Janet Holmes (linguist)

Janet Holmes
ONZM
Holmes in 2016
Born (1947-05-17) 17 May 1947 (age 77)
Liverpool, United Kingdom
CitizenshipNew Zealand
Alma materUniversity of Leeds
Scientific career
InstitutionsVictoria University of Wellington
ThesisThe language of spoken monologue: an analysis of topic and narrative structure. (1970)

Janet Holmes ONZM (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

  • 2017 Holmes, Janet and Nick Wilson An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. (5th edition). London: Pearson.
  • 2015 Holmes, Janet and Maria Stubbe (2nd edition) Power and Politeness in the Workplace. London and New York: Routledge.
  • 2014 Holmes, Janet and Kirk Hazen (eds.) Research Methods in Sociolinguistics: A Practical Guide. Oxford/Malden MA: Wiley Blackwell.
  • 2014 Ehrlich, Susan, Miriam Meyerhoff and Janet Holmes (eds.) The Handbook of Language, Gender and Sexuality. Oxford/Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.
  • 2013 Holmes, Janet. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Fourth Edition. London: Pearson.
  • 2011 Holmes, Janet, Meredith Marra and Bernadette Vine Leadership, Discourse and Ethnicity. Oxford University Press.
  • 2011 Laurie Bauer, Dianne Bardsley, Janet Holmes and Paul Warren Q and Eh: Questions and Answer on Language with a Kiwi Twist.
  • Holmes, J. (2008). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (3rd ed.). Pearson Longman, Harlow, England
  • 2006 Holmes, Janet Gendered Talk at Work: Constructing Gender Identity through Workplace Discourse. New York, Oxford: Blackwell.
  • 2006 Laurie Bauer, Janet Holmes and Paul Warren. Language Matters. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • 2003 Holmes, Janet and Maria Stubbe. Power and Politeness in the Workplace: a Sociolinguistic Analysis of Talk at Work. London: Pearson.
  • 2002. Holmes, J. and M. Marra. "Having a laugh at work: How humour contributes to workplace culture," Journal of pragmatics,34(12): 1683–1710
  • 2000 Editor. Gendered Speech in Social Context: Perspectives from Gown and Town. Wellington: Victoria University Press.
  • 1995. Holmes, Janet. Women, Men and Politeness. Harlow: Addison, Wesley, Longman.
  • 1988. Holmes, Janet. "Paying compliments: A sex-preferential politeness strategy," Journal of Pragmatics. 12(4): 445–465.
  • 1984. Holmes, Janet. "Modifying illocutionary force," Journal of Pragmatics. 8(3): 345–365.

References

  1. ^ a b "New Zealand, naturalisations, 1843–1981". Ancestry.com Operations. 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Medals awarded to top New Zealand researchers « Media Releases « News « Royal Society of New Zealand". Royalsociety.org.nz. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  3. ^ "School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies". Language in the Workplace. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  4. ^ "Professor Janet Holmes". RNZ. 3 July 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Janet Holmes". RNZ. 11 October 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Janet Holmes - Work Talk". RNZ. 6 November 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  7. ^ Holmes, Janet (10 August 2011). "Men v women: who utters more words a day?". Stuff. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Linguist at Work: A Festschrift for Janet Holmes". vup.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  9. ^ "New Year honours list 2016". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Janet Holmes". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  11. ^ "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. Retrieved 7 July 2019.