From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A linguist in the academic sense is a person who studies linguistics. Ambiguously, the word is sometimes also used to refer to a polyglot (one who knows more than 2 languages), or a grammarian, 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). The word linguistician is also used by some people to refer to one who studies linguistics, in order to avoid this ambiguity, although this word is rare, and generally disliked by those in the field. The following is a list of linguists.
- Abdul Haq, Maulvi (India, 1870–1961), Urdu language
- Abramson, Arthur S. (USA), phonetics
- Adams, Douglas Q. (USA), English language, comparative linguistics, Tocharian languages
- Adler, George J. (Germany/USA, 1821–1868), lexicography, German language, English language
- 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 (USA, 1891–1971), Semitic languages
- Alleyne, Mervyn Coleridge (Trinidad & Tobago/Jamaica, 1933—), creole languages
- Amerias (Greece), Ancient Macedonian language, lexicography
- Aoun, Joseph (Lebanon/USA), oriental languages, syntax
- Aristar, Anthony (South Africa/USA, 1948—), linguistic infrastructure
- Aronoff, Mark (Canada, 1949—), morphology
- Austin, John Langshaw (UK, 1911–1960), philosophy of language, speech act
- Azad, Humayun (Bangladesh, 1947–2004), Bengali language
- Bach, Emmon (USA, 1929—), syntax, phonology, Haisla language
- Baker, Mark (USA), Mohawk language, generative grammar
- Bally, Charles (Switzerland, 1865–1947), French language, phraseology
- Bardovi-Harlig, Kathleen (USA, 1954—) second language acquisition, tense and aspect, pragmatics
- Bar-Hillel, Yehoshua (Israel, 1915–1975), machine translation, categorial grammar
- Barker, (Philip) Muhammad Abd-al-Rahman (USA, 1930—), Urdu language, Indian languages
- Barlow, Robert Hayward (USA, 1918–1951), Nahuatl language
- Barnhart, David K. (USA, 1941—), lexicography, English language
- Barnhart, Robert (USA, 1933–2007), lexicography, English language
- Barsky, Robert (USA), discourse analysis
- Bartlett, John Russell (USA, 1805–1886),
- Baudouin de Courtenay, Jan Niecisław (Poland, 1845–1929), phonology, Polish language
- Beckman, Mary E. (USA), phonetics, phonology
- Beckwith, Christopher (USA, 1945—), Asian languages, Tibetan language
- Bender, M. Lionel (USA), African languages
- Berlitz, Charles Frambach (USA, 1914–2003), language acquisition
- Berlitz, Maximilian Delphinius (USA, 1852–1921), language acquisition
- Bhartrihari (India, 450–510), Sanskrit
- Bickerton, Derek (USA, 1926—), creole languages, origin of language
- Bleek, Wilhelm Heinrich Immanuel (Germany, 1827–1875), languages of Africa
- Bloch, Bernard (USA, 1907–1965), Japanese language
- Bloch, Jules (France, 1880–1953), languages of India
- Bloomfield, Leonard (USA , 1887–1949), structural linguistics
- Boas, Franz (USA, 1858–1942), indigenous languages of the Americas
- Boersma, Paul (Netherlands, 1959—), phonetics
- Bolinger, Dwight Le Merton (USA, 1907–1992), semantics, Spanish language
- Bomhard, Allan R. (USA, 1943—), Nostratic languages, historical linguistics
- Bopp, Franz (Germany, 1791–1867), Indo-European languages, comparative linguistics
- Boyd, Julian Charles (USA, 1931–2005), English language
- Bresnan, Joan (USA, 1945—), syntax
- Bright, William (USA, 1928–2006), Native American languages, South Asian languages
- Brody, Michael (Hungary, 1954—), syntax
- Browman, Catherine (phonetics, phonology)
- Brugmann, Karl (Germany, 1849–1919), Indo-European languages, Sanskrit, comparative linguistics
- Bucholtz, Mary (USA), sociolinguistics
- Burgess, Anthony (UK, 1917–1993), English, Nadsat, phonetics
- Burling, Robbins (USA, 1926—), languages of India
- Burridge, Kate (Australia), Germanic languages
- Campbell, Lyle (USA), Native American languages
- Canger, Una (Denmark, 1938—), Mesoamerican languages
