TheFamousPeople

Find out more about the greatest 20th Century Linguists, including Noam Chomsky, Steven Pinker, Susie Dent, Girish Karnad and Jamie Hyneman.

Famous 20th Century Linguists

Noam ChomskyNoam Chomsky
07 December 1928, American
Linguist
Enoch PowellEnoch Powell
16 June 1912, British
 

Steven PinkerSteven Pinker
18 September 1954, Canadian, American
Psychologist, Linguists

Ferdinand de SaussureFerdinand de Saussure
26 November 1857, Swiss
Linguist

Roland BarthesRoland Barthes
12 November 1915, French
French Literary Theorist & Philosopher

John McWhorterJohn McWhorter
06 October 1965, American
Linguist
Katharine GunKatharine Gun
1974 AD, British
Linguist

Girish KarnadGirish Karnad
19 May 1938, Indian
Linguist, Author, Film director, Actor,

Jamie HynemanJamie Hyneman
25 September 1956, American
Television presenter, Journalist, Linguist,
Julius NyerereJulius Nyerere
13 April 1922, Tanzanian
Linguist, Politician, Translator

Jon EliaJon Elia
14 December 1931, Pakistani
Linguist, Philosopher, Poet, Literary critic
Muhammad AsadMuhammad Asad
02 July 1900, Austrian, Hungarian
Journalist

Muhammad Tahir-ul-QadriMuhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri
19 February 1951, Pakistani
Linguist, Politician, Translator, Writer

Amos OzAmos Oz
04 May 1939, Israeli
Writer, Linguist, Journalist, Novelist,

Roman JakobsonRoman Jakobson
11 October 1896, Russian
Linguist

J. L. AustinJ. L. Austin
26 March 1911, British
Philosopher
Anne CarsonAnne Carson
21 June 1950, Canadian
Linguist, Poet, Translator, Writer, University

Luce IrigarayLuce Irigaray
03 May 1930, Belgian, French
Philosopher, Linguist, University teacher,

Valentin InzkoValentin Inzko
22 May 1949, Austrian
Linguist, Diplomat

Robert BlyRobert Bly
23 December 1926, American
Linguist, Poet, Translator, Writer
Michael HallidayMichael Halliday
13 April 1925, Australian, British
Linguist

S.I. HayakawaS.I. Hayakawa
18 July 1906, Canadian, American
Politician
William LabovWilliam Labov
04 December 1927, American
Linguist

Sol PlaatjeSol Plaatje
09 October 1876, South African
Journalist

Zellig HarrisZellig Harris
23 October 1909, American
Linguist
Michel ThomasMichel Thomas
03 February 1914, Polish
Linguist

Michael VentrisMichael Ventris
12 July 1922, British
Linguist, Architect, Historian, Archaeologist
Dell HymesDell Hymes
07 June 1927, American
Anthropologist, Linguist, University teacher,

Joseph GreenbergJoseph Greenberg
28 May 1915, American
Linguist

Nirmal VermaNirmal Verma
03 April 1929, Indian
Linguist, Translator, Writer, Literary critic
Wolfgang IserWolfgang Iser
22 July 1926, German
Linguist, Writer, University teacher, Literary

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Yuri KnorozovYuri Knorozov
19 November 1922, Russian
Linguist
Nikolai TrubetzkoyNikolai Trubetzkoy
16 April 1890, Russian
Linguist

Arthur WaleyArthur Waley
19 August 1889, British
Translator

Fatana NajibFatana Najib
09 August 1953, Afghan
Linguist

Michael WitzelMichael Witzel
18 July 1943, German, American
Author
Teun A. van DijkTeun A. van Dijk
07 May 1943
Linguist, University teacher, Sociologist
Niki KarimiNiki Karimi
10 November 1971
Actor, Linguist, Film director, Translator,

Zhou YouguangZhou Youguang
13 January 1906, Chinese
Chinese economist and linguist

Heinrich ZimmerHeinrich Zimmer
06 December 1890, German
Linguist

Herve Le TellierHerve Le Tellier
21 April 1957, French
Writer
John Rupert FirthJohn Rupert Firth
17 June 1890, British
Linguist

Harry JohnstonHarry Johnston
12 June 1858, British
Botanist

Ella Cara DeloriaElla Cara Deloria
31 January 1889, American
Educator

Guillermo Cabrera InfanteGuillermo Cabrera Infante
22 April 1929, Cuban, Spanish, British
Linguist, Screenwriter, Translator, Essayist,

