Helen West

Dr Helen West is a Senior Lecturer in English Language within the Division of Communication, Screen and Performance at the University of Chester's School for the Creative Industries. She serves as a research and knowledge exchange representative for her division and has held significant leadership roles including Single Honours English Language Programme leader (2017-18) and Student Engagement Officer for English (2018-2024).

Helen's educational background includes a PhD from the University of York (2009-2013), an MSc and MA (Hons) from the University of Edinburgh (2008-2009 and 2004-2008 respectively), and a PGCert in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education from the University of Chester. She became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2016.

Her research focuses on sociolinguistics, particularly sociophonetics, investigating how social factors like age, gender, and social status influence language and accent. Two major research strands dominate her recent work: the Talking Chester/Cestrian English Project examining Chester's unique linguistic position between Liverpool, Manchester and Welsh English varieties; and The Swift Accent Shift Project analyzing Taylor Swift's accent changes between musical genres to explore connections between accent, stylistic categories, and social-psychological processes. Her methodological approach combines computational, quantitative, and qualitative techniques to study language variation and change.

Helen's publication record demonstrates consistent scholarly output with a notable recent focus on contemporary sociophonetic investigations. Her work spans traditional academic formats like book chapters and conference presentations while also engaging with public-facing formats including exhibitions and internet publications. The Taylor Swift research represents an innovative approach to studying real-time accent variation through popular culture, while the Chester dialect project contributes to our understanding of regional identity formation through language.

As an educator, Helen teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate programs on topics including sociolinguistics, sociophonetics, phonetics and phonology, child language acquisition, forensic linguistics, language and identity, and language and popular culture. She has developed numerous courses including Forensic Linguistics, Language and Identity, and Topics in Sociophonetics. Her leadership roles have focused on enhancing student engagement through immersive teaching experiences and promoting student-as-partner approaches to learning.

Helen actively collaborates through projects like the Talking Chester initiative with Dr Jo Close and has organized significant academic events including the 10th Northern Englishes Workshop and Current and New Methods in Sociolinguistics (CANMIS) conference. She also serves as an External Examiner for Blackpool and The Fylde College and holds membership in professional organizations including the International Phonetic Association and Linguistics Association of Great Britain.