John Lynch (linguist)

John Dominic Lynch FAHA (8 July 1946 – 25 May 2021) was an Australian-Vanuatuan linguist who specialised in the historical development of the Oceanic languages. He was a professor at the University of Papua New Guinea for over twenty years and elected its vice chancellor in 1986 before finishing his career at the University of the South Pacific in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Retiring at the end of 2007, he was made professor emeritus of his named chair in Pacific languages in a rare honour bestowed by the university. While at the University of the South Pacific, Lynch served as the director of the Pacific Languages Unit, an association dedicated to the research and promotion of languages in the Pacific. He also served as chief editor of Oceanic Linguistics for twelve years following the resignation of Byron Bender.

Born in Sydney to an Irish Catholic family, Lynch attended the University of Sydney on a Commonwealth Scholarship, originally majoring in anthropology. He later joined the honours linguistics program, studying under the Aboriginal languages expert Arthur Capell. After receiving a grant from the East–West Center, Lynch earned his doctorate from the University of Hawaiʻi under the tutelage of George W. Grace after conducting fieldwork on the Lenakel language of Tanna in southern Vanuatu. Throughout his career, he was known as a gifted writer and administrator. His work in education earned him several honours, including Vanuatu's Independence Anniversary Medal and Papua New Guinea's Anniversary Medal. Following his retirement, he was made a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.