09 Jun 08

Professor Aditi Lahiri delivering her inaugural lecture

The new faculty was announced on Friday 6 June 2008 at the inaugural lecture of Professor Aditi Lahiri (Professor of Linguistics at Oxford University and a Fellow of Somerville College), where she discussed language asymmetries in the brain.

Linguistics is the study of language in all its aspects; philology considers the historical study of language; and phonetics is the study of the physical sounds of human speech. Oxford has a wealth of existing expertise in the field but this is the first time it will all be brought together in one faculty.

The faculty will be made up of a core of dedicated linguistics staff, with support from other academics in related faculties, such as classics and modern languages, who have linguistics expertise. There are plans to develop joint undergraduate degrees with other faculties, in addition to the existing courses in Modern Languages and Linguistics.

The set-up of the Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics Faculty reflects the changing practice of linguistics as well as the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of its research. Members of the faculty will  be working across linguistics and neuroscience, and collaborating with members of the Experimental Psychology Department.

Professor Lahiri said: ‘I am delighted to be part of the new faculty at such an exciting time. It will be a unique institution, combining general linguistics, comparative philology and phonetics, embracing members from various departments. Although this is the beginning of a new chapter, it is also a continuation of a long and successful tradition of the study of linguistics, philology and phonetics at Oxford. The new faculty owes much to the untiring efforts of many colleagues, in particular Dr John Coleman, the former Chair of the Committee of Linguistics and Philology.

‘Eminent scholars in the field have passed through this University, and the new faculty plans to maintain cutting-edge interdisciplinary research, including language study from ancient to modern, as well as extending to the fields of cognitive science, computing, and experimental psychology.’

The Head of Oxford University’s Humanities Division, Professor Sally Shuttleworth, said: 'I am delighted that the new faculty is being launched. Oxford has a long history in the field of linguistics and the creation of the new faculty will help bring together all our excellent work in this area.'

The new faculty will eventually move into the £180 million humanities development in the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter.