Biography
B.A. Modern and Medieval Languages (French and German), Girton College, Cambridge
D Phil University of Oxford under the supervision of Professor Rebecca Posner
1982-1983 Junior Research Fellow, St Hilda's College, Oxford
1983-1998 Assistant Lecturer, then Lecturer in French Linguistics, University of Cambridge
1998-2005 Reader in French Philology and Linguistics, University of Cambridge
2005- Professor of French Philology and Linguistics
Research
I work on the history of the French language and the history of linguistic thought, particularly in seventeenth-century France. I am especially interested in considering what effect, if any, metalinguistic texts have on language change in France and the extent to which the seventeenth-century so-called prescriptive texts reflect or shape the evolution of the language. I have also published on socio-historical linguistics and have worked extensively on possible sources of non-standard usages in seventeenth-century France.
I am currently the PI of the MEITS project (Multilingualism: Empowering Individuals, Transforming Societies), a flagship project which seeks to transform the health of the discipline of Modern Languages in the UK, attitudes towards multilingualism, and language policy at home and abroad. With Nicola McLelland (University of Nottingham) I am Co-Investigator on Strand 2 of the project, Standard languages, norms and variation: comparative perspectives in multilingual contexts.
Publications
Ayres-Bennett, W. (1987) Vaugelas and the Development of the French Language. London, MHRA
Ayres-Bennett, W. (1996) A History of the French Language through Texts. London, Routledge
Ayres-Bennett, W. & Caron, P. (1996) Les Remarques de l’Académie Française sur le Quinte-Curce de Vaugelas 1719-1720. Paris: Presses de l’Ecole normale supérieure.
Ayres-Bennett, W. & Carruthers, J. with Temple, R. (2000) Problems and Perspectives: Studies in the Modern French Language. Harlow: Longman Linguistics Library.
Ayres-Bennett, W. (2004) Sociolinguistic Variation in Seventeenth-Century France. Cambridge, CUP
Ayres-Bennett, W. and Seijido, M. (2011) Remarques et observations sur la langue française: histoire et évolution d'un genre. Paris, Classiques Garnier.
Ayres-Bennett, W. (2011) Corpus des remarques sur la langue française (XVIIe siècle). Paris, Classiques Garnier Numérique.
Ayres-Bennett, W. (2018) Claude Favre de Vaugelas, Remarques sur la langue française. Paris: Editions Classiques Garnier.
Ayres-Bennett, W. & Carruthers, J. (2018) Manual of Romance Sociolinguistics. Berlin/Boston: Walter de Gruyter.
