–1989), Japanese language
Miyake, Marc (United States, 1971–), historical linguistics, Old Japanese, Tangut language
Mönkh-Amgalan, Yümjiriin (Mongolia, 1956–), pragmatics, semantics, syntax, Mongolian language, dialectology
Mori Hiromichi (Japan, 1949–), Japanese language
Moskvin, Anatoly (Russia, 1966–), academic and linguist, arrested in 2011 after the bodies of 26 mummified young women were discovered in his home
Motoori Norinaga (Japan, 1730–1801), Japanese language
Motoori Haruniwa (Japan, 1763–1828), Japanese language
Montague, Richard Merett (United States, 1930–1971), semantics, philosophy of language
Moro, Andrea (Italy, 1962–), syntax, copula, expletive, antisymmetry, neurolinguistics
Moser, Edward W. (United States, 1924–1976), Seri language
Mufwene, Salikoko (United States), creole languages, African-American English, language evolution
Mulder, Jean (United States, 1954–), Australian English, Tsimshianic languages
Munro, Pamela (United States, 1947–), Native American languages, lexicography
Murayama Shichirō (Japan, 1908–1995), Japanese language
Murray, James (UK, 1837–1915), lexicography, English language, etymology
Muti’I, Ibrahim (China, 1920–2010), Uyghur language
Myers-Scotton, Carol (United States, 1934–), language contact

N[edit]

Nábělková, Mira (Slovakia, 1956–), lexical semantics, sociolinguistics
Nádasdy Ádám (Hungary, 1947–), phonology, morphophonology
Napoli, Donna Jo (United States, 1948–), syntax, phonetics, phonology, Japanese language
Neeleman, Ad (Netherlands/UK, 1964–), syntax, semantics, phonology, generative grammar
Nelson, Andrew Nathaniel (United States, 1893–1975), Japanese language, lexicography
Nevsky, Nikolai Aleksandrovich (Russia, 1892– 1937), Tangut language
Newman, Paul (United States, 1937-), African languages
Newmeyer, Frederick J. (United States, 1944–), syntax, origin of language
Nichols, Johanna (United States, 1945–), languages of the Caucasus, Chechen language, Ingush language, typology
Niftawayh (Iraq, c. 8585–935), Arabic grammar, lexicography
Nishida Tatsuo (Japan, 1928–2012), Tangut language
Nolan, Francis (UK), phonetics
Noreen, Adolf Gotthard (Sweden, 1854–1925), dialectology, historical linguistics, Germanic languages
Nunberg, Geoffrey (United States, 1945–2020), lexical semantics, English language

O[edit]

Odden, David A. (United States, 1954–), phonology, African linguistics, Bantu languages
Ohala, John (United States, 1941–2020), phonetics, phonology
Okrand, Marc (United States, 1948–), Klingon language, Mutsun language
Ōno Susumu (Japan, 1919–2008), Japanese language, Tamil language
Orešnik, Janez (Slovenia, 1935–), comparative linguistics
Orikuchi Shinobu (Japan, 1887–1953), Japanese language
Orton, Harold (UK, 1898–1975), phonology, dialectology, English dialects
Osthoff, Hermann (Germany, 1847–1909), Indo-European studies, historical linguistics
Ōtsuki Fumihiko (Japan, 1847–1928), Japanese language
Özyürek, Aslı, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics

P[edit]

Pāṇini (India, ca. 520–460 BC), Sanskrit, morphology, descriptive linguistics, generative linguistics
Frank R. Palmer (England, 1922–2019), semantics, English language, Ethiopian languages
Partee, Barbara Hall (United States, 1940–), semantics
Paul, Hermann Otto Theodor (Germany, 1846–1921), lexicography, German language
Pawley, Andrew Kenneth (Australia/New Zealand, 1941), Austronesian languages, Papuan languages, lexicography, phraseology
Peacock, Dmitri Rudolf (Britain, 1842–1892), Kartvelian languages
Pedersen, Holger (Denmark, 1867–1953), Celtic languages, historical linguistics, Nostratic languages
Pedersen, Johannes (Denmark, 1883–1977), Hebrew language
Pei, Mario Andrew (Italy/United States, 1901–1978), Italian language, Indo-European languages
Pesetsky, David Michael (United States, 1957–), transformational grammar
Keith Malcolm Petyt (UK, 1941–), sociolinguistics
Phillipson, Robert (UK/Denmark, 1942–), language policy
Pierrehumbert, Janet (United States, 1954–), phonetics, phonology
Piller, Ingrid (Australia, 1967–), applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, intercultural communication
Pinault, Georges-Jean (France, 1955–), Tokharian, Indo-European linguistics
Pike, Kenneth Lee (United States, 1912–2000), English language, constructed languages, tagmemics
Pilch, Herbert (Germany, 1927–2018), Old English, Celtic languages, phonetics
Pimsleur, Paul (United States, 1927–1976), language acquisition, French language, phonetics
Pinker, Steven (Canada/United States, 1954–), language acquisition, syntax, semantics
Piron, Claude (Switzerland, 1931–2008), Esperanto, psycholinguistics
Polinsky, Maria (United States), syntax, Austronesian languages
Pollard, Carl Jesse (United States, 1947–), syntax, semantics
Pollock, Jean-Yves (France, 1946–), syntax
Poplack, Shana (United States), sociolinguistics
Poppe, Nicholas (Russia, 1897–1991), Mongolic languages
Postal, Paul M. (United States, 1936–), syntax, semantics
Primer, Sylvester (United States, 1842–1912), English language, dialectology, phonetics, Germanic languages
Prince, Alan Sanford (United States, 1946–), optimality theory, phonology
Prince, Ellen (United States, 1944–2010), pragmatics
Pulgram, Ernst (Austria/United States, 1915– 2005), Romance languages, Italic languages
Pullum, Geoffrey K. (UK/United States, 1945–), syntax, English language
Pustejovsky, James D. (United States, 1956–), natural language processing, computational linguistics, semantics

Q[edit]

Quirk, Charles Randolph (UK/Germany, 1920–2017), English language

R[edit]

Radford, Andrew (UK, 1945–), syntax, generative grammar, child language acquisition
Rael, Juan Bautista (United States, 1900–1993), phonology, morphology, New Mexican Spanish
Rask, Rasmus Christian (Denmark, 1787–1832), lexicography, comparative linguistics, Indo-European language
Ratliff, Martha (United States, 1946–), Hmong–Mien languages, historical linguistics
Rauch, Irmengard (United States, 1933–), Germanic languages, semiotics
Read, Allen Walker (United States, 1906–2002), etymology, lexicography, English language
Reinhart, Tanya (Israel, 1943–2007), syntax
Rice, Keren (Canada), phonology, morphology, Athapaskan languages
Rickford, John Russell (United States, 1949–), sociolinguistics, African-American English
van Riemsdijk, Henk (Netherlands, 1948–), prepositional phrases, free relatives, syntax, Germanic language
Rizzi, Luigi (Italy, 1952–), syntax, language acquisition
Roberts, Ian G. (UK, 1957–), syntax
Rock, Joseph Francis Charles (Austria/United States/PR China, 1884–1962), Naxi language, lexicography
Rosenblat, Ángel (Poland/Venezuela, 1902–1984), lexicography, Venezuelan Spanish, Philology
Ross, John Robert (United States, 1938–), semantics, syntax
Ross, Malcolm David (Australia, 1942–), Austronesian languages, Papuan languages, historical linguistics, language contact
Rubach, Jerzy (Poland/United States, 1948–), phonology, Polish language
Rubin, Philip E. (United States, 1949–), articulatory synthesis, phonology
Ruhlen, Merritt (United States, 1944–2021), typology, historical linguistics

S[edit]

