John Laver (1938-2020)

  • 13 May 2020 16:28
    Message # 8965949

    I am sorry to pass on the news that Professor John Laver, CBE, FBA, FRSE died last week, on 6th May, after a long illness.  John had a long and distinguished career in research, teaching and academic leadership at the University of Edinburgh, and more recently he was Research Professor of Speech Sciences and Vice-Principal at Queen Margaret University College (now QMU).

    John was a major figure in the field of phonetics, and was President of the International Phonetic Association from 1991-1995, but he was also a strong and effective proponent of interdisciplinarity. He was also a founding figure in sociolinguistics in the UK, and was instrumental in setting up, and then directing for many years, the Centre for Speech Technology Research at the University of Edinburgh. He was the founding Chairman of the British Academy's Humanities Research Board in the mid-90s, and played a central role in steering its transition into the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council.

© LAGB
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