Famous Linguists - List of Famous Linguists

Linguists study, describe and explain the human faculty of language. Modern linguistics as a field began to develop in the 18th century. Swiss linguist and semiotician Ferdinand Mongin de Saussure who laid a foundation for many significant developments both in linguistics and semiology in the 20th century is considered one of the founders of 20th-century linguistics. Czech literary, linguistic, and aesthetic theorist Jan Mukařovský and Russian–American linguist and literary theorist Roman Osipovich Jakobson are both considered pioneers of the structural analysis of language. The discipline of linguistics was further enriched in the late 20th century by the emergence of the likes of Noam Chomsky, William Labov, and Michael Halliday. While Chomsky made pivotal contributions to generative grammar, Halliday worked on systemic functional linguistics and also modern psycholinguistics. Among the prominent ladies in the field, Alexandra Yurievna Aikhenvald is one who stands out owing to her specialization in Linguistic typology and the Arawak language family. Kathleen Bardovi-Harlig is another woman linguist who had conducted extensive research on second-language temporality and tense-mood-aspect systems and interlanguage pragmatics. This section provides you information about the life and works of famous linguists.

The Most Famous Linguists

NameBirthdayNationalityBio
Noah WebsterOctober 16, 1758AmericanNoah Webster was a famous American lexicographer, political writer, editor and English language spelling reformer
Roland BarthesNovember 12, 1915FrenchRoland Barthes was a French literary theorist, critic and semiotician
Steven PinkerSeptember 18, 1954Canadian, AmericanSteven Pinker is a Canadian-American cognitive psychologist and linguist
Noam ChomskyDecember 7, 1928AmericanChomsky is an American linguist, political theorist, and activist, often referred to as "the father of modern linguistics”
Enoch PowellJune 16, 1912BritishBrigadier J
Leon Battista AlbertiFebruary 18, 1404ItalianLeon Battista Alberti was an Italian author, architect, poet, linguist and cryptographer
Steven Pinker

Steven Pinker

Steven Pinker is a Canadian-American cognitive psychologist and linguist

CanadianSeptember 18, 1954236 views

Noam Chomsky

Chomsky is an American linguist, political theorist, and activist, often referred to as "the father of modern linguistics”

Leon Battista Alberti

Leon Battista Alberti was an Italian author, architect, poet, linguist and cryptographer

ItalianFebruary 18, 1404135 views

Noah Webster

Noah Webster was a famous American lexicographer, political writer, editor and English language spelling reformer

AmericanOctober 16, 1758279 views

Enoch Powell

Brigadier J

BritishJune 16, 1912152 views

Roland Barthes

Roland Barthes was a French literary theorist, critic and semiotician

FrenchNovember 12, 1915277 views