- Capell, Arthur (Australia, 1902–1986), Australian languages, Austronesian languages, Papuan languages
- Cardona, George (USA, Indo-European studies
- Carnap, Rudolf (Germany, 1891–1970), syntax, constructed languages
- Carnie, Andrew (Canada, 1969—), syntax
- Caro, Miguel A. (Colombia, 1843–1909), Spanish language, Colombian Spanish
- Carpenter, William Henry (USA, 1853–1936), Icelandic language
- Chadwick, John (UK, 1920–1998), Linear B
- 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
- Chomsky, Noam (USA, 1928—), syntax, universal grammar
- Chyet, Michael L. (USA, 1957—), Kurdish language
- Clyne, Michael George (Australia), Germanic languages
- Collitz, Hermann (Germany/USA, 1855–1935), historical linguistics
- Comrie, Bernard (UK, 1947—), typology
- Coşeriu, Eugen (Romania/Germany, 1921–2002), Romance languages
- Cowgill, Warren (USA, 1929–1985), Indo-European studies
- Cowper, Elizabeth (Canada), syntax
- Croft, William (USA, 1956—), syntax, cognitive linguistics
- Crystal, David (UK, 1941—), English language, language death
- Cuervo, Rufino J. (Colombia, 1844–1911), Spanish language, Colombian Spanish
- Culicover, Peter W. (USA), syntax, language change
- Curme, George Oliver, Sr. (USA, 1860–1948), German language, English language
- Dal, Vladimir (Russia, 1801–1872), lexicography, Russian language
- Dani, Ahmad Hasan (Pakistan, 1920—), South Asian languages
- Daniels, Peter T. (USA), writing systems
- Deacon, Terrence (USA), language change, origin of language, cognitive linguistics
- Dehkhoda, Ali-Akbar (Iran, 1879–1959), lexicography, Persian language
- Delbrück, Berthold (Germany, 1842–1922), Indo-European languages, syntax, comparative linguistics
- DeLozier, Judith (USA), neuro-linguistic programming
- Dempwolff, Otto (Germany, 1871–1938), Austronesian languages
- van Dijk, Teun A. (Netherlands, 1943—), pragmatics, discourse analysis, text linguistics
- Dixon, R. M. W. (Australia, 1939—), syntax, typology, Australian languages, Amazonian languages
- Dobrovský, Josef (Czech Republic, 1753–1829), Slavic languages, Czech language, lexicography
- Doke, Clement Martyn (South Africa, 1893–1980), Bantu languages, Lamba language
- Dolgopolsky, Aharon (Russia/Israel, 1930—), Nostratic languages
- Dooley, Sheila (USA, 1959—), syntax, typology
- Dorian, Nancy (USA), language death, Scottish Gaelic
- Dougherty, Ray C. (USA), transformational grammar, computational linguistics
- Dowty, David (USA), semantics, syntax
- Dozier, Edward P. (USA, 1916–1971), Native American languages, languages of the Philippines
- Dressler, Wolfgang U. (Austria, 1939—), phonology, morphology, text linguistics
- van Driem, George (Netherlands), Tibeto-Burman languages, symbiosism, Dzongkha language
- Duden, Konrad (Germany, 1829–1911), lexicography, German language
- Dunn, John Asher (USA), Tsimshian language
- Edwards, Jonathan, Jr. (USA, 1745–1801), North American languages, historical linguistics, Mohegan language
- Ehret, Christopher (USA), languages of Africa, historical linguistics
- Elgin, Suzette Haden (USA, 1936—), constructed languages, transformational grammar
- Elman, Jeffrey L. (USA), language processing, neurolinguistics
- Murray Barnson Emeneau (USA, 1904–2005), Dravidian languages, linguist areas
- Esenç, Tevfik (Turkey 1904–1992), Ubykh language
- Even-Shoshan, Abraham (Belarus/Israel, 1906–1984), Hebrew language, lexicography
- Everett, Daniel Leonard (USA, 1951—), languages of Brazil, Pirahã language
- Everson, Michael (USA/Ireland, 1963—), writing systems, computational linguistics
- Fillmore, Charles J. (USA, 1929—), syntax, lexical semantics, cognitive linguistics, lexicography
- Firth, John Rupert (UK, 1890–1960), phonetics, phonology, prosody
- Fiske, Willard (USA, 1831–1904), Northern European languages, Icelandic language
- Foley, William (Australia), Papuan languages, Austronesian languages
