Find Academic Supervisors

Laurel MacKenzie is an Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at New York University (NYU), affiliated with the Faculty of Arts and Science. She specializes in variationist sociolinguistics, dialectology, and language change, with a focus on English and French varieties. Her work integrates quantitative analysis of speech data to explore intra-speaker variation and language evolution. She co-directs the NYU Sociolinguistics Lab and leads the NSF-funded NYC Individual Differences Corpus project, alongside the Our Dialects initiative, an online atlas of British English dialects. Education: PhD in Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania (2012) BA in Linguistics and French, University of California, Berkeley (2006) Research Interests: Morphological and syntactic variation Regional dialects of English and French Linguistic pedagogy and public engagement Recent Projects: Recent work includes publications on participle leveling in English, sociolinguistic replication studies, and grammatical variation analysis. She has also collaborated on dialect mapping tools and consulted for media projects on language change and accents. Awards: No awards explicitly listed in provided texts. Labs/Teams: NYU Sociolinguistics Lab (Co-Director) Our Dialects Project (Academic Lead)

• Variationist Sociolinguistics
• Dialectology
• Language Change
• +5 more

Mariška Bolyanatz Brown is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Spanish and French Studies at Occidental College (Oxy), appointed in 2017. She holds a B.A. from Gordon College, an M.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a Ph.D. from UCLA. Her research focuses on socially conditioned variation in speech production and perception in Spanish, particularly examining the sociolinguistic implications of phonetic features in Chilean and Salvadoran Spanish. She teaches courses such as Introduction to Linguistics, Spanish in the United States, and Spanish Sociolinguistics, emphasizing inclusive pedagogy and data analysis skills. Education: B.A., Gordon College, Massachusetts M.A., University of Illinois, Chicago Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Research Interests: Sociolinguistics, Phonetics, Spanish Language Variation, Linguistic Discrimination, Heritage Language Maintenance, and the social meanings of phonetic variation in Spanish. Her work analyzes acoustic and morpho-phonological patterns to explore how speech features correlate with socioeconomic identity and intergroup perception. Publications: Dr. Bolyanatz Brown has published widely on topics such as coda /s/ weakening in Chilean Spanish, cross-dialectal acoustic differences in /s/, and sociophonetic perception of intervocalic /k/ voicing. Her research bridges laboratory-based phonetic analysis with sociolinguistic theory, contributing to debates on sound change and language variation. Teaching Philosophy: Her courses foster critical engagement with language use, encouraging students to connect linguistic patterns to broader societal issues such as racism and education policy. She emphasizes fieldwork and data collection, as seen in her Spanish in the United States course, where students conduct community-based research in Los Angeles. Labs/Teams: No specific lab is mentioned, though her research involves collaborative fieldwork and acoustic analysis projects with colleagues like Brandon Rogers and Franny Brogan.

• Sociolinguistics
• Phonetics
• Spanish Language Variation
• +3 more

Professor Emma Moore is a leading sociolinguist at the School of English, University of Sheffield . Specializing in the social dimensions of language, her work integrates methodologies from anthropology and sociology to investigate how linguistic variation constructs identity and social affiliations. Research focus: Sociolinguistic style, dialect contact, youth language, identity negotiation, and community-based fieldwork Key projects: Adolescence and grammar (1999-), Isles of Scilly dialect (2008-), language and inequality (2014-), language perception software (2016-) Educational background : PhD in Sociolinguistics, University of Manchester Stanford University (USA) during PhD research Research trends across her 2021-2025 publications reveal interdisciplinary exploration of: Socio-syntactic variation Clinical linguistics (2025 MDS-UPDRS studies) Digital discourse post-pandemic Indexicality and cognitive representations Dialect contact in insular communities Educational policy implications Scientific recognition : British Academy Mid-Career Fellow (2019-2020) Elected Fellow, Royal Anthropological Institute (2014) AHRC/BA funded research projects (1999-2015) Research group leadership : Mentored 9 PhD students (2004-2024) and supervised 3 undergraduate SURE projects, including analyses of: Gender in rap performance Language style and workplace inequality Oral history digitization Professional contributions : Editorial Board: Language in Society (2015-), Gender and Language (2011-2017) External Examiner: Lancaster University MA in English Language (2013-2017) Collaborative software development for dialect perception testing

