Before his retirement, he spent his entire career at the Department of Phonetics and Linguistics at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London.
[2] In his childhood, Robins studied French, Latin and ancient Greek.
He completed his university studies in 1948 with first class honours in Literae Humaniores (both Mods and Greats).
During the Second World War, a stint where he taught Japanese to Royal Air Force servicemen attracted him to the field of linguistics.
John Rupert Firth was the head of department at the time and was a major influence on Robins.
He was British representative (1970–1977) and one-time president of the International Committee of Linguists (1977–1997).
He was chairman of the Henry Sweet Society for the History of Linguistic Ideas at the time of his death.