Bernd Heine (born May 25, 1939) is a German linguist and specialist in African studies.
From 1978 to 2004 Heine held the chair for African Studies at the University of Cologne, Germany.
His main focal points in research and teaching are African linguistics, language sociology, grammaticalization theory and language contact.
The grammaticalisation theory, which deals with the changes in grammar, and to which he contributed 7 books and numerous articles, is his main focal point.