Dr Chris Montgomery

My research focuses on non-linguists’ perceptions of language variation. In particular, my present research examines real-time reactions to regional speech, and in particular which features naïve listeners respond to.

I have worked in the field of perceptual dialectology, and developed new methodological approaches to the study of non-linguists' perceptions. My research has focused on locations in the north of England and southern Scotland, and has discussed the role of (real and imagined) borders in perception.

In addition to perceptual dialectology, I am also interested in the wider field of folk linguistics and language attitudes.

I have a particular interest in new methodologies, and my research has investigated ways of integrating techniques used in the field of Geographical Science with those used in the study of language variation and perception, with a particular focus on the possibilities offered by GIS technologies.

I am also generally interested in language variation and change, computational sociolinguistics, and sociolinguistic and dialectological methodologies.