James Raymond Hurford, FBA (born 16 July 1941) is a

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

and academic. He is the General Editor of the book series ''Oxford Studies in the Evolution of Language'', as well as a member of the Centre for Language Evolution (formerly Language Evolution and Computation) research group at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

where he is an emeritus professor. He also helps organize the series of International Conferences on the Evolution of Language Hurford was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars spa ...

in 2015.

Publications

* 2014 ''The Origins of Language: A Slim Guide'' * 2011 ''The Origins of Grammar: Language in the Light of Evolution'' * 2007 ''The Origins of Meaning: Language in the Light of Evolution''Review
in

Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The Thes''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

* 1994 ''Grammar: a Student's Guide'' * 1987 ''Language and Number: the emergence of a cognitive system'' * 1983 ''Semantics: a Coursebook'' * 1975 ''The Linguistic Theory of Numerals'' As Editor: * 2000 ''The Evolutionary Emergence of Language: Social function and the origins of linguistic form'', edited by Chris Knight, Michael Studdert-Kennedy and James R Hurford * 1998 ''Approaches to the Evolution of Language: social and cognitive bases'', edited by James R Hurford, Michael Studdert-Kennedy and Chris Knight.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurford, James R. Living people Linguists from the United Kingdom Academics of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the British Academy 1941 births People associated with The Institute for Cultural Research Philosophers of linguistics