- Ford, Jeremiah Denis Mathias (USA, 1873–1958), Spanish language
- Fowler, Carol A. (USA), phonetics, phonology
- Freiman, Aleksandr Arnoldovich (Poland/Russia, 1879–1968), Iranian languages
- French, David Heath (USA, 1981–1994), Native American languages
- Friedrich, Johannes (Germany, 1893–1972), Hittite language
- Fromkin, Victoria (USA, 1923–2000), theoretical linguistics, constructed languages
- Galloway, Brent D. (USA, 1944—), Amerindian languages, Halkomelem language
- Gamkrelidze, Thomas V. (Georgia, 1929—), Indo-European studies, Georgian language
- Gans, Eric (USA, 1941—), origin of language
- Gazdar, Gerald (UK, 1950—), computational linguistics, syntax, semantics
- Gebauer, Jan (Czech Republic, 1838–1907), Czech language
- Geeraerts, Dirk (Belgium, 1955—), semantics, lexicography
- Givón, Talmy (Israel/USA, 1936—), syntax, semantics, pragmatics, typology, functionalism
- Giegerich, Heinz (Germany/UK), English language, phonology
- Gleason, Jean Berko (USA), psycholinguistics, language acquisition
- Goatly, Andrew (UK), English language, Chinese language
- Goddard, R.H. Ives, III (USA), Algonquian languages, historical linguistics
- Gode, Alexander (Germany/USA, 1906–1970), constructed languages, Germanic languages
- Goldberg, Adele (USA, 1963—), syntax, psycholinguistics
- Goldsmith, John Anton (USA, 1951—), phonology, computational linguistics
- Goldstein, Louis M. (USA), phonetics, phonology
- Gordon, Cyrus Herzl (USA, 1908–2001), ancient languages, cuneiform script
- Gray, Louis Herbert (USA, 1875–1955), Indo-Iranian languages, phonology
- Greenberg, Joseph Harold (USA, 1915–2001), typology, language universals, languages of Africa
- Grice, (Herbert) Paul (UK/USA, 1913–1988), pragmatics
- Grierson, George Abraham (Ireland, 1851–1941), languages of India
- Gries, Stefan Thomas (Germany/USA, 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 (USA, 1940—), neurolinguistics
- Guisepi, Robert A. (USA, 1949—), ancient languages
- Gumperz, John Joseph (USA, 1922—), sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, linguistic anthropology
- Guy, Gregory (USA), sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, phonetics, phonology
- Haarmann, Harald (Germany, 1946—), evolutionary linguistics, language contact
- Haas, Mary Rosamund (USA, 1910–1996), Native American languages, Thai language, historical linguistics
- Hajič, Jan (Czech Republic), computational linguistics
- Hajičová, Eva (Czech Republic), (1935—), corpus linguistics
- Hale, Kenneth Locke (USA, 1934–2001), syntax, phonology
- Hall, Kira (USA), sociocultural linguistics
- Hall, Richard Michael Ryan (USA, 1927–1996), historical linguistics, Indo-European studies, Nilotic languages
- Hall, Robert A., Jr. (USA, 1911–1997), Romance languages, Pidgins and Creoles
- Halle, Morris (Latvia/USA, 1923—), phonology, morphology
- Halliday, Michael Alexander Kirkwood (UK/Australia, 1925—), systemic functional grammar, ecolinguistics
- Hammond, Michael (USA, 1957—), phonology, computational linguistics, syntax
- Hamp, Eric P. (USA, 1920—), Indo-European languages, Native American languages
- Harkavy, Alexander (Belarus/USA, 1863–1939), Yiddish language, lexicography
- Harley, Heidi B. (USA, 1969—), distributed morphology, syntax
- Harrington, John Peabody (USA, 1884–1961), Native American languages, phonetics
- Harris, Roy (UK, 1931—), semiology, integrational linguistics
- Harris, Zellig Sabbetai (Ukraine/USA, 1909–1992), structural linguistics, discourse analysis, Semitic languages
- Hashimoto Shinkichi (Japan, 1882–1945), Old Japanese language, Japanese language
- Haspelmath, Martin (Germany, 1963—), typology, language change, language contact, Lezgi language
- Haugen, Einar Ingvald (USA, 1906–1994), sociolinguistics, Old Norse
- Hawkins, Bruce Wayne (USA), cognitive linguistics
- Hawkins, John A. (UK), psycholinguistics, historical linguistics