• Sociolinguistics
• Syntax
• Language Variation
• +12 more

Erik W. Willis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Indiana University Bloomington, where he also serves as Director of Graduate Studies and Director of the Hispanic Linguistics Program. His work focuses on Spanish phonetics, phonology, and dialectal variation, particularly in Caribbean and Mexican Spanish varieties. He employs acoustic analysis and laboratory methods to study rhotic contrasts, intonational patterns, and sociolinguistic phenomena. Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2003) M.A., Brigham Young University (1997) B.A., Brigham Young University (1994) His research spans multiple subfields including: Acoustic characterization of Spanish rhotics Intonational system analysis using Sp_ToBI Second language phonology acquisition Web-based language assessment tools Vowel system variations in Spanish dialects Contextual phonetic realizations in Caribbean Spanish Recent publications demonstrate systematic variation in coda liquids, tap-trill contrasts, and intonational patterns across Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Mexican Spanish. His work combines empirical acoustic analysis with sociolinguistic frameworks to document both phonetic realizations and their pragmatic functions in spoken language.

• Spanish Phonetics
• Spanish Phonology
• Laboratory Phonology
• +5 more

Professor Julia Schlüter is a distinguished academic in the Chair of English Linguistics within the Humanities Faculty at the University of Bamberg, Germany. She has served as Senior Lecturer at the Chair of English Linguistics and Language History under Prof. Manfred Krug since June 2008, holding the title of Professor following her habilitation in 2008. Her institutional profile demonstrates deep commitment to both research and teaching innovation, particularly through her leadership of the KorPLUS project and development of open educational resources for corpus linguistics. Her research interests span corpus linguistics for English language learners, empirical methods for studying language variation and change, and the application of corpus methods to teaching. She specializes in examining grammatical, phonological, and lexical differences between British and American English across historical periods from Middle English to present-day usage. Her work investigates phonological variation (particularly phonotactically controlled alternations), morphological change, and syntactic variation through corpus analysis, with special attention to functional grammar and grammaticalization theory. Professor Schlüter's recent publications (2022-2025) reveal a strategic evolution in her research focus, with increasing emphasis on the intersection of corpus linguistics and digital education. While maintaining her foundational work in historical English linguistics, she has developed significant expertise in applying corpus methods to language teacher education and evaluating AI writing tools. Her work demonstrates consistent methodological innovation, moving from traditional corpus analysis to blended learning approaches and digital educational resource development. Her scientific recognition includes: Winner of the 2025 Teaching Innovation Prize from the International Society for the Linguistics of English for the KorPLUS project University of Bamberg Prize for outstanding habilitation (2009) Lise Meitner Programme post-doctoral scholarship (2005-2006) Rectorate Prize from University of Paderborn for outstanding Ph.D. thesis (2005) Multiple DAAD scholarships for international study Professor Schlüter actively supervises doctoral research, currently guiding three Ph.D. candidates (Katharina Deckert, Aklima Nahar, and Nikolai Beland) while having successfully completed supervision for several others. She leads the KorPLUS project (2021-2025), funded by the Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre, which develops open educational resources for corpus linguistics. Her research has been consistently supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and other funding bodies throughout her career. She heads the KorPLUS team (with Carina Großmann and Katharina Deckert) which develops the interactive Open Educational Resource platform for corpus linguistics. Her YouTube channel offers video tutorials on corpus basics, and she has created the Video Podcast Series "How to Update your Grammar" for English teachers. She regularly organizes in-service teacher trainings and collaborates with the Virtual Linguistics Campus at RWTH Aachen University to deliver her educational materials globally.

• Corpus Linguistics
• Language Variation and Change
• Historical Linguistics
• +7 more

Professor Bernadette O'Rourke holds a dual appointment in Sociolinguistics and Hispanic Studies at the University of Glasgow 's School of Modern Languages and Cultures . Her work bridges sociolinguistics with the sociology of language, focusing on the political and social dimensions of language use, revitalization, and ideological frameworks. Specializes in minority languages (Galician, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Faroese) Examines new speakers' role in language revitalization Explores language activism and ethnographic resistance Research trends show increasing focus on multilingual cities, digital methods (GPS, electronic recording), and sociopolitical movements in language preservation. Her 2024 publications analyze geospatial tools for language revitalization and poetic resistance in Galician communities. Scientific Awards: Leverhulme Research Fellowship (2021-2022) Chair of EU COST Action IS1306 (2013-2017) AHRC Early-Career Fellowship (2012) Fellow of Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Grants include Royal Society Edinburgh funding for Gaelic-Irish language projects and Faroese labor market integration studies. Supervision covers 10 current PhD projects including Galician diaspora in London, Manx language revitalization, and Kabyle preservation.

