Janet Holmes (born 1947) is a New Zealand sociolinguist. Her research interests include Language and Gender, Language in the Workplace, and New Zealand English.
After obtaining a PhD at the University of Leeds, Holmes moved to the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. She published a textbook Introduction to Sociolinguistics which has run to five editions. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and won the Dame Joan Metge Medal in 2012. She is now an Emeritus Professor of Linguistics. Janet has published widely on an array of topics. She currently leads the Wellington Language in the Workplace (LWP) project, an ongoing study of communication formats occurring in the workplace, which examines “small talk, humour, management strategies, directives, and leadership in a wide range of New Zealand workplaces”.. In recognition of Holmes' contributions to the field of Sociolinguistics, Linguist at Work: Festschrift for Janet Holmes, brings together works by Janet's colleagues, students, collaborators, and friends which present new ideas and analysis within the field.
2017 Holmes, Janet and Nick Wilson An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. (5th edition). London: Pearson.
2015 Holmes, Janet and Maria Stubbe (2nd edition) Power and Politeness in the Worksplace. London and New York: Routledge.
2014 Holmes, Janet and Kirk Hazen (eds.) Research Methods in Sociolinguistics: A Practical Guide. Oxford/Malden MA: Wiley Blackwell.
2014 Ehrlich, Susan, Miriam Meyerhoff and Janet Holmes (eds.) The Handbook of Language, Gender and Sexuality. Oxford/Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.
2013 Holmes, Janet. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Fourth Edition. London: Pearson.
2011 Holmes, Janet, Meredith Marra and Bernadette Vine Leadership, Discourse and Ethnicity. Oxford University Press.
2011 Laurie Bauer, Dianne Bardsley, Janet Holmes and Paul Warren Q and Eh: Questions and Answer on Language with a Kiwi Twist.
Holmes, J. (2008). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (3rd ed.). Pearson Longman, Harlow, England
2006 Holmes, Janet Gendered Talk at Work: Constructing Gender Identity through Workplace Discourse. New York, Oxford: Blackwell.
2006 Laurie Bauer, Janet Holmes and Paul Warren. Language Matters. Palgrave Macmillan.
2003 Holmes, Janet and Maria Stubbe. Power and Politeness in the Workplace: a Sociolinguistic Analysis of Talk at Work. London: Pearson.
2002. Holmes, J. and M. Marra. "Having a laugh at work: How humour contributes to workplace culture," Journal of pragmatics,34(12): 1683–1710
2000 Editor. Gendered Speech in Social Context: Perspectives from Gown and Town. Wellington: Victoria University Press.
1999. Holmes, Janet. Women, Men and Politeness. Oxon: Addison, Wesley, Longman.
1988. Holmes, Janet. "Paying compliments: A sex-preferential politeness strategy," Journal of Pragmatics. 12(4): 445–465.
1984. Holmes, Janet. "Modifying illocutionary force," Journal of Pragmatics. 8(3): 345–365.