- Hayakawa, Samuel Ichiye (Canada/USA, 1906–1992), semantics
- Hayes, Bruce (USA), phonology
- Heath, Jeffrey (USA), historical linguistics, morphology, linguistic anthropology
- Heim, Irene Roswitha (Germany/USA), semantics
- Heine, Bernd (Germany, 1939—), languages of Africa, sociolinguistics, language contact
- Hetzron, Robert (Hungary/USA, 1937–1997), Afro-Asiatic languages
- Hewitt, John Napoleon Brinton (USA, 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/USA), historical linguistics, comparative linguistics, Sanskrit
- Hepburn, James Curtis (USA, 1815–1911), Japanese language, lexicography
- Hockett, Charles Francis (USA, 1916–2000), phonology, morphology
- Hoffmann, John-Baptist (Germany, 1857–1928), Mundari language
- Hoijer, Harry (USA, 1904–1976), Athabaskan languages, Tonkawa language
- Hopper, Paul (UK/USA), historical linguistics,
- Hook, Peter Edwin (USA), Indo-Aryan languages, typology
- Hornstein, Norbert (USA), syntax
- Hrozný, Bedřich (Czech Republic, 1879–1952), Hittite language, ancient languages
- von Humboldt, Wilhelm (Germany, 1787–1835), Basque language
- Huddleston, Rodney D. (UK/Australia), English language
- Hudson, Richard (UK, 1939—), syntax, word grammar
- Hupel, August Wilhelm (Germany/Estonia, 1737–1819), Estonian language, lexicography
- Hyman, Larry M. (USA, 1947—), phonology, languages of Africa
- Hymes, Dell Hathaway (USA, 1927—), sociolinguistics, Kathlamet language
- Illich-Svitych, Vladislav Markovich (Ukraine/Russia, 1934–1966), comparative linguistics, Nostratic languages
- Ivanov, Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich (Russia, 1929—), Indo-European studies
- Ivić, Pavle (Serbia, 1924–1999), South Slavic languages, phonology, Serbocroatian language
- Jackendoff, Ray (USA, 1945—), syntax, lexical semantics
- Jackson, Abraham Valentine Williams (USA, 1862–1937), Indo-Iranian languages, Avestan language
- Jackson, Kenneth Hurlstone (UK, 1909–1991), Brythonic languages, Gaelic languages
- Jagić, Vatroslav (Croatia, 1838–1923), Croatian language, Slavic languages
- Jakobson, Roman Osipovich (Russia/Czech Republic/USA, 1896–1982), structuralism, phonology
- Jarring, Gunnar (Sweden, 1907–2002), Turkic languages
- Jaunius, Kazimieras (Lithuania, 1848–1908), Lithuanian language, comparative linguistics
- Jendraschek, Gerd (Germany), Basque language, Turkish language, Iatmul language
- Jespersen, Otto (Denmark, 1860–1943), English language, phonetics, constructed languages
- Johnson, David E. (USA, 1946—), syntax
- Jones, Daniel (UK, 1881–1967), phonetics
- Jones, Sir William (UK, 1746–1794), Indo-European studies, Sanskrit, comparative linguistics
- Joshi, Aravind Krishana (India/USA, 1929—), computational linguistics
- Jurafsky, Daniel (USA), computational linguistics
- Kaplan, Ronald M. (USA), computational linguistics
- Karadžić, Vuk Stefanović (Serbia, 1787–1864), Serbian language, lexicography
- Kari, James (USA), Native American languages
- Kasravi, Ahmad (Iran, 1890–1946), ancient languages, Iranian languages
- Katz, Jerrold J. (USA, 1932–2002), semantics, generative grammar
- Kaufman, Terrence (USA), historical linguistics, contact linguistics, Mesoamerican languages
- Kay, Martin (UK, USA), computational linguistics
- Kay, Paul (USA), construction grammar
- Kayne, Richard (USA), syntax, transformational grammar
- Keating, Patricia (USA), phonetics
- Keenan, Edward (USA), typology, semantics, Malagasy language
- Kenyon, John Samuel (USA, 1874–1959), English language, lexicography, phonology
- Keyser, Samuel Jay (USA, 1935—), phonology, English language
- Kinkade, M. Dale (USA, 1933–2004), Salishan languages
- Kiparsky, Paul (Finland/USA, 1941—), phonology, morphology
- Knechtges, David R. (USA), East Asian languages, Chinese language
- Knorozov, Yuri Valentinovich (Russia, 1922–1999), Maya hieroglyphics, writing systems
- Kober, Alice (UK/USA, 1906–1950), Linear B
- van de Koot, Hans (UK), syntax
