Penelope Brown is a prominent British linguist known for her work in the field of sociolinguistics and discourse analysis. She has made significant contributions to understanding how language functions in social contexts, particularly through her research on politeness theory and interactional sociolinguistics. Brown is best known for co-authoring the influential book "Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage" with Stephen Levinson. This work explores how different cultures use language to express politeness and manage social relationships, providing insights into communication across various languages and societies.