Colleen Cotter

Colleen Cotter is a Professor in Media Linguistics at Queen Mary University of London, affiliated with the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film. She currently edits the Routledge Handbook on Language and Media and has collaborated with institutions like the British Library on projects such as Social Welfare and Sport and Society. Her research focuses on sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, and ethnography of communication, with particular emphasis on news media language, endangered languages, and Irish Gaelic revitalization. She holds a PhD from UC Berkeley.

Teaching includes courses on Language and Life in London, Ethnography of Communication, and Language in the Media. Her work bridges theoretical linguistics and applied contexts, addressing issues like gender representation in journalism, diversity in news production, and language policy in digital spaces. Notable publications include News Talk: Investigating the Language of Journalism (2010) and contributions to the Handbook of Discourse Analysis (2015).

Research interests extend to media discourse strategies, public communication ethics, and the role of technology in language evolution. Her collaborative projects highlight practical applications of sociolinguistics, including linguistic access policies and media-driven language maintenance initiatives.