- Koene, Net (Netherlands, 1946—), semantics
- Kornai András (Hungary/USA, 1957—), mathematical linguistics, phonology, morphology, Hungarian language, syntax
- Korzybski, Alfred Habdank Skarbek (Poland/USA, 1879–1950), general semantics
- Koster, Jan (Netherlands, 1945—), generative grammar
- Krashen, Stephen (USA, 1941—), second language acquisition
- Kratzer, Angelika (USA/Germany), semantics
- Krauss, Michael E. (USA, 1941—), Native American languages
- Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (India, 1929—), Dravidian languages
- Kroeber, Alfred Louis (USA, 1876–1960), Native American languages
- Kucera, Henry (Czech Republic/USA, 1925—), computational linguistics
- Kuno Susumu (Japan/USA, 1933—), Dravidian languages, Japanese language, syntax
- Kurath, Hans (Austria/USA, 1891–1992), English language, lexicography, dialectology
- Kuryłowicz, Jerzy (Poland, 1895–1978), Indo-European languages, syntax, morphology
- Labov, William (USA, 1927—), sociolinguistics, phonology, English language
- Ladefoged, Peter Nielsen (UK/USA, 1925–2006), phonetics, endangered languages
- Lakoff, George P. (USA, 1941—), cognitive linguistics, transformational grammar, generative semantics, syntax
- Lakoff, Robin Tolmach (USA, 1942—), sociolinguistics
- Lamb, Sydney MacDonald (USA, 1929—), stratificational grammar, Native American languages, historical linguistics, computational linguistics
- Lambdin, Thomas Oden (USA), Semitic languages, Egyptian language
- Langacker, Ronald W. (USA, 1942—), cognitive linguistics
- Lasersohn, Peter (USA), semantics
- Lasnik, Howard (USA, 1945—), syntax
- Lawler, John (USA), syntax, semantics, computational linguistics
- Laycock, Donald (Australia, —1988), languages of Papua New Guinea
- Lees, Robert (USA, 1922–1996), machine translation
- Lehmann, Winfred P. (USA, 1916–2007), historical linguistics, Proto-Indo-European language
- Lepsius, Karl Richard (Germany, 1810–1884), Egyptian language, Nubian languages, phonology
- Levinson, Stephen C. (UK/Netherlands), pragmatics
- Levstik, Fran (Slovenia, 1831–1881), Slovenian language
- Li Fanggui (PR China/USA, 1902–1987), Mattole language, Tai languages, Old Chinese, Tibetan language
- Liberman, Alvin Meyer (USA, 1917–2000), speech perception, phonology
- Liberman, Anatoly (Russia/USA), etymology, Germanic languages
- Liberman, Mark (USA), phonetics, prosody
- Lieber, Rochelle (USA, 1954—), morphology, syntax, lexical semantics
- Lieberman, Philip (USA, phonetics, language evolution
- Lisker, Leigh (USA, 1918–2006), phonetics, Dravidian languages
- Local, John (UK, 1947—), phonetics, phonology, conversation analysis
- Lounsbury, Floyd Glenn (USA, 1914–1998), Native American languages, Mayan languages
- Lowman, Guy Sumner, Jr. (USA, 1909–1941), phonetics
- Ludlow, Peter (USA, 1957—), syntax, semantics
- Lukoff, Fred (USA, 1920–2000), Korean language, phonology
- Lunde, Ken (USA, 1965—), East Asian languages
- MacWhinney, Brian (USA, 1945—), language acquisition
- Maddieson, Ian (USA), phonetics
- Marantz, Alec (USA), distributed morphology
- March, Francis Andrew (USA, 1825–1911), comparative linguistics, lexicography, Old English language, English language
- Margolis, Max Leopold (Lithuania/USA, 1866–1932), Semitic languages
- Marr, Nikolay Yakovlevich (Georgia/Russia, 1865–1934), historical linguistics, comparative linguistics, origin of language
- Martin, Samuel Elmo (USA, 1924—), Korean language, Japanese language
- Martinet, André (France, 1908–1999), structuralism, historical linguistics, constructed languages
- Martinet, Jeanne (France, 1920—), semiotics, constructed languages
- Mathesius, Vilém (Czech Republic, 1882–1945), phonology, syntax, English language, Czech language
- Matisoff, James A. (USA, 1937—), Tibeto-Burman languages, phonology
- Matthews, Peter Hugoe (UK, 1934—), morphology, syntax