Sacks, Harvey (United States, 1935–1975), conversation analysis
Sadock, Jerrold (United States), syntax, morphology, pragmatics, Greenlandic language, Yiddish language
Sag, Ivan (United States, 1949–2013), syntax, construction grammar
Sagart, Laurent (France, 1951–), Chinese linguistics and Austronesian languages
Sakaguchi, Alicja (Poland/Germany, 1954–), interlinguistics, Esperanto
Shakirova, Liya (Soviet Union/Russia, 1921–2015), Russian language
Salo, David (United States, 1969–), constructed languages, Tocharian languages, Elvish languages
Sampson, Geoffrey (UK, 1944–), philosophy of language
Sánchez Carrión, José María (Spain, 1952–), Basque language, sociolinguistics, historical linguistics
Sankoff, Gillian (Canada, 1943–), sociolinguistics
Sankrityayan, Rahul (India, 1893–1963), Tibetan language, Hindi language
Sapir, Edward (Germany/United States, 1884–1939), Native American languages, constructed languages, semantics
Sarkar, Prabhat Ranjan (India, 1921–1990), Transliteration, Science of Letters
Saunders, Irene (United States/PR China), lexicography, Chinese language
de Saussure, Ferdinand (Switzerland/France, 1857–1913), semantics, Indo-European studies, structural linguistics
Saxon, Leslie (Canada), First Nations languages
Sayce, Archibald Henry (UK, 1846–1933), Akkadian language
Schegloff, Emanuel (United States, 1937–), conversation analysis
Schleicher, August (Germany, 1821–1868), Indo-European studies, language development, historical linguistics
Schmidt, Johannes (Germany, 1843–1901), historical linguistics, Indo-European studies
Schmidt, Richard (United States, 1941–2017), second-language acquisition
Schmidt, Wilhelm (Germany/Austria/Switzerland, 1868–1954), Mon–Khmer languages
Searle, John Rogers (United States, 1932–), philosophy of language, pragmatics
Selinker, Larry (United States), second-language acquisition
Sen, Sukumar (India, 1900–1992), Bengali language
Sequoyah (United States, 1767–1843), Cherokee language
Setälä, Eemil Nestor (Finland, 1864–1935), Finnish language, Uralic languages
Sgall, Petr (Czech Republic, 1926–2019), syntax
Shackle, Christopher (UK, 1942–), Urdu language, Saraiki language
Shepard-Kegl, Judy (United States, 1953– ), Nicaraguan Sign Language
Shevoroshkin, Vitaly Victorovich (Russia/United States, 1932–), Slavic languages, Nostratics
Shinmura Izuru (Japan, 1876–1967), Japanese language
Shipley, William F. (United States, 1921-2011), Maidu language
Sibawayh (Iran, ca. 760– 796), Arabic language
Sidi Boushaki (Algeria, ca. 796–857), Arabic language
Sievers, Eduard (Germany, 1850–1932), Germanic languages, historical linguistics
Siewierska, Anna (Poland/Netherlands/UK, 1955–2011), language typology
Sihler, Andrew Littleton (United States, 1941–), comparative linguistics, Indo-European languages
Silvet, Johannes (Estonia, 1895–1979), lexicography
Sinclair, John McHardy (UK, 1933–2007), applied linguistics, corpus linguistics, discourse analysis
Skeat, Walter W. (UK, 1835–1912), Old English, Middle English, etymology, philology
Skinner, B.F. (United States, 1905–1992), verbal behavior
Skousen, Royal (United States, 1945–), language modeling
Smith, Neilson Voyne (UK, 1939–), syntax, language acquisition
Smith-Stark, Thomas (United States, 1948–2009), Mesoamerican languages
Smolensky, Paul (United States, 1955–), phonology, optimality theory, syntax
Stachowski, Marek (Poland, 1957–), historical linguistics, Turkic languages
Starostin, Georgiy Sergeevich (Russia, 1976–), comparative linguistics, historical linguistics, Nostratics, Proto-World
Starostin, Sergei Anatolyevich (Russia, 1953–2005), comparative linguistics, historical linguistics, Nostratics, Proto-World
Stati, Sorin (Romania-French, 1931–2008), pragmatics, syntax
Steedman, Mark (UK, United States, 1946–), theoretical linguistics, categorial grammar, syntax, computational linguistics
Steels, Luc (Belgium, 1952–), computational linguistics, evolutionary linguistics
Steinmetz, Sol (United States, 1930–2011), Yiddish language
Stetson, Raymond Herbert (United States, d. 1950), phonetics
Stieber, Zdzisław (Poland, 1903–1980), Slavic languages, phonology
Stokoe, William (United States, 1919–2000), American Sign Language, cherology
Stollznow, Karen (United States, 1976–), lexical semantics, sociolinguistics, cognitive linguistics
Stuart-Smith, Jane (United Kingdom, 1965–), phonetics, sociolinguistics
Suzuki Takao (Japan, 1926–2021), Japanese language, sociolinguistics
Svoboda, Aleš (Czech Republic, 1941–2010), English language, Czech language, functional linguistics
Swadesh, Morris (United States, 1909–1967), typology, historical linguistics, Native American languages, lexicostatistics
de Swart, Henriette (Netherlands, 1961–), semantics
Sweet, Henry (UK, 1845–1912), Germanic languages, phonetics
Sweetser, Eve (United States), cognitive linguistics, semantics, historical linguistics, Celtic languages