• Sociolinguistics
• Minority Languages
• Multilingualism
• +5 more

Dr. Anne-France Pinget is an Assistant Professor in Linguistics at Utrecht University's Department of Languages, Literature and Communication, where she has been working since 2015. She is embedded within the Institute for Language Sciences (ILS) and holds an active position in the research domain of Language structure: variation and change. Her academic journey began with a PhD completed in 2015 on 'The Actuation of Sound Change,' supervised by Prof. Hans Van de Velde and Prof. René Kager, funded by an NWO doctoral scholarship. Her research spans three interconnected domains: sociolinguistics (sound change, imitation, language attitudes), sociophonetics, and language acquisition (acquisition of variation, language policy, fluency, accent, and attitudes). She has taught various courses primarily focused on Sociolinguistics at Utrecht University and has been involved in multiple educational programs including Linguistics (BA & RMA), Multilingualism and Language Acquisition (MA), and Language and Cultural Studies (BA). Her recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on language variation and change, with particular attention to Dutch language phenomena, accent recognition, and multilingual contexts. Her work combines experimental and sociolinguistic approaches, often examining the intersection of social factors and phonetic variation. Scientific Contributions: NWO XS Project (2023-2024): 'Growing up in multilectal and multilingual Netherlands: The acquisition of sound variation by primary school children' Editor of Journal Nederlandse Taalkunde/Dutch Linguistics (2022-present) Member of editorial team for Journal Glossa Psycholinguistics (2023-present) Treasurer of NVFW (Netherlands Association for Phonetic Sciences) (2018-present) Dr. Pinget has been actively involved in academic service, serving on Utrecht University's Examination Board (2017-present), previously as a member of the Ethics Committee (2017-2020) and Study Programme Committee (2016-2018). She also contributed to the development of laboratory and experimental sociolinguistic research as a postdoctoral researcher at the Fryske Akademy (2021-2025).

• Sociolinguistics
• Phonetics
• Multilingualism
• +5 more

Kaius Sinnemäki is a Professor of Quantitative and Comparative Linguistics at the University of Helsinki, affiliated with the Department of Languages under the Faculty of Arts. Since 2025, he has directed the strategic profiling action Diversity in Society and Life (DIVSOL) , funded by the Research Council of Finland, and previously led the ERC Starting Grant project Linguistic Adaptation (2019-2024). His research focuses on large-scale comparative linguistics, integrating language typology with sociolinguistics. Key areas include core argument marking, statistical methods in typology, linguistic complexity, language contact, and the interplay between language and religion. He teaches courses spanning language typology, evolution, sociolinguistics, and quantitative methods. Recent publications address replication in linguistic research, adaptation in contact ecologies, and complexity measures across phonological, morphosyntactic, and syntactic domains. His work often bridges theoretical linguistics with empirical data analysis, utilizing open datasets and computational tools. Scientific Awards: Prize for the Humanities (2021) He actively supervises academic theses, serves on editorial boards (e.g., Linguistic Typology ), and participates in international collaborations, peer reviews, and media engagements on linguistic diversity and secularism.

• Linguistics
• Language Typology
• Comparative Linguistics
• +9 more

Dr. Dustin Crowther is an Associate Professor in the Department of Second Language Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He holds a PhD from Michigan State University and currently serves as Director of the Center for Academic Spoken English (CASE), an initiative supporting non-native English speakers in academic oral communication. His primary research focuses on second language speech comprehensibility, global Englishes pedagogy, and listener perception dynamics. Dr. Crowther has held editorial roles for TESOL Quarterly (2019-2024) and will become Editor of the Journal of Second Language Pronunciation in 2025. Dr. Crowther's expertise includes L2 pronunciation instruction, program development in SLA, and methodological practices in second language research. He co-authored Shaping Learners' Pronunciation: Teaching the Connected Speech of North American English (2022) and co-edited Investigating World Englishes: Research Methodology and Practical Applications (2019). His research appears in top-tier journals like Applied Linguistics , Language Learning , and TESOL Quarterly . Education: PhD, Michigan State University Professional Roles: Editor ( Journal of Second Language Pronunciation ), Director (CASE), Affiliate Faculty in Linguistics His work bridges SLA research with pedagogical applications, emphasizing global Englishes' role in multilingual academic contexts. Dr. Crowther collaborates with international scholars through the CASE initiative and has developed innovative assessment methodologies for L2 speaking tasks.