- Matthews, Stephen (UK/PR China), typology, syntax, semantics, Cantonese language
- Mattingly, Ignatius G. (USA, 1927–2004), phonetics, speech synthesis, speech perception
- McCarthy, John J. (USA, 1953—), phonology, morphology, optimality theory
- McCawley, James D. (UK/USA, 1938–1999), syntax, semantics, phonology
- McCune, George McAfee (North Korea/USA, 1908–1988), Korean language
- McNamara, Barbara (USA), Chinese language
- McWhorter, John Hamilton (USA, 1965—), creole languages, Saramaccan language
- Meinhof, Carl Friedrich Michael (Germany, 1857–1944), languages of Africa
- Melchert, H. Craig (USA), Anatolian languages
- Michaelis, Laura A. (USA), syntax, English language
- Miklošič, Franc (Slovenia/Austria, 1813–1891), Slavic languages
- Miller, Roy Andrew (USA, 1924—), Tibetan language
- Mithun, Marianne (USA, 1946—), Native American languages
- Miura Tsutomu (Japan, 1911–1989), Japanese language
- Mönkh-Amgalan, Yümjiriin (Mongolia), pragmatics, semantics, syntax, Mongolian language, dialectology
- Montague, Richard Merett (USA, 1930–1971), semantics, philosophy of language
- Moser, Edward W. (USA), Seri language
- Mufwene, Salikoko (USA), creole languages, African American Vernacular English, language evolution
- Munro, Pamela (USA), Native American languages, lexicography
- Murray, James (UK, 1837–1915), lexicography, English language, etymology
- Mira Nábělková (Slovakia), lexical semantics, sociolinguistics
- Nádasdy Ádám (Hungary), phonology, morphophonology
- Napoli, Donna Jo (USA), 1948—), syntax, phonetics, phonology, Japanese language
- Neeleman, Ad (Netherlands/UK, 1964—), syntax, semantics, phonology, generative grammar
- Nelson, Andrew Nathaniel (USA, 1893–1975), Japanese language, lexicography
- Newmeyer, Frederick J. (USA, 1944—), syntax, origin of language
- Nichols, Johanna (USA), languages of the Caucasus, Chechen language, Ingush language, typology
- Nissenbaum, Jonathan (Canada), syntax, semantics
- Nolan, Francis (UK), phonetics
- Nunberg, Geoffrey (USA), lexical semantics, English language
- Odden, David A. (USA), phonology, African linguistics, Bantu languages
- Ohala, John (USA), phonetics, phonology
- Okrand, Marc (USA), Klingon language, Native American language, constructed languages
- Orešnik, Janez (Slovenia, 1935—), comparative linguistics
- Orton, Harold (UK, 1898–1975), phonology, dialectology, English dialects
- Osthoff, Hermann (Germany, 1847–1909), Indo-European studies, historical linguistics
- Pāṇini (India, ca. 520–460 BC), Sanskrit, morphology, descriptive linguistics, generative linguistics
- Partee, Barbara Hall (USA, 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
- Pedersen, Holger (Denmark, 1867–1953), Celtic languages, historical linguistics, Nostratic languages
- Pedersen, Johannes (Demark, 1883–1977), Hebrew language
- Pei, Mario Andrew (Italy/USA, 1901–1978), Italian language, Indo-European languages
- Pesetsky, David Michael (USA, 1957—), transformational grammar
- Phillipson, Robert (UK/Denmark, 1942—), language policy
- Pierrehumbert, Janet (USA, phonetics, phonology
- Pike, Kenneth Lee (USA, 1912–2000), English language, constructed languages, tagmemics
- Pimsleur, Paul (USA), language acquisition, French language, phonetics
- Pinker, Steven (Canada/USA, 1954—), language acquisition, semantics, cognitive linguistics
- Pollard, Carl Jesse (USA, 1947—), syntax, semantics
- Pollock, Jean-Yves (France), syntax
- Postal, Paul M. (USA, 1936—), syntax, semantics
- Primer, Sylvester (USA, 1842–1912), English language, dialectology, phonetics, Germanic languages
- Prince, Alan Sanford (USA, 1946—), optimality theory, phonology
- Pulgram, Ernst (Austria/USA, 1915–2005), Romance languages, Italic languages
- Pullum, Geoffrey K. (UK/USA, 1945—), syntax, English language
- Pustejovsky, James D. (USA), natural language processing, computational linguistics, semantics
