Maciej Baranowski

Dr. Maciej Baranowski is a Senior Lecturer in Linguistics and English Language at the University of Manchester, specializing in sociolinguistics, phonetics, and language variation. His research focuses on the phonetic and phonological aspects of language change, particularly in Manchester English, including vowel systems, sociolinguistic variation, and accent analysis. He holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania (2006) and has conducted influential studies on topics such as the NORTH-FORCE merger, /l/ realization, and TD-deletion in British English.

Baranowski has secured multiple research grants, including a £99,939 Economic & Social Research Council grant (2011-2014) for studying vowel system variation in Manchester and a £5,766 British Academy grant (2009-2011) examining African American Vernacular English. His work bridges sociolinguistic theory with empirical phonetic analysis, contributing to our understanding of how social factors and phonetic processes interact in language change.

His recent articles highlight innovations such as affrication-driven /s/-retraction and the role of socioeconomic class in vowel splits. He collaborates extensively on urban dialect studies and serves on the Polish Research Council’s grants review board. While no formal awards are listed, his peer-reviewed outputs and grant leadership underscore his academic impact.