Alex Speed Kjeldsen

Alex Speed Kjeldsen serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics at the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Humanities. His research centers on the Bornholm dialect, Old Norse (particularly Icelandic) script and language history, and digital edition philology, with significant contributions to lexicography and language technology applications for non-standardized historical sources.

His primary research domains integrate dialectology, historical linguistics, and digital humanities, specializing in Bornholm dialect documentation and Old Norse manuscript studies. Current projects include the Bornholmsk Ordbog meta-dictionary synthesizing unpublished lexical resources and digital editions of medieval Icelandic texts like Morkinskinna. He applies computational tools to analyze medieval manuscripts and dialect corpora, bridging philological traditions with modern language technology.

Recent publications (2025) predominantly feature newspaper articles in Bornholms Tidende under the 'Bâgsian' series, examining Bornholm dialect interjections, folk narratives, and cultural expressions. These works demonstrate consistent thematic focus on dialect preservation through accessible public scholarship, with recurring exploration of lexical semantics, sociolinguistic variation, and cultural heritage documentation.

Notable awards include:

• Kulturprisen 2023
• Bornholmerprisen 2021
• Modersmål-Prisen 2023
• Kultur Bornholms Sprogpris 2019
• Dr.phil. Ejnar Munksgaard og Hustrus Legat (2003)
• Donation ved Bornholmsk Amatørscenes 50 års-jubilæum (2022)

While specific doctoral students aren't documented, Kjeldsen leads the LexText research group indicating active mentorship and collaborative grant-funded work. His 96 recorded activities (including 92 lectures) and extensive media engagement (178 press items) demonstrate ongoing public scholarship and knowledge dissemination beyond traditional academic outputs.

Kjeldsen directs the interdisciplinary LexText: Kulturarv i ord og kilder research group, operating at the intersection of lexicography, corpus linguistics, and edition philology. The group incorporates dialectology, historical sociolinguistics, onomastics, and language technology to analyze linguistic cultural heritage through empirical, historically grounded methodologies.