R. Amritavalli is a theoretical linguist with interests in first and second language learning, translation and creative writing. She has authored a column (National Curriculum Range 2005) on the English Textbook. Her research works are in Kannada, Dravidian and Hindi languages and have been published in international journals. Her book “Dravidian Syntax and Universal Grammar” was published by Oxford University Press in 2017. Retired in 2015 as Vice-Chancellor of the University of English and Foreign Languages, she is currently editing “The Oxford Handbook of Dravidian Languages” with Bhuvana Narasimhan.