Top linguist to speak at VictoriaOne of the world’s leading linguists will discuss the differences between speech and writing in a free public lecture at Victoria University on Thursday night.
Professor Douglas Biber (pic right by Peter Aknai) of Northern Arizona University is America's foremost corpus linguist.
Professor Douglas Biber (pic right by Peter Aknai) of Northern Arizona University is America's foremost corpus linguist.
His most widely known works are The Longman grammar of spoken and written English, and The Longman student grammar of spoken and written English. 
Much of his work has focused on formal differences between various text types, and more recently he has carried out groundbreaking work on multi-word units.
Much of his work has focused on formal differences between various text types, and more recently he has carried out groundbreaking work on multi-word units.
He is widely sought after as a speaker for international conferences and is a member of numerous editorial boards.
Head of Linguistics at Victoria University Associate Professor Paul Warren says the lecture will address the stylistic differences between speech and writing that we often take for granted.
“People sometimes forget that as a species we have only been using writing for a relatively short time. There are some important differences between speech and writing that we often don’t think about.”
Professor Biber’s visit to Victoria University to teach a Master’s level course in register-based variation, and to deliver this public lecture has been made possible by the I.A. Gordon Trust through the Victoria University of Wellington Foundation.
“People sometimes forget that as a species we have only been using writing for a relatively short time. There are some important differences between speech and writing that we often don’t think about.”
Professor Biber’s visit to Victoria University to teach a Master’s level course in register-based variation, and to deliver this public lecture has been made possible by the I.A. Gordon Trust through the Victoria University of Wellington Foundation.
The I.A. Gordon Trust was set up in 2003 as the result of a donation of half a million dollars from Victoria’s Emeritus Professor Ian Gordon to support the study of English language and linguistics at Victoria University.
Professor Gordon held the Chair of English Language and Literature at Victoria from 1936 to 1974. He was instrumental in establishing at Victoria the study of the structure, history and use of English, and the teaching of the English language.
He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of New Zealand from 1947 to 1952, Chair of the New Zealand Literary Fund from 1950 to 1974 and was made a CBE in 1971.
What: 2009 Ian Gordon Fellow lecture, presented by Professor Douglas Biber: “Speech and Writing: Are there any real differences?”
When: Thursday 7 May, 6pm
Where: Hunter Building, Lecture Theatre 323. Free entry, all welcome.
For more information contact Paul Warren on 04 463 5631 or email paul.warren@vuw.ac.nz
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