• Second Language Acquisition
• L2 Pronunciation Instruction
• Global Englishes
• +4 more

James Wilson is an Associate Professor in Russian and Language Studies at the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies , University of Leeds . He holds a BA, MA, and PhD in Russian with Czech from the University of Sheffield and a CELTA from International House, Prague . His career spans teaching and research in Czech and Russian languages, with a focus on variationist sociolinguistics , dialectology , and corpus-based pedagogy . 2010–2011: Research Fellow on AHRC-funded IntelliText project at Centre for Translation Studies , University of Leeds 2009–present: Teaching at University of Leeds Wilson’s research examines language variation in Czech , particularly Standard vs. Common Czech in Bohemia and Moravia, dialect contact , and second dialect acquisition . He has developed corpus-based methodologies for Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) and ESP teaching. His recent publications analyze sociolinguistic variation in Czech loanwords , salience in dialect acquisition , and collaborative vocabulary learning using corpora. He has supervised PhD researcher Amani Alonayzan and organized HEA-funded workshops on bespoke language training and corpus applications . Wilson has also contributed to medical translation and dictionary entries on accommodation theory and quantitative sociolinguistics .

• Variationist Sociolinguistics
• Dialectology
• Language Pedagogy
• +3 more

Dr. Jami Fisher serves as Senior Lecturer and Director of the American Sign Language (ASL) Program at the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Linguistics. Affiliated with the College of Arts & Sciences, their work focuses on documenting Philadelphia-area ASL variation, global deaf community collaborations (especially with Italian communities), and integrating sign language studies into broader linguistic curricula. Education includes an Ed.D. in Higher Education from UPenn (2014), M.S.Ed. (2002) and B.A. in Linguistics (1997). Their pedagogical innovations emphasize Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) partnerships with local organizations like the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and Deaf-Hearing Communication Centre. Research interests bridge sociolinguistics and community engagement, analyzing the linguistic landscape's visual representation of sign languages and exploring how signed languages reflect cultural values. They co-lead the ASL/Deaf Studies minor program, integrating interdisciplinary coursework with field-based capstone projects. Program leadership includes developing UPenn's longest-running Ivy League ASL program, offering advanced courses in Deaf History, Culture, and Linguistics. Collaborative projects emphasize mutually beneficial partnerships with Deaf communities to ensure culturally responsive research and education.

• American Sign Language (ASL) documentation
• Linguistic landscape analysis
• Deaf community partnerships
• +3 more

David Embick is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts & Sciences. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997 and has established himself as a leading scholar in theoretical and experimental linguistics. Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1997 Professor Embick's research spans both theoretical and experimental linguistics, with a focus on syntactic theory, morphological theory (particularly Distributed Morphology), and the syntax/morphology interface. His work explores syntax and phonological form, argument structure, lexical knowledge, and language processing in the brain. He has developed significant research in language and autism using MEG neuroimaging techniques. His theoretical contributions include the Localist approach to morphology and phonology, which contrasts with Globalist theories like Optimality Theory. His recent publications reveal a strong trend toward integrating theoretical linguistics with experimental psycholinguistics, particularly in morphological processing and spoken word recognition. Embick's work bridges theoretical syntax and morphology with cognitive neuroscience, examining how linguistic structures are represented and processed in the brain. His research on autism spectrum disorders has produced important insights into auditory processing differences in this population. Professor Embick leads the XMorph (Experimental Morphology) Lab at Penn, which investigates lexical and morphological representation and processing. The lab works closely with Meredith Tamminga's Language Variation and Cognition Lab and collaborates with Tim Roberts at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on autism spectrum disorder research. His lab has produced significant work on morphological priming, semantic transparency effects, and the representation of inflectional morphology in the mental lexicon. Embick has advised several doctoral students including Ava Creemers (2020), Robert J. Wilder (2018), and Amy Goodwin Davies (2018), whose dissertation topics focused on morphological processing, speech perception, and lexical representation respectively. His collaborative research spans multiple institutions and disciplines, connecting theoretical linguistics with cognitive neuroscience and clinical applications.

• Syntactic Theory
• Morphological Theory
• Distributed Morphology
• +7 more

Arne Ziegler is a full Professor at the Institute of German Studies within the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Graz, Austria. His academic career spans over two decades, with current leadership of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF)-supported Special Research Programme 'German in Austria' (DiÖ), running from 2016 to 2026. He maintains active roles in international academic governance and editorial boards. Professor Ziegler's research centers on grammatical variation in Standard German , with particular emphasis on Austrian German dialects, urban sociolinguistics, and youth language phenomena. His work bridges theoretical linguistics and practical applications, examining how regional, social, and historical factors shape language structures. Key contributions include the development of the 'Variant Grammar of Standard German' – a comprehensive digital reference work documenting areal grammatical differences across German-speaking regions. Analysis of his recent publications reveals consistent focus on urban language dynamics, grammatical variation patterns, and reference grammar development. His work demonstrates methodological innovation through quantitative analysis of spoken interaction, spatial distribution mapping of linguistic features, and interdisciplinary approaches combining sociolinguistics with historical text analysis. The 'German in Austria' project represents the cornerstone of his current research, investigating language variation, contact phenomena, and speaker perception across Austria. Professor Ziegler has secured significant competitive funding including three major FWF projects: 'German in Austria' (2016-2026), 'Youth language(s) in Austria' (2013-2016), and 'Variant Grammar of Standard German' (2015-2018). These initiatives involve extensive collaboration with researchers across German-speaking countries and support large-scale empirical investigations into contemporary language use. He holds prominent leadership positions including Chair of the International Association for German Studies (IVG) since 2000, Chair of the Society for German Language History since 2008, and editorial roles for 'Technical language' (International Advisory Board) and 'Contingentia' (Editorial Board). His academic service extends to co-editing six major book series including 'Writings on the German Language in Austria' (Peter Lang) and 'Lingua Historica Germanica' (de Gruyter), significantly shaping publication venues for German linguistic research.

