Kasia Jaszczolt
MA (Lodz), DPhil (Oxon), PhD (Cantab), MAE
College roles
Professorial Fellow (C)
Director of Studies in Linguistics (Part I, IIA; IIB)
Postgraduate Mentor
University roles
Professor of Linguistics and Philosophy of Language
Biography
Professor Kasia Jaszczolt (pronounced: Yashchout) obtained Master’s degrees in English and Linguistics (1987) and Philosophy (1988) from University of Łódź, Poland (her home town) and D.Phil. in Linguistics and Philosophy from University of Oxford (1992), where she was a Rawnsley Scholar at St Hugh’s College and previously a Soros Scholar at Somerville College. She joined Newnham College and University of Cambridge in 1995 as University Assistant Lecturer and College Fellow and Tutor respectively. Since 2010 she has been University Professor of Linguistics and Philosophy of Language and College Professorial Fellow. She is also Director of Studies and Postgraduate Mentor in Linguistics. In 2012 she was elected Member of Academia Europaea.
Research Interests
Kasia Jaszczolt is a linguist and a philosopher of language, interested in meaning in language, in the mind, and in conversation – how it is composed and conveyed. Her recent projects include the human concepts of time and the self as they are represented in different languages in cultures. She is also the author of a theory of meaning in discourse called Default Semantics. Her authored books include Semantics, Pragmatics, Philosophy: A Journey through Meaning (2023, CUP), Meaning in Linguistic Interaction (2016, OUP), Representing Time (2009, OUP), Default Semantics (2005, OUP), Semantics and Pragmatics (2002, Longman) and Discourse, Beliefs and Intentions (1999, Elsevier). She has also authored over 100 research articles and co-authored and co-edited 12 volumes – most recently Understanding Human Time (2023, OUP). She gives lectures and seminars on various topics in semantics, pragmatics and philosophy and always enjoys talking to students of all levels (undergraduate, MPhil and PhD) who share her enthusiasm for the study of meaning.