Anvita Abbi is Professor of Linguistics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. A distinguished researcher in languages of the Indian subcontinent, she has carried out first-hand field research on all six families of languages found there. She has occupied positions of Guest Scientist at the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany, and Visiting Professorships at universities in the USA, UK, Germany and Australia. At present, she is Leverhulme Professor at School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, UK.