T[edit]

Talmy, Leonard (United States, 1942–), cognitive linguistics, semantics, Yiddish language, Native American languages
Tannen, Deborah Frances (United States, 1945–), discourse analysis
Tarone, Elaine (United States, 1962–), second-language acquisition
Tarpent, Marie-Lucie (Canada, 1941–), Tsimshianic languages
Tha Myat (Burma, 1899–1977), Mon language, Burmese language, Pyu language, Nagari
Teeter, Karl van Duyn (United States, 1929– 2007), Algic languages, endangered languages
Thieberger, Nicholas (Australia), Indigenous Australian languages
Thomas, Calvin (United States, 1854–1919), Germanic languages, German language
Thomason, Sarah Grey (United States, 1939–), language contact, historical linguistics, typology, Montana Salish
Thompson, John Eric Sidney (UK, 1898– 1975), Maya languages, Maya hieroglyphics
Thompson, Sandra A. (United States, 1941–), syntax, discourse analysis, Mandarin language
Tokieda Motoki (Japan, 1900–1967), Japanese language
Tolkien, John Ronal Reuel (UK, 1892–1973), Old English language, constructed languages, Sindarin, Quenya
Toporišič, Jože (Slovenia, 1926–2014), Slovene language
Trager, George Leonard (United States, 1906–1992), phonemics, paralanguage, semantics
Trask, Robert Lawrence (United States, 1944–2004), Basque language, historical linguistics, origin of language
Traugott, Elizabeth C. (United States, 1939–), grammaticalization
Trubetzkoy, Nikolai Sergeyevich (Russia/Austria, 1890–1938), structural linguistics, morphology, phonology
Trudgill, Peter (UK, 1943–), sociolinguistics, English language, dialectology
Tuite, Kevin (United States, 1954–), Caucasian languages, Georgian language
Turner, Mark (United States, 1954–), cognitive linguistics
Tucker, Archibald (South Africa, 1904–1980), African languages

U[edit]

Uldall, Elizabeth T. (United States, 1913–2004), phonetics
Uldall, Hans Jørgen (Denmark, 1907–1957), glossematics, Maidu language
Ullendorff, Edward (UK, 1920–2011), Semitic languages
Unger, James Marshall (United States, 1947–), Japanese language, historical linguistics, writing systems
Upton, Clive (UK, 1946–), English language, sociolinguistics, dialectology

V[edit]

Vajda, Edward (United States, 1958–), Ket language, historical linguistics, Na-Dené languages, comparative linguistics
van Valin, Robert D. (United States, 1952–), syntax, semantics, cognitive linguistics
Valli, Clayton (United States, 1951–2003), American Sign Language,
Vasmer, Max (Russia/Germany, 1886–1962), etymology, historical linguistics, Russian language
Vassalli, Mikiel Anton (Malta, 1764–1829), Maltese language
Vaux, Bert (United States, 1968–), phonology, morphology, Armenian language
Veltman, Calvin (United States/Canada/France, 1941–), sociolinguistics
Vendler, Zeno (United States, 1921–2004), philosophy of language, event structure
Ventris, Michael George Francis (UK, 1922–1956), Linear B, Archaic Greek
Verner, Karl (Denmark, 1846–1896), phonology, comparative linguistics, historical linguistics
Vincent, Nigel (UK, 1947–), morphology, syntax, historical linguistics
Voegelin, Charles F. (United States, 1906–1986), indigenous languages of North America
Voegelin, Florence M. (United States, 1927–1989), Hidatsa language
Voloshinov, Valentin Nikolaevich (Russia, 1895–1936), semantics
Vovin, Alexander (Russia/United States, 1961–2022), Japanese language, Siberian languages, Korean language, Ainu language, Central Asian languages

W[edit]

Wackernagel, Jacob (Switzerland, 1853–1938), Indo-European studies, Sanskrit
Wang Li (PR China, 1900–1986), Chinese language
Watanabe Shōichi (Japan, 1930–2017), Japanese language
Watkins, Calvert (United States, 1933–2013), comparative linguistics, Indo-European languages
Weeks, Raymond (United States, 1863–1954), phonetics, French language
Weinreich, Max (Latvia/United States, 1893– 1969), Yiddish language
Weinreich, Uriel (Poland/United States, 1926–1967), sociolinguistics, dialectology, semantics, Yiddish language
Wells, John Christopher (UK, 1939–), phonetics, Esperanto
Westermann, Diedrich Hermann (Germany, 1875–1956), languages of Africa, typology
Westphal, Ernst Oswald Johannes (South Africa/UK, 1919–1990), Bantu languages, Khoisan languages
Whalen, Douglas H. (United States), phonology, endangered languages
Wheeler, Benjamin Ide (United States, 1854–1927), historical linguistics, comparative linguistics, Greek language
White, Lydia (UK/Canada, 1946–), second-language acquisition
Whitney, William Dwight (United States, 1827–1894), lexicography, Sanskrit, English language
Wilks, Yorick (UK, 1939–2023), artificial intelligence, computational linguistics, natural language processing, semantics
Whorf, Benjamin Lee (United States, 1897–1941), Native American languages, Maya script, linguistic relativity
Wichmann, Søren (Denmark, 1964–), Mesoamerican languages, Mixe–Zoque languages, Mayan languages, Maya script
Widdowson, Henry G. (UK, 1935–), English language, discourse analysis
Wierzbicka, Anna (Poland/Australia, 1938–), semantics, pragmatics
Wiese, Richard (Germany, 1953–), phonology, morphology, neurolinguistics
Williams, Nicholas Jonathan Anselm (UK/Ireland, 1942–), Cornish language, Irish language, Manx language, phonology
Williams, Samuel Wells (United States/China, 1812–1884), Chinese language, lexicography
Wilson, Robert Dick (United States, 1856–1930), comparative linguistics, Hebrew language, Syriac language
Wittmann, Henri (France/Canada, 1937–), French language, creole languages, morphology, comparative linguistics
Wodak, Ruth (Austria/UK, 1950–), discourse analysis
Wolvengrey, Arok (Canada, 1965–), Cree language, syntax, Native American languages, lexicography
Worcester, Samuel (1798–1859), Presbyterian missionary, linguist, co-founder of Cherokee Phoenix with Elias Boudinot (first Cherokee newspaper in Indian Territory)
Wright, Alfred (United States, 1788–1853), Presbyterian minister, physician, linguist, Choctaw language
Wurm, Stephen Adolphe (Hungary/Australia, 1922–2001), Australian Aboriginal languages, Papuan languages

Y[edit]

Yeda Pessoa de Castro (Brazil), African languages
Yamada Yoshio (Japan, 1873–1958), Japanese language
Yiakoumetti, Androula (Cyprus), Greek language, dialectology
Yip, Virginia (Hong Kong, 1962–), bilingual language acquisition, Sinitic grammar
Yngve, Victor (United States, 1920–2012), computational linguistics, natural language processing
Young, Robert W. (United States, 1912–2007), Navajo language, lexicography

Z[edit]

Zamenhof, Ludwik Łazarz (Poland, 1859–1917), Esperanto
Zepeda, Ofelia (United States, 1952–), O'odham language
Zhang, Niina Ning (PR China), formal syntax, morphology
Zhou Youguang (PR China, 1906–2017), orthography, Romanization of Chinese
Zuazo, Koldo (Spain, 1956–), Basque dialectology, sociolinguistics
Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (Israel, Italy, UK, Australia, 1971–), contact linguistics, lexicology, revival linguistics
Zwicky, Arnold (United States, 1940–), syntax, morphology

Notes[edit]

^ The word linguistician has been coined to refer to one who studies linguistics, in order to avoid this ambiguity, although this word is vanishingly rare and has no currency in the field [1].

[1] The word linguistician has been coined to refer to one who studies linguistics, in order to avoid this ambiguity, although this word is vanishingly rare and has no currency in the field [1].

[1]