Research Associate (Language Variation and Change)

•Salary: £31,406 - £40,927 per annum

•Closing Date: 13 May 2022

•This position is for 3 years full time, with an anticipated start date of 1st September 2022

We are seeking an experienced and enthusiastic postdoctoral Research Associate to further exploit the fieldwork and other data collected in a project investigating the acquisition of sociolinguistic variation by newcomers to Northern Ireland. Múin Béarla do na Leanbháin (‘Teach the Children English’) was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council via a Research Leadership Fellowship award held by Professor Karen Corrigan between 2014 and 2016. It has led to the publication of Corrigan (2020) as well as collaborative outputs such as Corrigan & Diskin (2020). The underpinning research has also been exploited to embed equality, diversity and inclusion values in Northern Ireland’s education and heritage sectors.

The successful applicant will be supervised by Professor Corrigan. They will undertake work that builds on the research and engagement programmes to date by generating wider academic and societal impacts.

You will be working in the English Language and Linguistics Subject Group of SELLL. Colleagues have particular research strengths in synchronic and diachronic approaches to language variation and change. The Subject Group is equally strong in experimental methods as well as in theoretical approaches to how language is acquired and structured.

In terms that speak more generally of both the School’s ambition and its culture, SELLL aligns itself with the principle: “Literature and Language in Action: Engaging Communities.” Ours was the first unit in our subject area in the UK to secure the award of Athena Swan Bronze accreditation from the Equality Challenge Unit (http://www.ecu.ac.uk/equality-charters/athena-swan/), an award that represents our commitment to the advancement of equality and diversity. As a School, we recognise that different people bring diverse perspectives, ideas and cultures and that this diversity brings great strength. We are committed to the benefits of a diverse intellectual community of staff and students and to promoting the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion in all of our activities (see the University’s institutional EDI strategy here). The School thus actively encourages applications from underrepresented groups. In addition, all applicants should feel free to communicate to the selection panel any circumstances that have impacted upon their career path, including those related to COVID-19 restrictions.

•Further details can be obtained here: https://jobs.ncl.ac.uk/job/Newcastle-Research-Associate-Language-Variation/796648001/
•Informal queries to Professor Karen Corrigan (k.p.corrigan@ncl.ac.uk)