- Rael, Juan Bautista (USA, 1900–1993), phonology, morphology, New Mexican Spanish
- Rask, Rasmus Christian (Denmark, 1787–1832), lexicography, comparative linguistics, Indo-European language
- Read, Allen Walker (USA, 1906—2002), etymology, lexicography, English language
- Reinhart, Tanya (Israel, 1943–2007), syntax
- Rickford, John Russell (USA), sociolinguistics, African American Vernacular English
- Rizzi, Luigi (Italy, 1952—), syntax, language acquisition
- Roberts, Ian G. (UK, 1957—), syntax
- Rock, Joseph Francis Charles (Austria/USA/PR China, 1984–1962), Naxi language, lexicography
- Ross, John Robert (USA, 1938—), semantics, syntax
- Ross, Malcolm David (Australia, 1942—), Austronesian languages, Papuan languages, historical linguistics, language contact
- Rubach, Jerzy (Poland/USA, 1948—), phonology, Polish language
- Rubin, Philip E. (USA, 1949—), articulatory synthesis, phonology
- Ruhlen, Merritt (USA), typology, historical linguistics
- Sacks, Harvey (USA, 1935–1975), conversation analysis
- Sadock, Jerrold (USA), syntax, morphology, pragmatics, Greenlandic language, Yiddish language
- Sag, Ivan (USA, 1949—), syntax, construction grammar
- Salo, David (USA, 1969—), constructed languages, Tocharian languages, Elvish languages
- Sampson, Geoffrey (UK, 1944—), philosophy of language
- Sapir, Edward (Germany/USA, 1884–1939), Native American languages, constructed languages, semantics
- Saunders, Irene (USA/PR China), lexicography, Chinese language
- de Saussure, Ferdinand (Switzerland/France, 1857–1913), semantics, Indo-European studies, structural linguistics
- Sayce, Archibald Henry (UK, 1846–1933), Akkadian language
- Schiller, Eric (USA, 1955), Khmer language
- Schleicher, August (Germany, 1821–1868), Indo-European studies, language development, historical linguistics
- Schmidt, Johannes (Germany, 1843–1901), historical linguistics, Indo-European studies
- Schmidt, Wilhelm (Germany/Austria/Switzerland, 1868–1954), Mon-Khmer languages
- Schwarzschild, Roger (USA), semantics, pragmatics
- Searle, John Rogers (USA, 1932—), philosophy of language, pragmatics
- Sen, Sukumar (India, 1900–1992), Bengali language
- Sequoyah (USA, 1767–1843), Cherokee language
- Setälä, Eemil Nestor (Finland, 1864–1935), Finnish language
- Sgall, Petr (Czech republic, 1926—), syntax
- Shackle, Christopher (UK, 1942—), Urdu language, Punjabi language
- Shepard-Kegl, Judy (USA), Nicaraguan Sign Language
- Shevoroshkin, Vitaly Victorovich (Russia/USA), Anatolian languages, Slavic languages
- Sibawayh (Iran, ca. 760–796), Arabic language
- Sievers, Eduard (Germany, 1850–1932), Germanic languages, historical linguistics
- Sihler, Andrew Littleton (USA, 1941), comparative linguistics, Indo-European languages
- Skinner, B.F. (USA, 1905–1992), Verbal behavior
- Skousen, Royal (United States, 1945—), language modeling
- Smith, Neilson Voyne (UK, 1939—), syntax, language acquisition
- Smolensky, Paul (USA, 1955—), phonology, optimality theory, syntax
- Snyder, William Brandon (USA), language acquisition
- Starostin, Sergei Anatolyevich (Russia, 1953–2005), historical linguistics, comparative linguistics
- Steels, Luc (Belgium), computational linguistics, evolutionary linguistics
- Stetson, Raymond Herbert (USA, —1950), phonetics
- Stieber, Zdzisław (Poland, 1903–1980), Slavic languages, phonology
- Suzuki Takao (Japan, 1926—), Japanese language, sociolinguistics
- Swadesh, Morris (USA, 1909–1967), typology, historical linguistics, Native American languages, lexicostatistics
- Sweet, Henry (UK, 1845–1912), Germanic languages, phonetics
- Sweetser, Eve (USA), cognitive linguistics, semantics, historical linguistics, Celtic languages
- Talmy, Leonard (USA), cognitive linguistics, semantics, Yiddish language, Native American languages
- Tannen, Deborah Frances (USA, 1945—), discourse analysis
- Teeter, Karl van Duyn (USA, 1929–2007), Algic languages, endangered languages
