R. H. Robins
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Robert Henry Robins, FBA (1 July 1921 – 21 April 2000), affectionately known to his close ones as Bobby Robins, 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 ...
. Before his retirement, he spent his entire career at the Department of Phonetics and Linguistics at the
School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury a ...
of the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
. Robin's work in linguistics covered several diverse areas, including Firthian prosodic analysis, endangered languages and the history of linguistic thought. He wrote two popular textbooks, ''General Linguistics: An Introductory Survey'' (1964) and ''A Short History of Linguistics'' (1967).


Early life and education

Robins was born in Broadstairs,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, on 1 July 1921. His father was a medical practitioner.'ROBINS, Prof. Robert Henry', ''
Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...
'', A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 201
accessed 26 Nov 2017
/ref> In his childhood, Robins studied French,
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and
ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
. He won a scholarship to
Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...
in 1935 and a scholarship for Classics to New College, Oxford, in 1940. He completed his university studies in 1948 with first class honours in Literae Humaniores (both Mods and Greats). During the second world war, a stint where he taught
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
to
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
servicemen attracted him to the field of
linguistics Linguistics is the science, 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 ...
. Robins later obtained a DLit degree from London University in 1968.


Career

Robins served in the
RAF Intelligence Intelligence services in the Royal Air Force are delivered by Officers of the Royal Air Force Intelligence Branch and Airmen from the Intelligence Analyst Trade and Intelligence Analyst (Voice) Trade. The specialisation has around 1,200 person ...
from 1942 to 1945 as language instructor. After completing his university studies Robins was appointed to a lectureship (1948–1955) in the Department of Phonetics and Linguistics in the
School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury a ...
at
London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...
.
John Rupert Firth John Rupert Firth (June 17, 1890 in Keighley, Yorkshire – December 14, 1960 in Lindfield, West Sussex), commonly known as J. R. Firth, was an English linguist and a leading figure in British linguistics during the 1950s. Education and career F ...
was the head of department at the time and was a major influence on Robins. Under Firth's directions, Robins carried out field work in the early 1950s on the now-extinct
Yurok language Yurok (also Chillula, Mita, Pekwan, Rikwa, Sugon, Weitspek, Weitspekan) is an Algic language. It is the traditional language of the Yurok people of Del Norte County and Humboldt County on the far north coast of California, most of whom now sp ...
of northern
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
and also did work on ancient linguistics. Robins later became reader in general linguistics (1955–1965), professor of general linguistics (1966–1986) and ultimately head of department (1970–1985) at the same institution. He served as dean of the Faculty of Arts (1984–86) of London University. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) in 1986. Robins was a research fellow at the University of California in 1951. He was Visiting Professor in Washington (1963), Hawaii (1968), Minnesota (1971), Florida (1975) and Salzburg (1977 and 1979). He was also a Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow (1990–1991).


Post-retirement activities

After retirement, Robins dedicated himself to promoting the history of linguistics. He wrote books on the subject and regularly attended conferences of the various national societies for the subject. He was emeritus professor (1986–2001) at London University. He taught at both
University of Luton The University of Bedfordshire is a public research university with campuses in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England. The University has roots from 1882, however, it gained university status in 1993 as the University of Luton. The Univers ...
and
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
until the early months of 2000.


Death

Robins died at his home in
Caterham Caterham () is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is administratively divided into two: Caterham on the Hill, and Caterham Valley, which includes the main town centre in the middle of a dry valley but rises to equal ...
on 21 April 2000 at the age of 78.


Affiliations

Robins was president of
Societas Linguistica Europaea The Societas Linguistica Europaea (SLE) is a Europe-focused professional society for linguists. It was founded in 1966 to advance linguistics, the scientific study of human language. The SLE has over 1,000 individual members and welcomes linguists o ...
in 1974. He was British representative (1970–1977) and one-time president of the International Committee of Linguists (1977–1997). He was chairman of the Henry Sweet Society for the History of Linguistic Ideas at the time of his death. He was also an honorary member of
Linguistic Society of America The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) is a learned society for the field of linguistics. Founded in New York City in 1924, the LSA works to promote the scientific study of language. The society publishes three scholarly journals: ''Language'', ...
from 1981 until his death. Perhaps Robins's most important fellowship was that of
the Philological Society The Philological Society, or London Philological Society, is the oldest learned society in Great Britain dedicated to the study of language as well as a registered charity. The current Society was established in 1842 to "investigate and promote ...
, the oldest linguistics society in existence. Robins was its secretary for 18 years (1961–1988) and later became its president (1988–1992). After his presidency ended, the Society conferred on him the title of President Emeritus uniquely in his honor. After Robins's death, the society created a prize in his name, the R. H. Robins Prize, "for an article submission on a linguistic topic that falls within the area of the Society’s interests as defined by present and past publications in the Transactions of the Philological Society." The linguistics field as a whole have honored him with two
Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
en: * F. R. Palmer and Theodora Bynon, eds. (1986) ''Studies in the history of linguistic science: a festschrift for R. H. Robins''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. *


Selected works

* ''Ancient and Medieval Grammatical Theory in Europe'' (1951) * ''The Yurok Language'' (1958) * ''General Linguistics: An Introductory Survey'' (1964) * ''A Short History of Linguistics'' (1967) * ''Diversions of Bloomsbury (1970) * ''Ideen- und Problemgeschichte der Sprachwissenschaft'' (1973) * ''Sistem dan Struktur Bahasa Sunda'' (1983) * ''The Byzantine Grammarians: Their Place in History'' (1993) * ''Texts and Contexts: Selected Papers on the History of Linguistics'' (1998)


References


Further reading

* Vivien Law. "The writings of RH Robins: a bibliography 1951-1996", in ''Linguists and Their Diversions: A Festschrift for R. H. Robins on his 75th Birthday''. pp. 27-42. Vivien Law & Werner Hüllen (eds.) Münster: Nodus, 1996. * E. K. Brown and Vivien Law. "R H Robins", in ''Linguistics in Britain: personal histories''. 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Robins, Robert H. Linguists from the United Kingdom 1921 births 2000 deaths Yurok Linguists of Algic languages Linguists of Yurok Fellows of the British Academy 20th-century linguists Royal Air Force personnel of World War II