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Neilson Voyne Smith FBA (born 1939), known as Neil Smith, is Emeritus Professor of
Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Ling ...
at
University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...
. He wrote his
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...
(1964) on the grammar of Nupe, a language of
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. Since then his research has encompassed theoretical syntax, language acquisition, the savant syndrome, and general
linguistic theory Theoretical linguistics is a term in linguistics which, like the related term general linguistics, can be understood in different ways. Both can be taken as a reference to theory of language, or the branch of linguistics which inquires into the n ...
, particularly the work of Noam Chomsky. In the 1990s he began working with an autistic man, Christopher, in collaboration with Ianthi-Maria Tsimpli. According to Smith and Tsimpli, Christopher has a non-verbal IQ of between 60 and 70, but his English is comparable to that of normal native speakers, and he has an extraordinary ability to learn new languages. Smith was Head of the Department of Phonetics and Linguistics at University College London from 1983 to 1990, and headed the Linguistics section from 1972 until his retirement in 2006, when he was presented with a Festschrift ''Language in Mind: A Tribute to Neil Smith on the Occasion of his Retirement'' (edited by Robyn Carston, Diane Blakemore and Hans van de Koot).


Honours

Smith was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) in 1999. He was made an Honorary Member of the
Linguistic Society of America The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) is a learned society for the field of linguistics. Founded in New York City in 1924, the LSA works to promote the scientific study of language. The society publishes three scholarly journals: '' Language'' ...
in 2000.


Selected works

*''An Outline Grammar of Nupe'' (Luzac, 1967) *''The Acquisition of Phonology'' (Cambridge University Press, 1973) *''Modern Linguistics: The Results of Chomsky's Revolution'' (with Deirdre Wilson; Penguin, 1979) *''The Twitter Machine: Reflections on Language'' (Blackwell, 1989) *''The Mind of a Savant'' (with Ianthi-Maria Tsimpli; Blackwell, 1995) *''Chomsky: Ideas and Ideals'' (Cambridge University Press, 1999; second edition 2004; third edition, with Nicholas Allott, 2016) *''Language, Bananas and Bonobos: Linguistic Problems, Puzzles and Polemics'' (Blackwell, 2002) *''Language, Frogs and Savants: More Linguistic Problems, Puzzles and Polemics'' (Blackwell, 2005) *''Acquiring Phonology: A Cross-generational Case-study'' (Cambridge University Press, 2010) *''The Signs of a Savant'' (with Gary Morgan, Ianthi-Maria Tsimpli and
Bencie Woll Bencie Woll, FBA, FAAAS (born 1950) is an American–British linguist and scholar of sign language. She became the first professor of sign language in the United Kingdom when she was appointed Professor of Sign Language and Deaf Studies at City ...
) (Cambridge University Press, 2011)


References


External links


Autobiographical article, in LinguistList's famous linguists series
1939 births Living people Linguists from the United Kingdom Fellows of the British Academy Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of University College London Academics of University College London British phonologists {{UK-linguist-stub