Robin Lakoff

Robin Lakoff
Born
Robin Beth Tolmach

(1942-11-27)November 27, 1942
New York City, U.S.
DiedAugust 5, 2025(2025-08-05) (aged 82)
Known forLanguage and gender
Spouse
(m. 1964; div. 1975)
Children1
Academic background
Alma mater
ThesisStudies in the transformational grammar of Latin: The complement system (1967)
Academic work
DisciplineLinguistics, Sociolinguistics
Sub-disciplineInteractional sociolinguistics
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan
Doctoral studentsDeborah Tannen, Mary Bucholtz

Robin Beth Tolmach Lakoff (/ˈlkɒf/; November 27, 1942 – August 5, 2025) was an American linguist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Her 1975 book Language and Woman's Place is often credited with making language and gender a major subfield focus in linguistics and other disciplines.