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Cambridge Language Sciences

Interdisciplinary Research Centre
 

Professor Wendy Ayres - Bennett

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

Key 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.

Publications (from Symplectic)

Book chapters

2023 (No publication date)

  • Bennett, W., 2023 (No publication date). Modelant l’estandardització: Tendències actuals i emergents

    • 2022

  • Bennett, W., 2022. Towards Interdisciplinarity in Multilingual Identity Research: Differing Perspectives and Common Ground

    • 2021

  • Bennett, W., 2021. Modelling Language Standardization
  • Bennett, W., 2021. Introduction
  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and Sanson, H., 2021. Women in the history of linguistics: Distant and neglected voices
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198754954.003.0001
    •
  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2021. Women as authors, audience, and authorities in the French tradition
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198754954.003.0004
    •

    2020

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2020. Celebrating languages and multilingualism in the UK and beyond A pop-up museum of languages for the UK

    • 2019

  • Bennett, W., 2019. ‘Où sont les femmes? La (non-)présence des femmes dans le Grand Corpus des grammaires françaises, des remarques et des traités sur la langue’
  • Bennett, W., Amatuzzi, A., Gerstenberg, A., Skupien Dekens, C. and Schosler, L., 2019. Améliorer et appliquer les outils numériques. Ressources et approches pour l’étude du changement linguistique en français préclassique et classique
  • Bennett, W., Bellamy, J., Krogull, A., McLelland, N., Wu, J. and Zhao, H., 2019. Standard languages, norms and variation: New perspectives within a multilingual research project

    • 2018 (No publication date)

  • Bennett, WM., 2018 (No publication date). Collaboration, connectedness, champions: approaches within government
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65169-9
    •

    2018

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2018. Historical sociolinguistics and tracking language change: sources, text types and genres
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1515/9783110365955-010
    •
  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and Carruthers, J., 2018. Romance sociolinguistics: past, present, future
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1515/9783110365955-001
    •

    2016

  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and van Ostade, ITB., 2016. Prescriptivism in a comparative perspective: The case of France and England
  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2016. Codification and prescription in linguistic standardisation
    Doi: 10.1075/ivitra.13.07ayr
    •

    2014

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2014. From l’usage to le bon usage and back
    Doi: 10.1075/ahs.3.08ayr
    •

    2012 (No publication date)

  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and Caron, P., 2012 (No publication date). La Prescription linguistique en France de 1647 à 1720 : l’exemple des remarqueurs
  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2012 (No publication date). Une mode passagère? Le Langage féminin au XVIIe siècle
  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2012 (No publication date). « Nous sommes plus exacts en nostre langue, & en nostre stile, que les Latins » : La représentation du latin chez les remarqueurs français au XVIIe siècle

    • 2012

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2012. La Contribution des remarqueurs à une historie générale de la grammaire française

    • 2011

  • AYRES-BENNETT, Wendy, , Beeching, Kate, , Larrivee, Pierre, and Myles, Florence, , 2011. French Linguistics Research and Teaching in the UK and Irish HE Institutions
  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2011. ‘Metaphors in Metalinguistic Texts: The Case of Observations and Remarks on the French Language’

    • 2010

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2010. '« Exactitude du stile » : les observations stylistiques chez les remarqueurs du XVIIe siècle’

    • 2008

  • Bennett, WM., 2008. ‘Ferdinand Brunot et l’histoire de la langue française du XVIIe siècle: innovation, opposition et « progrès »’

    • 2005

  • Bennett, W., 2005. Linguistic terminology in seventeenth-century observations and remarks on the French language

    • 2004

  • Bennett, W., 2004. Sociolinguistic Variation in the Work of the French Seventeenth-Century Remarqueurs

    • 2002

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2002. Claude Favre de Vaugelas (1585-1650)
  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2002. An Evolving Genre: Seventeenth-Century <i>Remarques</i> and <i>Observations</i> on the French Language

    • 1998

  • Bennett, W., 1998. Cela n’est pas construit: l’Académie Française et Vaugelas devant les constructions participiales