• German Linguistics
• Variation in Standard German
• Sociolinguistics
• +3 more

Ulrike Altendorf serves as Associate Professor of Contemporary English Language at Leibniz University Hannover's Faculty of Philosophy, where she holds multiple leadership positions including Head of the English Linguistics Department and Managing Director of the English Department (since 2021, and previously from 2012-2014). Her extensive administrative roles include Deputy Chair of the Audit Committee, Examination Officer for German and English Linguistics, and representation on the Doctoral Committee of the Faculty of Philosophy. Altendorf's research expertise centers on English language variation with particular focus on Estuary English, which has formed the cornerstone of her academic career since her 2001 doctoral dissertation at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. Her scholarly approach bridges traditional dialectology with cognitive sociolinguistics, developing innovative frameworks like the perceptual prototype approach to language variation. She examines how ideology and social perception shape linguistic categorization, particularly in the contested case of Estuary English as a legitimate dialect category. Analysis of her publication record reveals consistent focus on language variation, with particular attention to British English dialects, accent studies, and the sociocultural dimensions of linguistic change. Her work demonstrates evolution from descriptive documentation of Estuary English features to theoretical contributions examining the cognitive and ideological processes behind dialect formation and recognition. Recent publications increasingly incorporate cognitive sociolinguistic perspectives while maintaining empirical grounding in phonetic and phonological analysis. Altendorf leads active research projects including 'Estuary English Revisited' and 'S Retraction,' examining sound changes in Southeastern England. Her scholarly influence extends through editorial work, including co-editing 'Cultural Issues in the Matrix of Applied Linguistics' (2020) and 'Australien Verstehen – Facetten eines Kontinents' (2010), demonstrating her commitment to interdisciplinary approaches in linguistic research.

• English Linguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Language Variation
• +7 more

Professor Miriam Meyerhoff is a Senior Research Fellow at All Souls College, University of Oxford since 2020. Her academic career includes professorships at Victoria University of Wellington (2014–2020), University of Auckland (2010–2014), and University of Edinburgh (2001–2010). She holds a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and degrees from Victoria University of Wellington. Her research focuses on sociolinguistic variation in Pacific languages, particularly Creoles, and the intersection of language with gender and identity. Current projects include documenting the endangered Nkep language in Vanuatu and analyzing language change in multicultural urban settings like Auckland. Education Bachelor's degree, Victoria University of Wellington (1984) Master's and PhD in Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania (1997) Additional postgraduate work at Victoria University of Wellington (1986) Research Interests Meyerhoff explores sociolinguistic constraints on language variation, with a focus on Pacific languages (especially Vanuatu’s Nkep) and Creoles. Her work examines how language reflects social identities (e.g., gender) and adapts to globalization. She emphasizes applied linguistics in community-driven documentation and language policy. Articles Overview Her recent publications address creole continuum dynamics, language accommodation theory, decolonizing linguistic methodologies, and sociolinguistic analysis of child language negotiation. She bridges theoretical inquiry with applied projects like the Auckland Voices Project, documenting urban language evolution. Awards 2019 Research Excellence Award, Victoria University of Wellington 2018 Hudson Medal, Royal Society of New Zealand Grants and Advising Meyerhoff leads major grants including the Nkep language documentation (ELDP, 2011–2014) and studies on language variation in London/Edinburgh (ESRC, 2009–2010). She collaborates with global institutions like the Max Planck Institute and serves on editorial boards for journals like Asia-Pacific Language Variation . Community Engagement Her work prioritizes Indigenous and marginalized communities, particularly in Vanuatu, ensuring language documentation preserves cultural heritage while fostering linguistic autonomy.

• Sociolinguistic Variation
• Pacific Languages
• Creole Studies
• +3 more