David Willis (linguist)

David Willis
Born
David W. E. Willis
Occupation(s)Linguist and academic
TitleJesus Professor of Celtic
Academic background
ThesisThe loss of verb-second in Welsh: Study of syntactic change (1996)
Doctoral advisorEllis Evans
Academic work
DisciplineCeltic languages and linguistics
InstitutionsSomerville College, Oxford
University of Manchester
Selwyn College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Oxford
Main interestslanguage change and syntax
Notable worksThe history of negation in the languages of Europe and the Mediterranean

David W. E. Willis is a linguist and Celticist. In 2020 he took up the post of Jesus Professor of Celtic at the University of Oxford. He had previously held posts in historical linguistics at the University of Manchester and at the University of Cambridge, where he was a Fellow of Selwyn College.

He was a Junior Research Fellow at Somerville College, Oxford. In 2022, he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences.