In a significant honour for South African academia, Rajend Mesthrie, the revered linguist and emeritus professor at the University of Cape Town (UCT), has been elected as a Fellow of the British Academy. This prestigious accolade stands as one of the highest recognitions for distinguished scholars in the fields of humanities and social sciences, honouring exemplary contributions to the discipline. Mesthrie joins a cohort of luminaries, consisting of 58 new fellows from the UK, 30 international fellows, and four honorary fellows, all elected this year.

The newly inducted fellows reflect a diverse array of expertise that spans across various critical fields, including the sociocultural contexts of 20th-century music, the structural causation of poverty, environmental law, and the fascinating neuroscience behind memory, language, and cognition. Each of these experts contributes a unique perspective aimed at addressing some of the pressing challenges faced by contemporary society.

Following the announcement of the fellowship, Professor Mesthrie expressed his profound gratitude, noting that despite never having studied in the UK, his work has been significantly influenced by British scholarship, particularly in general linguistics, sociolinguistics, and the historical nuances of the English language. “I am rather pleased to be recognised in this way by the British Academy. This recognition is a testament to my lifelong commitment to teaching and research in South Africa and the manifold linguistic streams that flow through our country,” he stated.

Mesthrie’s academic contributions are extensive, and impactful. His published works delve into the socio-historical linguistics of Indian languages, African languages, English, and Afrikaans within the context of South Africa, alongside their multilingual interconnections. His research on English as a global lingua franca and the sociolinguistics of language contact uniquely positions him as a formidable force in the field, with international acclaim for his insights and analyses.

Beyond his scholarly achievements, Mesthrie has been a dedicated community scholar, actively participating in the transformation of the linguistics program at UCT to be more aligned with the post-apartheid and African context. His tenure also saw him mentoring and funding numerous postgraduate students from Southern Africa and the broader continent, fostering a new generation of African linguists.

Although Mesthrie formally retired from teaching at UCT in 2022, he has continued to play an integral role as a senior research scholar. His impressive credentials were recently affirmed by a Stanford-Scopus survey, which ranked him in the top 2% of researchers globally across all fields, while ranking him first in Africa within the domain of language, linguistics, and literature. Furthermore, he holds honorary life memberships with both the Linguistics Society of South Africa and the Linguistic Society of America.

Professor Susan J. Smith PBA, the newly inaugurated President of the British Academy, remarked on the incoming fellows: “One of my first acts as the incoming President of the British Academy is to welcome this year’s newly elected fellows. What a line-up! They represent the very best of the humanities and social sciences… It’s a privilege to extend my warmest congratulations to them all.” 

Source link