    • 1995

  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and Caron, P., 1995. Ecriture d'auteur, norme et variation au XVIIe siècle: De la syntaxe et du style

    • 1994

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 1994. Elaboration and Codification: Standardization and Attitudes towards the French Language in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

    • 1993

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 1993. The Authority of Grammarians in 17th-Century France and Their Legacy to the French Language

    • 1990

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 1990. Variation and Change in the Pronunciation of French in the Seventeenth Century
  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 1990. ‘Influence’ in Linguistic Historiography
    Doi: 10.1075/sihols.51.1.39ayr
    •

    1987

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 1987. Usage and Reason in Seventeenth-Century French Grammar
    Doi: 10.1075/sihols.38.30ayr
    •
    Journal articles

    2023

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2023. Modern Languages Research: Towards a Challenge-Based Interdisciplinary Model Modern Languages Open, v. 2023
    Doi: 10.3828/mlo.v0i0.423
    •

    2022

  • Humphries, E. and Ayres-Bennett, W., 2022. The hidden face of public language policy: a case study from the UK Current Issues in Language Planning,
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2022.2150497
    •

    2020

  • Amatuzzi, A., Ayres-Bennett, W., Gerstenberg, A., Schosler, L. and Skupien-Dekens, C., 2020. Changement linguistique et périodisation du francąis (pré)classique: Deux études de cas à partir des corpus du RCFC Journal of French Language Studies, v. 30
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/S0959269520000058
    •
  • Bennett, W., 2020. From Haugen’s codification to Thomas’s purism: assessing the role of description and prescription, prescriptivism and purism in linguistic standardisation Language Policy, v. 19
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-019-09521-4
    •

    2019

  • Caron, P. and Ayres-Bennett, W., 2019. The linguistic norm and prescription in France, 1550-1720: The example of remarqueurs Histoire Epistemologie Langage, v. 41
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1051/hel/2019021
    •
  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2019. REBECCA POSNER (17 August 1929–19 July 2018) Language and History,
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/17597536.2019.1576452
    •

    2018 (Accepted for publication)

  • Bennett, W., 2018 (Accepted for publication). Rebecca Posner (17 August 1929-19 July 2018) Language and History, v. 62
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/17597536.2019.1576452
    •

    2018

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2018. Rebecca Posner (17 August 1929-19 July 2018) TRANSACTIONS OF THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY, v. 116
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1111/1467-968X.12146
    •

    2017 (Accepted for publication)

  • Bennett, WM., 2017 (Accepted for publication). Languages across government Languages, Society and Policy,
    •

    2016

  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and Colombat, B., 2016. The expansion of the Grand Corpus des grammaires françaises, des remarques et des traités sur la langue: Theoretical and methodological questions Histoire Epistemologie Langage, v. 38
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1051/hel/2016380205
    •
  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and Caron, P., 2016. Periodization, Translation, Prescription and the Emergence of Classical French Transactions of the Philological Society, v. 114
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1111/1467-968X.12081
    •

    2015

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2015. La persistance de l’idéologie linguistique des remarqueurs dans les chroniques de langage de 1925 à nos jours Circula,
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.17118/11143/7992
    •
  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2015. The Diachrony of Negation FRENCH STUDIES, v. 69
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/fs/knv205
    •

    2013

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2013. 402 p. ... Zeitschrift fur Romanische Philologie, v. 129
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1515/zrp-2013-0125
    •
  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2013. Change in French. Diachronic linguistic studies ZEITSCHRIFT FUR ROMANISCHE PHILOLOGIE, v. 129
    •

    2012 (No publication date)

  • Ayres-Bennett, Wendy, and Adamson, S., 2012 (No publication date). Linguistics and Philology in the Twenty-First Century Transactions of the Philological Society, v. 109
    •
  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and Tristram, A., 2012 (No publication date). From Negation to Agreement: Revisiting the Problem of Sources for Socio-Historical Linguistics Neuphilologische Mitteilungen,
    •
  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and Seijido, M., 2012 (No publication date). ‘Les Compilations raisonnées des Remarques et Observations sur la langue française’ French Studies: a quarterly review,
    •

    2011

  • Adamson, S. and Ayres-Bennett, W., 2011. Linguistics and philology in the twenty-first century: introduction T PHILOL SOC, v. 109
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-968X.2011.01290.x
    •
  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and Volpilhac-Auger, C., 2011. Compilations, anthologies, collections | Compilations, recueils, collections French Studies, v. 65
    •
  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and Seijido, M., 2011. The rational compilations of comments and observations on the French language | Les Compilations raisonnées des Remarques et Observations sur la langue française French Studies, v. 65
    •
  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and Volpilhac-Auger, C., 2011. COMPILATIONS, RECUEILS, COLLECTIONS FR STUD, v. 65
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/fs/knr069
    •
  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and Seijido, M., 2011. REASONED COMPILATIONS OF REMARKS AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE FRENCH LANGUAGE FR STUD, v. 65
    •
  • Bennett, WM., 2011. Compilations, recueils, collections. French Studies: a quarterly review, v. 65
    •

    2009

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2009. Presenting Grammar to a Non-Specialist Audience: Vaugelas's Use of Metaphors in his Remarques sur la langue françoise (1647). Seventeenth-Century French Studies, v. 31
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1179/175226909X445268
    •

    2008

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2008. The Parnasse and the Palais: the works of Furetiere and the origin of the first French language encyclopedic dictionary (1649-1690) FR STUD, v. 62
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/fs/knn054
    •

    2007

  • Bennett, WM., 2007. ‘Vaugelas’s Literary Sources: Anciens, Modernes and Demi-Modernes’ Zeitschrift für französische Sprache und Literature,, v. 117
    •
  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2007. Dissertation on the causes of universality of French language and the plausible duration of its reign with the discourse of M. de Rivarol NINETEEN CENT FR ST, v. 35
    •
  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2007. La Modernité de l’usage linguistique de L’Astrée vue par les yeux d’un remarqueur/ The modernity of the linguistic use of 'Astree' seen by the eyes of an observer DIX-SEPTIEME SIECLE,
    •
  • Bennett, WM., 2007. La modernité de l'usage linguistique de 'L'Astrée' vue par les yeux d'un remarqueur XVIIe Siècle, v. 235
    •

    2006

  • Bennett, WM., 2006. Reading the 'Remarqueurs': Changing perceptions of “classic” texts Historiographia Linguistica, v. 33
    •

    2004

  • Bennett, WM., 2004. De Vaugelas à nos jours. Comment définir le genre des 'Remarques sur la langue française' de Vaugelas? La Licorne, v. 70
    •

    2001

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2001. Socio-historical linguistics and the history of French Journal of French Language Studies, v. 11
    Doi: 10.1017/s0959269501000217
    •

    2000

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2000. Voices from the Past: Sources of Seventeenth-Century Spoken French Romanische Forschungen, v. 112
    •

    1997

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 1997. From Malherbe to the French Academy on &lt;I&gt;Quinte-Curce:&lt;/I&gt; The Role of Observations, Translations and Commentaries in French Linguistic Thought Seventeenth-Century French Studies, v. 19
    Doi: 10.1179/026510697793046519
    •

    1996

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 1996. Enfin D'urfé Vint? Seventeenth-Century French Studies, v. 18
    Doi: 10.1179/c17.1996.18.1.177
    •

    1994

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 1994. Le rôle des femmes dans l'élaboration des idées linguistiques au XVIIe siècle en France Histoire Épistémologie Langage, v. 16
    Doi: 10.3406/hel.1994.2392
    •
  • AYRES-BENNETT, W., 1994. NEGATIVE EVIDENCE: OR ANOTHER LOOK AT THE NON-USE OF NEGATIVE NE IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY FRENCH French Studies, v. XLVIII
    Doi: 10.1093/fs/xlviii.1.63
    •

    1992

  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and Carruthers, J., 1992. ‘UNE REGRETTABLE ET FORT DISGRACIEUSE FAUTE DE FRANÇAIS‘?: THE DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF THE FRENCH SURCOMPOSÉS FROM 1530 TO THE PRESENT DAY. Transactions of the Philological Society, v. 90
    Doi: 10.1111/j.1467-968x.1992.tb01061.x
    •

