28.696, Support: English; Sociolinguistics; Historical Linguistics / United Kingdom

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-28-696. Mon Feb 06 2017. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 28.696, Support: English; Sociolinguistics; Historical Linguistics / United Kingdom

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Date: Mon, 06 Feb 2017 10:04:34
From: Devyani Sharma [d.sharma at qmul.ac.uk]
Subject: English; Sociolinguistics; Historical Linguistics, PhD, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom

 Institution/Organization: Queen Mary University of London 
Department: Linguistics 
Web Address: http://www.linguistics.sllf.qmul.ac.uk/linguistics/ 

Level: PhD 

Duties: Research
 
Specialty Areas: Historical Linguistics; Sociolinguistics 
 
Required Language(s): English (eng)

Description:

The Department of Linguistics at Queen Mary University of London is pleased to
announce an ESRC-funded Collaborative Doctoral Fellowship (MRes + PhD) on the
theme of ''100 Years of Continuity and Change in Spoken British English''. The
studentship involves collaboration between the Department of Linguistics at
Queen Mary University of London and the British Library.

Theme: ''100 Years of Continuity and Change in Spoken British English''

Partner Institution: The British Library

Studentship type: 1+3 (1 year MRes Linguistics + 3 year PhD). Please check
eligibility guidance carefully at
https://www.liss-dtp.ac.uk/case-studentships-student-applicants. Students
should have a first-class/equivalent BA in Linguistics or a merit/equivalent
MA in Linguistics or a closely related field.

September 2017 entry
Application deadline: 12 April 2017

Project description:

The project will compile a diachronic corpus of sound recordings from the
historic holdings of the British Library Sound Archive, an unparalleled
collection of natural British speech spanning over a century. The corpus
design will aim for a balanced selection across region, register, and
demographic factors while maximising time depth. Using this unique corpus, the
project will investigate a fundamental theoretical challenge in the study of
language change: What is the relative importance of linguistic factors,
frequency, and social factors in changes observed in British English over
time? This question has been difficult to address fully due to the lack of
audio archives with sufficient time depth. Recent historical corpora have
begun to remedy this, with some unexpected findings regarding the role of
frequency in phonetic change (Hay et al. 2015), intensifying the debate over
the relative role of frequency, among other factors, in large-scale dialect
change (Labov 2010; Kiparsky 2016). A substantial diachronic corpus will also
permit deeper investigation of related themes such as vernacular stability,
social factors in change (e.g. age, demographics, gender, class), and
co-variation in change. As this is a 1+3 studentship, the student and the
supervisory team will refine the scope of the project during the first year.
Alongside a range of research expertise, the successful candidate will acquire
expertise in archival and library sciences and experience working in a major
public institution. The project will also incorporate public engagement
activities including reports to schools, to the British Library, and to the
general public.

Supervisors: Devyani Sharma, Esther de Leeuw (Queen Mary University of
London), Jonnie Robinson (British Library)

Funding (fees and living stipend) will be provided by the new London
Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership
(https://www.liss-dtp.ac.uk/).

The Linguistics Department at QMUL is a vibrant research community that
currently includes 17 research and teaching staff and 25 PhD students. The
department was top-ranked in REF2014 and RAE2008. For further details, see the
department website (http://www.linguistics.sllf.qmul.ac.uk/linguistics/).

Interested candidates should consult the LISS website
(https://www.liss-dtp.ac.uk/) for further details of how to apply. Application
deadline: 12 April 2017.

Please address any enquiries to Devyani Sharma at d.sharma at qmul.ac.uk.ity of
London and the British Library.
 

Application Deadline: 12-Apr-2017 

Web Address for Applications: https://www.liss-dtp.ac.uk/case-studentships-student-applicants 

Contact Information: 
	Devyani Sharma 
	d.sharma at qmul.ac.uk  


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