- Thomas, Calvin (USA, 1854–1919), Germanic languages, German language
- Thomason, Sarah Grey (USA), language contact, historical linguistics, typology, Montana Salish
- Thompson, John Eric Sidney (UK, 1898–1975), Maya languages, Maya hieroglyphics
- 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—), Slovenian language
- Trager, George Leonard (USA, 1906–1992), phonemics, paralanguage, semantics
- Trask, Robert Lawrence (USA, 1944–2004), Basque language, historical linguistics, origin of language
- Trubetzkoy, Nikolai Sergeyevich (Russia/Austria, 1890–1938), structural linguistics, morphology, phonology
- Trudgill, Peter (UK, 1943—), sociolinguistics, English language, dialectology
- Turner, Mark (USA), cognitive linguistics
- Ullendorff, Edward (UK, 1920—), Semitic languages
- Unger, James Marshall (USA, 1947—), Japanese language, historical linguistics, writing systems
- Upton (UK), English language, sociolinguistics, dialectology
- Vajda, Edward (USA), Ket language, historical linguistics, Na-Dené languages
- van Valin, Robert D. (USA, 1952—), syntax, semantics, cognitive linguistics
- Valli, Clayton (USA, —2003), American Sign Language,
- Vasmer, Max (Russia/Germany, 1886–1962), etymology, historical linguistics, Russian language
- Vaux, Bert (USA, 1968—), phonology, morphology, Armenian language
- Veltman, Calvin (USA/Canada/France), sociolinguistics
- Ventris, Michael George Francis (UK, 1922–1956), Linear B
- Verner, Karl (Denmark, 1846–1896), phonology, comparative linguistics, historical linguistics, Indo-European studies
- Voloshinov, Valentin Nikolaevich (Russia, 1895–1936), semantics
- Vovin, Alexander (Russia/USA), Japanese language, languages of Siberia
- Wackernagel, Jacob (Switzerland, 1853–1938), Indo-European studies, Sanskrit
- Wang Li (PR China, 1900–1986), Chinese language
- Watkins, Calvert (USA), comparative linguistics, Indo-European languages
- Weeks, Raymond (USA, 1863–1954), phonetics, French language
- Weinreich, Max (Latvia/USA, 1893–1969), Yiddish language
- Weinreich, Uriel (Poland/USA, 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. (USA), phonology, endangered languages
- Wheeler, Benjamin Ide (United States, 1954–1927), historical linguistics, comparative linguistics, Greek language
- White, Lydia (United Kingdom/Canada), second language acquisition
- Whitney, William Dwight (USA, 1827–1894), lexicography, Sanskrit, English language
- Whorf, Benjamin Lee (USA, 1897–1941), Native American languages, Maya script
- Wichmann, Søren (Denmark, 1964—), Mesoamerican languages, Mixe-Zoque languages, Mayan languages, Maya script
- Widdowson, Henry G. (UK), English language, discourse analysis
- Wierzbicka, Anna (Poland/Australia, 1938—), semantics, pragmatics
- Williams, Nicholas Jonathan Anselm (UK/Ireland, 1942—), Cornish language, Irish language, Manx language, phonology,
- Williams, Samuel Wells (USA/China, 1812–1884), Chinese language, lexicography
- Wilson, Robert Dick (USA, 1856–1930), comparative linguistics, Hebrew language, Syriac language
- Wittmann, Henri (France/Canada, 1937—), French language, morphology, comparative linguistics
- Wolvengrey, Arok (Canada), Cree language, syntax, Native American languages, lexicography
- Wurm, Stephen Adolphe (Hungary/Australia, 1922–2001), Australian Aboriginal languages, Papuan languages
- Yamada Yoshio (Japan, 1873—1958), Japanese language
- Yiakoumetti, Androula (Cyprus), Greek language, dialectology
- Yngve, Victor (USA, 1920—), computational linguistics, natural language processing
- Young, Robert W. (USA, 1912–2007), Navajo language, lexicography
- Zamenhof, Ludvic Lazarus (Poland, 1859–1917), Esperanto
- Zepeda, Ofelia (USA, 1952—), O'odham language
- Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (Israel/UK/Australia), Semitic languages, Indo-European languages, phonetics, semantics
- Zwicky, Arnold, (USA, 1940—), syntax, morphology
