Professor Devyani Sharma has been appointed to the Professorship of Language and Communication at the University of Oxford, a post endowed by News UK. She will take up this post on October 1st 2025. Her appointment will be in both the Faculty of English Language and Literature and the Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics. She will also be a Professorial Fellow at Worcester College.
Professor Sharma comes to Oxford from Queen Mary University of London, where she has been Head of the Department of Linguistics. Her wide ranging research asks how languages and dialects vary, and what that variation can tell us about human minds and social systems. This includes the study of sociolinguistics, migration, bilingualism, style variation, new varieties of English, and language structure. Her projects have ranged from detailed local studies of generational change in London English to global investigations of shifting prestige among varieties of English. Her research has led to policy reports and training programmes on accent bias in Britain. She was elected as a Fellow of the British Academy in 2023.
Professor Sharma is the third person to hold this post, which was established in 1991 following its endowment by News International under the ownership of Rupert Murdoch, following distinguished linguists Jean Aitchison (1993-2003) and Deborah Cameron (2004-2023). She comes to Oxford at a time when the study of language is thriving across all divisions of the university, from Humanities to Social Sciences, to Physical and Medical Sciences.
Professor Sharma’s appointment coincides with the opening in late September of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, the University of Oxford’s largest ever building project, which will bring together 7 humanities departments and additional institutes and libraries, in addition to performance spaces and state-of-the-art laboratories. Professor Sharma’s appointment is an early indication of how the new centre will help to strengthen connections across fields.
Professor Sharma says: “An understanding of language and communication is central to so many disciplines and to so much public discourse, yet academic subjects are often siloed. Oxford’s new Schwarzman Centre creates a unique opportunity for the visibility and integration of language themes across faculties and for the wider public. I look forward to helping bring long traditions of research to bear on today’s realities, from the global diversity of English to communication in the age of AI.”
Professor Simon Horobin and Professor Colin Phillips, Faculty Board Chairs of English and Linguistics, respectively, say: “Devyani Sharma is the ideal person to lead the study of language and communication in Oxford, continuing a tradition that stretches back over 800 years. She situates the study of English in the context of a global, multilingual Britain. We are thrilled that she will strengthen links between our two faculties and beyond. Her deeply interdisciplinary approach and her mix of local and global perspectives will inspire the next generation of students.”
Professor Dan Grimley, Head of the Humanities Division, says: “I congratulate Professor Sharma on her appointment to this prestigious post. Her research is fascinating and it has had tangible impacts on many people. Language is studied across many academic departments at Oxford. Professor Sharma’s appointment aligns with the mission of our new Schwarzman Centre to become a hub for interdisciplinary collaboration and cultural transformation.”
David Isaac, Provost of Worcester College, says: “I am delighted that Professor Sharma will be joining Worcester College as a Professorial Fellow. Her appointment further strengthens our excellence in research and the College’s commitment to interdisciplinarity. Professor Sharma’s work will play an important role in delivering Worcester’s ambition to be a forward-looking college by promoting inspiring and timely research to improve understanding of human communication and interactions. I look forward to working with her to deliver these aims.”