In memoriam: Colin H. Williams (1950-2026)

Colin became a research professor in the School of Welsh at Cardiff University in 1993. At this university he established the Language, Policy and Planning Research Unit (LPPRU). As a member of the Welsh Language Board, he could apply his ideas in practice. 

After his retirement in 2015, he became an honorary professor and a Senior Research Associate at the University of Cambridge. His work brought him in regular contact with the Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning. It was always a pleasure to work with him in various projects.

Colin had great expertise in many academic fields ranging from geography to minority languages and policy. He wrote a large number of articles and books. In his most recent book Official Language Regimes: Transformation and Innovation (2025) he draws on decades of comparative research across minority languages like Irish, Welsh, Basque, Catalan and in Canada. He provides insights into managing language diversity, addressing power relations, and democracy. He offers proposals for improvement of language equality among new challenges like migration, information technology, and artificial intelligence.

May he rest in peace.

Cor van der Meer and Durk Gorter

Wikipedia - Colin H. Williams
Cardiff University - Language Policy and Planning Research Unit (LPPRU)
University of Cambridge - In Memoriam: Professor Colin H. Williams
Book - Official Language Regimes: Transformation and Innovation