b. 1963
Martin Haspelmath is a German linguist known for his work in linguistic typology, language universals, and grammaticalization theory. He has made significant contributions to the philosophy of linguistics, particularly regarding the ontological status of linguistic entities and critiques of Platonist approaches to language.
Co-edited the World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS)
Developed influential work on grammaticalization and semantic maps
Critiqued Platonist conceptions of language in favor of usage-based approaches
Co-founded the journal Linguistic Discovery
Advanced comparative concepts methodology in linguistic typology