Simon Horobin

Simon Horobin
Born	(1972-09-22) 22 September 1972 (age 53)
Occupation	Philologist author
Language	English
Nationality	British
Subject	Linguistics

Simon Horobin (born 22 September 1972) is a British philologist and author.

Life and career

Horobin graduated from the University of Sheffield. ^[1] He is a professor of English language and literature at the University of Oxford and a fellow of Magdalen College. ^{[2] [3]} Prior to joining Magdalen in 2006, Horobin was a reader of English language at the University of Glasgow. ^[4]

He has been a visiting professor at the University of Connecticut, Harvard University, and Charles University. ^[1] He has also acted as honorary secretary for the Society for the Study of Medieval Languages and Literature. ^[5]

Horobin has appeared on several radio and television programmes to discuss linguistic issues and has been interviewed for various articles in numerous national papers. ^[6] He was elected a fellow of the English Association in 2020. ^[7]

Selected publications

Books

• The Language of the Chaucer Tradition – D.S. Brewer, 2003
• Chaucer's Language – Palgrave Macmillan, 2006
• Studying the History of Early English – Palgrave Macmillan, 2009
• Does Spelling Matter? – Oxford University Press, 2013
• How English Became English: A Short History of a Global Language – Oxford University Press, 2016
• The English Language: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions), 2018
• Bagels, Bumf, and Buses: A Day in the Life of the English Language – Oxford University Press, 2019

Articles

• "Spelling It Out: Is It Time English Speakers Loosened Up"? (2014)
• "So Trump Makes Spelling Errors. In the Twitter Age, Whoo Doesn't"? (2017)
• "The True Importance of Good Spelling." (2017)
• "Trump's Covfefe Takes Hold in the Land of the Spelling Bee."
• Horobin, Simon (1 July 2024). "Identifying Scribal Hands: Principles and Problems". Speculum. 99 (3): 688–696. doi:10.1086/730563.

References

1. "Professor Simon Horobin – Magdalen College Oxford". www.magd.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
2. "Does Spelling Matter?". Oxford University Press. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
3. Clark, Nick (29 May 2013). "Gasps of shock at Hay Literary Festival as professor asks for grammar". The Independent. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
4. "Professor Simon Horobin". Magdalen College, Oxford. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
5. "Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at Lincoln College, Oxford, Friday 16th April 2010 at 4.30pm" (PDF). Society for the Study of Medieval Languages and Literature. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
6. "Professor Simon Horobin".
7. "Fellows". The English Association. Retrieved 29 September 2025.

External links

• Simon Horobin at Magdalen College