Geoffrey Nunberg | |
|---|---|
 Nunberg moderating a panel at the UC Berkeley School of Information in 2006 | |
| Born | June 1, 1945 |
| Died | August 11, 2020 (aged 75) |
| Education | Columbia College (BA) University of Pennsylvania (MA) City University of New York (PhD) |
| Occupation(s) | Linguist, author |
| Known for | Work on lexical semantics |
Geoffrey Nunberg (June 1, 1945 – August 11, 2020)[1] was an American lexical semantician and author. In 2001, he received the Linguistics, Language, and the Public Interest Award from the Linguistic Society of America for his contributions to National Public Radio's Fresh Air. Nunberg was the author of a number of popular books, among them Going Nucular: Language, Politics and Culture in Controversial Times (2004). He is primarily known for his broadcast work interpreting linguistic science for lay audiences, though his contributions to linguistic theory are also well regarded.
Nunberg received his doctorate from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in 1977 for his dissertation, The Pragmatics of Reference. Prior to his PhD, Nunberg received a Bachelor's degree from Columbia College and a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania where he studied under William Labov.[2] Following his education, Nunberg began working as a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California Berkeley and visiting professor at Stanford University. In the mid-1980s he moved to the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center where he worked until 2001. Following Xerox, he returned to research at universities, returning to appointments at Stanford's Center for the Study of Language and Information and at Berkeley's School of Information.[3]
Following a long battle with cancer, Nunberg died August 11, 2020.[1]
- ^ a b Liberman, Mark (August 11, 2020). "R.I.P. Geoff Nunberg". Language Log. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- ^ Sandomir, Richard (2020-08-22). "Geoffrey Nunberg, Expert on How Language Works, Dies at 75". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ Hurst, Ann (2005). "What Are You Saying?". Stanford Magazine. Retrieved August 12, 2020.