Sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics is the study of language in social context. Faculty and student interests in this concentration include, but are not limited to: language and social interaction, language variation and change, sociophonetics, discourse analysis, intercultural communication, narrative analysis and oral history, language and identity, language and dialect contact, endangered and minoritized languages and dialects, framing and discourse, language and aging, language and health care, language and business, language and education, and inclusion and exclusion in interaction.
Doctoral program applicants: While all faculty in the Department are available to serve on dissertation committees, only tenured and tenure-line faculty (Cynthia Gordon, Jennifer Nycz, and Nadja Tadic) can serve as doctoral advisors and dissertation chairs in the Sociolinguistics concentration.
Sociolinguistics Faculty
- Marissa Fond (Director, Undergraduate Studies; Director, Undergraduate Research)
- Cynthia Gordon (on leave Fall 2026)
- Alexandra Johnston (Director, Master’s Programs & Career Management)
- Jennifer Nycz (Concentration Head; Interim Vice Chair)
- Nadja Tadic (Director, Introduction to Language)
- Deborah Tannen (Distinguished University Professor)
- Hannah Fedder Williams (Postdoctoral Researcher)