LINGUIST

William Labov

1927 - 2024

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William David Labov ( lə-BOHV; December 4, 1927 – December 17, 2024) was an American linguist widely regarded as the founder of the discipline of variationist sociolinguistics. He has been described as "an enormously original and influential figure who has created much of the methodology" of sociolinguistics, and "one of the most influential linguists of the 20th and 21st centuries". Labov was a professor in the linguistics department of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and pursued research in sociolinguistics, language change, and dialectology. He retired in 2015 but continued to publish research until his death in 2024. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. William Labov is the 55th most popular linguist (up from 74th in 2019), the 2,564th most popular biography from United States (up from 3,165th in 2019) and the 8th most popular American Linguist.

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Among LINGUISTS

Among linguists, William Labov ranks 55 out of 214. Before him are Louis de Beaufront, Tuone Udaina, Hermann Paul, Renato Corsetti, Vilhelm Thomsen, and Hugo Schuchardt. After him are Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, Hesychius of Alexandria, Charles Bally, Matthias Castrén, George Lakoff, and Josef Dobrovský.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1927, William Labov ranks 115. Before him are Odvar Nordli, Thanin Kraivichien, Bob Fosse, Dana Elcar, Margaret Keane, and Marvin Harris. After him are Jorge Batlle, Wadie Haddad, Sabah, Carlos José Castilho, Eldar Ryazanov, and Raymond Chow. Among people deceased in 2024, William Labov ranks 131. Before him are Neale Fraser, James Sikking, Leif Segerstam, Sergei Novikov, Norman Jewison, and Bernd Hölzenbein. After him are Antonio Skármeta, Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Gediminas Kirkilas, Aleksandr Medved, Josef Jelínek, and Sandra Milo.

Others Born in 1927

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In United States

Among people born in United States, William Labov ranks 2,564 out of 20,380. Before him are George Gaylord Simpson (1902), Lorraine Bracco (1954), Casey Affleck (1975), George William Hill (1838), Bob Woodward (1943), and Rosie Perez (1964). After him are Glenn Frey (1948), Albert King (1923), Nora Ephron (1941), Candy Darling (1944), James McKeen Cattell (1860), and Barbara W. Tuchman (1912).

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Among LINGUISTS In United States

Among linguists born in United States, William Labov ranks 8. Before him are William James Sidis (1898), Noah Webster (1758), Leonard Bloomfield (1887), Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897), Joseph Greenberg (1915), and Joshua Fishman (1926). After him are George Lakoff (1941), Morris Swadesh (1909), Stephen Krashen (1941), George Kingsley Zipf (1902), William Stokoe (1919), and Alice Kober (1906).

American born Linguists

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