Vivien Anne Law, Lady Shackleton, (22 March 1954 – 19 February 2002) was a British

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, who specialised in

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...

. Over her lifetime, she "acquired a grammatical knowledge of over a hundred languages". She spent all her academic career at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Early life and education

Law was born on 22 March 1954 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Her parents, John Ernest Law and Anne Elizabeth Law, were both English, and they had moved to Canada for his job with a telecommunications company. She was educated at Lemoyne d'Iberville High School, a state school in

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly acr ...

, Quebec, and at

Trafalgar School for Girls Trafalgar School for Girls (abbreviated as Traf) is an all-girls independent school located in Downtown Montreal, Quebec. The school serves students at Secondary I – V levels, i.e. ages 11–12 to 16–17. The total enrollment is 200, the studen ...

, a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

all-girls school in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec. From 1971 to 1974, Law studied at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

. She graduated with a double honours Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in classics and German. In 1974, she won a

Commonwealth Scholarship The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) is an international programme under which Commonwealth governments offer scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other Commonwealth countries. History The plan was originally proposed b ...

to study at the

in England. She then

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

into

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status ...

to undertake

postgraduate research Postgraduate research represents a formal area of study that is recognized by a university or institute of higher learning. By definition, the notion of “postgraduate” (United States) carries the implication that the candidate undertaking such ...

under the

supervision Supervision is an act or instance of directing, managing, or oversight. Etymology The English noun "supervision" derives from the two Latin words "super" (above) and "videre" (see, observe). Spelling The spelling is "Supervision" in Standard E ...

Michael Lapidge Michael Lapidge, FBA (born 8 February 1942) is a scholar in the field of Medieval Latin literature, particularly that composed in Anglo-Saxon England during the period 600–1100 AD; he is an emeritus Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, a Fellow of ...

. She completed her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1979. Her

doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

was titled "The '' Ars Bonifacii'': a critical edition with introduction, and commentary on the sources".

Academic career

Law spent all her academic career at the

. She was a lecturer in the

history of linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language, involving analysis of language form, language meaning, and language in context. Language use was first systematically documented in Mesopotamia, with extant lexical lists of the 3rd to the 2nd M ...

from 1984 to 1998, and

Reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

in the History of Linguistic Thought from 1998 to her death in 2002. She was also a

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

from 1978 to 1980, a

senior research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for Academic rank, academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the super ...

at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge from 1980 to 1984, teaching fellow at Sidney Sussex College from 1984 to 1997, and fellow of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

from 1997 to 2002.

Personal life

In 1986, Law married Nicholas John Shackleton, a noted geologist and paleoclimatologist. They did not have any children. Upon his

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

in 1998, she became Lady Shackleton. In 1999, Law was diagnosed with cancer. Treatment resulted in temporary remission. She died at her home in Cambridge on 20 February 2002, aged 47.

Honours

In 1999, Law was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # C ...

, the United Kingdom's

national academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but also the humanit ...

for the humanities and the social sciences. The Vivien Law Prize was established in her memory in 2004 by the Henry Sweet Society and is awarded for "the best essay submitted on any topic within the

Selected works

* * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Law, Vivien 1954 births 2002 deaths Linguists from the United Kingdom Academics of the University of Cambridge Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge Fellows of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge McGill University alumni Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge People from Halifax, Nova Scotia 20th-century linguists