Esther de Leeuw

Esther de Leeuw is a Reader in Experimental Linguistics and Phonetics at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), part of the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film. She holds a PhD from Queen Margaret University (Edinburgh) and completed postdoctoral research at the University of Munich and York University. Her research focuses on multilingualism, bilingualism, first language attrition, and phonetic/phonological processes. She directs QMUL's Phonetics Laboratory and co-founded Multilingual Capital, a resource for London communities. De Leeuw teaches modules on multilingualism, sociophonetics, and acoustic analysis of speech, and supervises PhD students exploring topics like bilingual pitch range and L2 perception-production links. She has held visiting fellowships in Germany and Canada, and is an Associate Editor for Second Language Research.

Education:

• PhD in Linguistics, Queen Margaret University (2009)
• Magistra Artium (MA), University of Trier (Germany)
• Studies at University of Utrecht (Netherlands) and Northwest Community College (Canada)

Research Interests: Social, cognitive, and linguistic factors in multilingual speech; phonetic/phonological attrition; bilingual executive control; sociophonetic variation. Recent work includes studies on Japanese-English bilingual pitch range, Sylheti-English prosody, and L2 perception-production disconnects.

Grants & Collaborations: Led projects on phonetic attrition funded through Humboldt Fellowship and UK-based grants. Collaborates internationally with institutions including the University of Munich and the BBC Pronunciation Unit. Current research explores gender perception shifts in late bilinguals and L2 cross-modal priming effects.

Labs/Initiatives: Director of QMUL Phonetics Lab, co-founder of Multilingual Capital (advocating multilingualism benefits in education).