Surendranath DasguptaSurendranath Dasgupta
30 September 1887, Indian
Scholar
Gregory RabassaGregory Rabassa
09 March 1922, American
Translator

Reynold A. NicholsonReynold A. Nicholson
18 August 1868, British
Translator
Alexis KagameAlexis Kagame
15 May 1912, Rwandan
Philosopher

William StokoeWilliam Stokoe
21 July 1919, American
Linguist

Archibald SayceArchibald Sayce
25 September 1846, British
Assyriologist
Charles Kay OgdenCharles Kay Ogden
01 June 1889, British
Linguist

Sir George Abraham GriersonSir George Abraham Grierson
07 January 1851, British
Linguist
Sir Edward Howard MarshSir Edward Howard Marsh
18 November 1872, British
Translator

Karl BühlerKarl Bühler
27 May 1879, German
German psychologist

David Samuel MargoliouthDavid Samuel Margoliouth
17 October 1858, British
Orientalist

Wilhelm SchmidtWilhelm Schmidt
16 February 1868, Austrian
Linguist

Dmitry LikhachovDmitry Likhachov
28 November 1906, Russian
Linguist
Julius PokornyJulius Pokorny
12 June 1887, Austrian
Linguist

Peter LadefogedPeter Ladefoged
17 September 1925, British
Linguist

Tanya ReinhartTanya Reinhart
23 July 1943, Israeli
Linguist

Jan Niecisław Baudouin de CourtenayJan Niecisław Baudouin de Courtenay
13 March 1845, Polish
Linguist
Martha Carey ThomasMartha Carey Thomas
02 January 1857, American
Linguist

Antoine MeilletAntoine Meillet
11 November 1866, French
Linguist
Mario PeiMario Pei
16 February 1901, Italian, American
Linguist

Bedřich HroznýBedřich Hrozný
06 May 1879, Czech
Orientalist

Sophus BuggeSophus Bugge
05 January 1833, Norwegian
Philologist
Kenneth Lee PikeKenneth Lee Pike
09 June 1912, American
Linguist

Mouloud MammeriMouloud Mammeri
28 December 1917, Algerian
Writer
Martha HildebrandtMartha Hildebrandt
13 January 1925, Peruvian
Linguist

Arne Evensen GarborgArne Evensen Garborg
25 January 1851, Norwegian
Writer

Mary HaasMary Haas
23 January 1910, American
Linguist
Akhmet BaitursynovAkhmet Baitursynov
05 September 1873, Kazakh
Intellectual

Sylvain LéviSylvain Lévi
28 March 1863, French
Orientalist
Graziadio Isaia AscoliGraziadio Isaia Ascoli
16 July 1829, Italian
Linguist

Kuno MeyerKuno Meyer
20 December 1858, German
Scholar

Louis CouturatLouis Couturat
17 January 1868, French
Logician

Luis MardenLuis Marden
25 January 1913, American
Photographer
Karl BrugmannKarl Brugmann
16 March 1849, German
Linguist
Holger PedersenHolger Pedersen
07 April 1867, Danish
Linguist

Matteo BartoliMatteo Bartoli
22 November 1873, Croatian, Italian
Linguist

Jacob WackernagelJacob Wackernagel
11 December 1853, Swiss
Linguist

John R. SwantonJohn R. Swanton
19 February 1873, American
Anthropologist
Frederic G. CassidyFrederic G. Cassidy
10 October 1907, American
Linguist

Vilém MathesiusVilém Mathesius
03 August 1882, Czech
Linguist

Margarita MadrigalMargarita Madrigal
15 May 1912, Costa Rican, American
Author

Nicholas MarrNicholas Marr
06 January 1865, Russian
Historian

Jerzy KuryłowiczJerzy Kuryłowicz
26 August 1895, Polish, Ukrainian
Linguist
Julio Caro BarojaJulio Caro Baroja
13 November 1914, Spanish
Anthropologist

Carl MeinhofCarl Meinhof
23 July 1857, German, Polish
Linguist
Lennart HellsingLennart Hellsing
05 June 1919, Swedish
Linguist, Poet, Writer, Translator, Children's

August LeskienAugust Leskien
08 July 1840, German
Linguist
Bagrat ShinkubaBagrat Shinkuba
12 May 1917, Georgian, Russian
Writer
Baltasar Lopes da SilvaBaltasar Lopes da Silva
23 April 1907, Cape Verdean
Author