Janet Holmes (linguist) explained

Janet Holmes
Birth Date:17 May 1947
Birth Place:Liverpool, United Kingdom
Citizenship:New Zealand
Workplaces:Victoria University of Wellington
Alma Mater:University of Leeds
Thesis Title:The language of spoken monologue: an analysis of topic and narrative structure.
Thesis Url:http://lib.leeds.ac.uk/record=b1464303~S5
Thesis Year:1970

Janet Holmes (born 17 May 1947)[1] is a New Zealand sociolinguist. Her research interests include language and gender, language in the workplace, and New Zealand English.

Academic career

After obtaining an MPhil at the University of Leeds, Holmes moved to Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, later becoming a naturalised New Zealander in 1975.[1] She published a textbook Introduction to Sociolinguistics in 1992 which has run to five editions. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and won the Dame Joan Metge Medal in 2012.[2] She is now an Emeritus Professor of Linguistics at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Holmes has published widely on an array of topics. In 1996, she established the Wellington Language in the Workplace (LWP) project,[3] which is an ongoing study of communication formats occurring in the workplace, which examines “small talk, humour, management strategies, directives, and leadership in a wide range of New Zealand workplaces”.

Holmes has been featured on the media, such as the Radio New Zealand and newspapers. Topics she talked about included the way people communicate at work,[4] how complicated the phenomenon of sexist language is,[5] the pitfalls and possibilities of cross-cultural communication in the workplace,[6] or whether men or women talk more.[7]

Recognition

In recognition of Holmes' contributions to the field of Sociolinguistics, Linguist at Work: Festschrift for Janet Holmes[8] brings together works by Holmes's colleagues, students, collaborators, and friends which present new ideas and analysis within the field. In the 2016 New Year Honours, Holmes was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to linguistics.[9]

In 2017, Holmes was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "150 women in 150 words", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.[10]

In July 2019, Holmes was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Warwick.[11]

Publications

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: New Zealand, naturalisations, 1843–1981 . 2010 . Ancestry.com Operations . 3 November 2017 . subscription .
  2. Web site: Medals awarded to top New Zealand researchers « Media Releases « News « Royal Society of New Zealand . Royalsociety.org.nz . 2014-07-20.
  3. Web site: School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies. May 29, 2015. Language in the Workplace.
  4. Web site: Professor Janet Holmes. 2011-07-03. RNZ. en-nz. 2019-07-07.
  5. Web site: Janet Holmes. 2010-10-11. RNZ. en-nz. 2019-07-07.
  6. Web site: Janet Holmes - Work Talk. 2011-11-06. RNZ. en-nz. 2019-07-07.
  7. Web site: Men v women: who utters more words a day?. Holmes. Janet. 10 August 2011. Stuff. en. 2019-07-07.
  8. Web site: Linguist at Work: A Festschrift for Janet Holmes. September 20, 2017. vup.victoria.ac.nz .
  9. Web site: New Year honours list 2016 . 31 December 2015 . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . 3 November 2017.
  10. Web site: Janet Holmes. 2021-05-10. Royal Society Te Apārangi.
  11. Web site: Guardian journalist, leading Chinese scientist, and actor from Harry Potter and Doctor Who among those to receive University of Warwick honorary degrees. warwick.ac.uk. 2019-07-07.