    1991

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 1991. <i>Observations</i> et <i>Remarques sur la langue française</i>: Histoire d'un genre La Licorne, v. 19
    •

    1990

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 1990. Women and Grammar in Seventeenth-Century France Seventeenth-Century French Studies, v. 12
    Doi: 10.1179/c17.1990.12.1.5
    •
    Working papers

    2022

  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and Hafner, M., 2022. The economic value to the UK of speaking other languages
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.86966
    •
    Books

    2022

  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and Fisher, L., 2022. Multilingualism and Identity Interdisciplinary Perspectives

    • 2021 (Published online)

  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and Bellamy, J., 2021 (Published online). The Cambridge Handbook of Language Standardization

    • 2021

  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and Sanson, H., 2021. Women in the history of linguistics
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198754954.001.0001
    •

    2018

  • Bennett, W. and Carruthers, J., 2018. Manual of Romance Sociolinguistics
  • Bennett, WM., 2018. Claude Favre de Vaugelas, Remarques sur la langue françoise
  • Carlier, A., Glikman, J., Rainsford, TM., Dekens, CS. and Siouffi, G., 2018. Nouvelles voies d'accès au changement linguistique
  • Vaugelas, CFD., 2018. Remarques sur la langue françoise

    • 2014

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., Carruthers, J. and Temple, R., 2014. Problems and Perspectives Studies in the Modern French Language
  • 2014. L'Histoire du français: État des lieux et perspectives

    • 2013

  • Seijido, M. and Ayres-Bennett, W., 2013. Bon Usage et variation sociolinguistique: Perspectives diachroniques et traditions nationales

    • 2012 (No publication date)

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2012 (No publication date). Claude Favre de Vaugelas, Remarques sur la langue française

    • 2011

  • AYRES-BENNETT, W. and Seijido, M., 2011. Remarques et observations sur la langue française : histoire et évolution d’un genre

    • 2007

  • Ayres-Bennett, W. and Jones, MC., 2007. The French language and questions of identity

    • 2005

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2005. A History of the French Language Through Texts

    • 2004

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2004. Sociolinguistic variation in seventeenth-century France: Methodology and case studies
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511486630
    •
  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2004. Sociolinguistic variation in XVIIth century France

    • 1996

  • Rufus, QC., française, A. and Dacier, A., 1996. Les "Remarques" de l'Académie française sur le "Quinte-Curce" de Vaugelas 1719-1720

    • 1987

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 1987. Vaugelas and the Development of the French Language
    • Internet publications

    2020 (No publication date)

  • Bennett, W., 2020 (No publication date). French Grammar – What a Waste of Time!
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.51540
    •
  • Bennett, W., 2020 (No publication date). Language matters
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.51542
    •

    2017

  • Bennett, W., 2017. A needle in a haystack? Seeing languages in government
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.51541
    •

    2011 (No publication date)

  • Ayres-Bennett, W., 2011 (No publication date). Corpus des remarques sur la langue française (XVIIe siècle) Corpus of Remarks on the French language (17th Century)
    • Other publications

    2020 (No publication date)

  • Bennett, W., 2020 (No publication date). The Value of Languages
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.55678
    •
  • Bennett, W. and Carruthers, J., 2020 (No publication date). Policy Briefing on Modern Languages Educational Policy in the UK
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.51539
    •

    2020

  • Bennett, W. and Carruthers, J., 2020. Policy Briefing on Languages, Business, Trade and Innovation
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.55679
    •

    2019 (No publication date)

  • Bennett, W. and Carruthers, J., 2019 (No publication date). Policy Briefing on Community Languages and Social Cohesion
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.47204
    •

    2002

  • 2002. Interpreting the History of French

    • 1995

  • 1995. Syntax and the Literary System: New Approaches to the Interface between Literature and Linguistics

    • 1990

  • 1990. Variation and Change in French
    • Professor of French Philology and Linguistics
    Principal Investigator Multilingualism: Empowering Individuals, Transforming Societies
    Departments and institutes: 
    Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics

    Affiliations

    Classifications: 
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