Instituted in 2010, this award recognizes scholars early in their careers who have made outstanding contributions to the field of linguistics by contributing to the linguistics community through first-class research, taking on leadership positions in the field, supporting junior scholars and students, and contributing to making the LSA an inclusive community.
Professor Namboodiripad is recognised for her many wide-ranging and impactful contributions. Her research introduced methodological innovations making it possible to take psycholinguistics research out of the laboratory and into language communities. She has contributed to experimental and theoretical syntax, showing how languages have more flexible constituent ordering than previously assumed. Her research also contributes to social justice, emphasizing the harms done by essentialist views on ‘native language’. She is an active member of the linguistics community. She served as co-chair of LSA’s Committee on Ethnic Diversity in Linguistics, and currently serves on the Nomination Committee. Notably, she is also a co-founder of the ROLE collective, a consortium of scholars working against essentialist notions of language in policy and practice, within academia and beyond.
Congratulations, Savi!
