معرفی
Irina Nikolaeva is a Professor of Linguistics at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), where she joined in 2007 as Lecturer in Endangered Languages and was promoted to professor in 2011. She served as Head of the Linguistics Department from 2012 to 2017. Her academic journey includes positions at the University of Oxford (Research Fellow and Tutor in Linguistics, 2004–2007), University of Konstanz (Research Fellow, 2000–2004), Central European University (Tutor in Linguistics, 1993–1995), and the Institute of Linguistics at the Russian Academy of Sciences (Research Fellow, 1990–1993).
- Education: BA and MA from Moscow, Candidate degree (equivalent to PhD) from Moscow, ABD from San Diego, PhD from Leiden.
Nikolaeva's research focuses on linguistic typology, theoretical morphosyntax, and the documentation of endangered Siberian languages. She has produced reference grammars, dictionaries, text collections, and teaching materials for minority communities in the Russian North. Her publications span topics like finiteness, TAM marking on nouns, and information structure across languages.
Scientific Awards:
- Women of Discovery Award (2008)
- Fellow of the British Academy (2019)
Her work emphasizes empirical data from understudied languages to inform universal linguistic theories. She has collaborated with institutions in Hungary, Germany, and the UK, contributing to both academic scholarship and public-facing linguistic resources.
