Language Variation and Change Network

With Stephen Laker, a colleague from Kyushu University, I set up a research network on language variation and change. The focus of the network is on the exchange and cross-fertilization of ideas from our respective specialisms in linguistics and in interdisciplinary research.

Language variation and change is an important and indeed universal characteristic of human language. The aim of the Language Variation and Change Network is to understand language variation and change both in individual languages, such as English, Japanese and closely related languages, and in human language generally.

Our research areas include:

  • Theory of language variation and change
  • Historical linguistics
  • Dialectology
  • Language contact
  • Sociolinguistics
  • Modelling of change

We organised our first small conference in May 2014 at Kyushu University (see photo), with speakers from several universities in Japan, including Fukuoka University, Kyushu University, Nagoya University and Hosei University. Our next conference will be at Fukuoka University in spring 2015.

For more information, please visit the Language Variation and Change Network website.