Research output per year
Research output per year
Personal profile
Research Interests
I have worked on several topics to do with argument structure and event structure, synchronically and diachronically, as well as aspects of noun phrase structure, particularly relative clauses.
Currently, I have a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship which is for a project on the diachrony of headed relative clauses formed around indefinite/interrogative forms (such as the English WH-words) in various European languages.
Biography
I was educated at University College London, in the English Department and the Linguistics Department. I have been at Edinburgh since 2002, having previously taught at the University of Cambridge and the University of Hong Kong.
Administrative Roles
I don't currently have any administrative roles. At different times in the past, I have been
- Head of Linguistics and English Language
- Convenor of PPLS Undergraduate Board of Studies
- Director of MSc Applied Linguistics
- Director of MSc English Language
- Director of MSc Linguistics
- Director of Studies/Personal Tutor
- Member of School Management Committee
- Member of College Undergraduate Studies Committee
- Membership Secretary of the Linguistics Association of Great Britain
- PG Advisor for Linguistics and English Language
Research Groups
Cognitive Linguistics Research Group
English Language Research Group
Meaning and Grammar Research Group
Qualifications
1989 BA in English, First Class Honours, University of London (University College).
1991 MA in Modern English Language, University of London (University College).
1996 PhD in Linguistics, University of London (University College).
Websites
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics where Nikolas Gisborne is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
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Mutual dependency, English wh-clauses and Word Grammar
Gisborne, N., 15 Jun 2026, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of Linguistics. 30 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
The role of contact in explaining linguistic convergence
Gisborne, N., 10 Dec 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Transactions of the philological society. 35 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
The syntactic constraint on English auxiliary contraction
Hudson, R., Gisborne, N., Clark, T. H., Duran Eppler, E., Hollmann, W., Rosta, A. & Trousdale, G., 28 Mar 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of Linguistics.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Grammar change in the network
Gisborne, N., 2025, Word Grammar, Cognition and Dependency. Duran Eppler, E., Gisborne, N. & Rosta, A. (eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Vol. 1. p. 76-103 28 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Word Grammar, Cognition and Dependency
Duran Eppler, E. (Editor), Gisborne, N. (Editor) & Rosta, A. (Editor), 2025, 1 ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Research output: Book/Report › Book
Activities
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University of Oxford
Gisborne, N. (Visitor)
23 Apr 2023 → 17 Jun 2023Activity: Visiting an external institution types › Visiting an external academic institution
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Participles and the 'have' perfect
Gisborne, N. (Speaker)
3 Aug 2022Activity: Academic talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
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Mutual dependency and Word Grammar: headedness in the noun phrase
Gisborne, N. (Speaker)
21 Mar 2022Activity: Academic talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
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Idiomaticity and language change
Gisborne, N. (Speaker)
9 Sept 2019Activity: Academic talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
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Language Networks
Gisborne, N. (Host), Duran-Eppler, E. (Host) & Rosta, A. (Host)
9 Sept 2019Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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Simple grammars, relative clauses, and language change
Gisborne, N. (Principal Investigator)
1/09/22 → 31/08/25
Project: Research
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Simple grammars, relative clauses and language change
Gisborne, N. (Principal Investigator)
1/09/22 → 31/08/25
Project: Research
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THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Gisborne, N. (Principal Investigator)
1/06/05 → 31/10/05
Project: Research
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HISTORY ENGLISH EVIDENTIAL VERBS
Gisborne, N. (Principal Investigator)
1/04/04 → 31/10/04
Project: Research