Paul Kerswill, FBA, is a

sociolinguist Sociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any or all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and society's effect on language. It can overlap with the sociology of l ...

. Since 2012, he has been Professor in the Department of Language and Linguistic Science at the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

. After completing his undergraduate degree and doctorate at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

, he was a Research Assistant from 1985 to 1986 at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, before working as a lecturer at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

until his appointment in 2004 as a professor at

Lancaster University Lancaster University (legally The University of Lancaster) is a public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several pla ...

."Paul Kerswill"
''University of York''. Retrieved 12 April 2018."Professor Paul Kerswill"
''British Academy''. Retrieved 12 April 2018.

Work

Kerswill has written several papers and done lectures, including a

TED talk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

, on the subject of

Multicultural London English Multicultural London English (abbreviated MLE) is a sociolect of English that emerged in the late 20th century. It is spoken mainly by young, working-class people in multicultural parts of London. As the label suggests, speakers of MLE come fro ...

, a sociolect spoken in London.

Honours

In July 2017, Kerswill was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # C ...

(FBA), the United Kingdom's

national academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but also the humanit ...

for the humanities and social sciences."Elections to the British Academy celebrate the diversity of UK research"
''British Academy'', 5 August 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2018.

Selected works

* (Co-edited with P. Auer and F. Hinskens) ''Dialect Change: Convergence and Divergence in European languages'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005). * (Co-edited with R. Wodak and B. Johnstone) ''The SAGE handbook of Sociolinguistics'' (London: SAGE Publications, 2010).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerswill, Paul Living people Sociolinguists Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Cambridge Academics of the University of Reading Academics of Lancaster University Academics of the University of York Fellows of the British Academy Year of birth missing (living people) Department of Linguistics and English Language, Lancaster University