Senior Lecturer in English Language at University of Chester, alumnus of Edge Hill University, formerly teaching at Edge Hill and the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester.
This thesis examines the order in which attributive adjectives are placed when appearing in a str... more This thesis examines the order in which attributive adjectives are placed when appearing in a string modifying the same head noun. Noun phrases featuring more than one adjective are examined in six languages, all of which have modification patterns which exhibit distinctive patterns of syntax and morphology. Northern Sotho is a Bantu language with postnominal adjectives, agglutinative morphology and qualificative particles which link modifier and head; Welsh also has predominantly postnominal adjectives but less complex adjectival morphology. Polish and English adjectives typically appear before the noun, and the order in which they are sequenced is compared with Chinese, in which all modification appears before the noun, including relative clauses. I also examine the syntax of adjective strings in Tagalog, an Austronesian language in which adjectives can appear both before and after the noun, and in which the nature of lexical categories is particularly complex. I would like to thank first and foremost my director of studies Professor Anthony Grant, whose weekly and often daily support, interest, advice and indeed humour have been immeasurable throughout my work. I would also like to sincerely thank Dr Deborah Chirrey and Dr Clive Grey, whose support and effort as co-supervisors was also greatly appreciated. On a personal level, I would like to thank my wonderful girlfriend Chelsealeigh Farrell, who has been a constant source of support and inspiration throughout my PhD and whose patience and interest have been unwavering. Her strength and determination have been central to all that I have achieved in this thesis. I would also like to thank my family and friends for their love and support during my research. This thesis is dedicated to my late grandfather Alan Jordan, who was the person who first instilled in me a reverence for languages and a pride in one's own knowledge. He was the driving force behind my secondary education in which I learnt Latin, French and German and developed that reverence into an informed passion. My mother and father and my brother and sister have all supported and encouraged me during a long period of work and it is thanks to this strong and secure foundation that I was able to finally finish my thesis. During the writing of this document, my grandmother invited me to set up an office at her house and this was the catalyst which propelled me towards completion; for this, and for her, and my wider family's eternal love and support I will be forever grateful. Throughout the project, I am indebted to countless fellow academics and like-minded people, for whom the study of language and social science is something sacred. In this regard, I would like to thank
Language and Literature: International Journal of Stylistics, 2019
This paper reports on a diachronic study of the language employed by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex... more This paper reports on a diachronic study of the language employed by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner in his songs over a 13-year period. The analysis adapts Simpson’s (1999) USA-5 model for studying accent in vocal performance, and focuses on the realisation of three phonological variables and two dialect variables in a 16,000-word corpus of 69 songs across all six albums released by the band. Hailing from High Green, Sheffield, Turner speaks with a vernacular Yorkshire accent, and the band’s early appeal (particularly in northern England) is often accredited partially to their authentic down-to-earth image, content and performance. Throughout their career, the band have evolved in terms of their musical genre and style, and, having recorded their first two albums in England, later albums were recorded and produced mostly in Los Angeles. Simpson’s model is modified in order to analyse trends in usage of five linguistic variables with non-standard variants iconic of northern Brit...
A study of adjectives in Northern Sotho, which considers their nature as a recognisable distinct ... more A study of adjectives in Northern Sotho, which considers their nature as a recognisable distinct lexical category, and compares the ordering of stacked adjectives to that of English, and other languages.
PhD Thesis documenting a study of adjective order in English noun phrases, and providing typologi... more PhD Thesis documenting a study of adjective order in English noun phrases, and providing typological comparison with Welsh, Mandarin Chinese, Tagalog, Northern Sotho and Polish.
This paper reports on a diachronic study of the language employed by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex... more This paper reports on a diachronic study of the language employed by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner in his songs over a thirteen-year period. The analysis adapts Simpson's (1999) USA-5 model for studying accent in vocal performance, and focuses upon the realisation of three phonological variables and two dialect variables in a 16,000-word corpus of 69 songs across all six albums released by the band. Hailing from High Green, Sheffield, Turner speaks with a vernacular Yorkshire accent, and the band's early appeal (particularly in northern England) is often accredited partially to their authentic down-to-earth image, content and performance. Throughout their career, the band have evolved in terms of their musical genre and style, and, having recorded their first two albums in England, subsequent albums were recorded and produced mostly in Los Angeles. Simpson's model is modified in order to analyse trends in usage of five linguistic variables with non-standard variants iconic of northern British identity, with a view to analysing how Turner's changing linguistic practice relates to his affiliation with vernacular and institutional norms, and thus his performance of different identities within songs.
This thesis examines the order in which attributive adjectives are placed when appearing in a str... more This thesis examines the order in which attributive adjectives are placed when appearing in a string modifying the same head noun. Noun phrases featuring more than one adjective are examined in six languages, all of which have modification patterns which exhibit distinctive patterns of syntax and morphology. Northern Sotho is a Bantu language with postnominal adjectives, agglutinative morphology and qualificative particles which link modifier and head; Welsh also has predominantly postnominal adjectives but less complex adjectival morphology. Polish and English adjectives typically appear before the noun, and the order in which they are sequenced is compared with Chinese, in which all modification appears before the noun, including relative clauses. I also examine the syntax of adjective strings in Tagalog, an Austronesian language in which adjectives can appear both before and after the noun, and in which the nature of lexical categories is particularly complex. I would like to thank first and foremost my director of studies Professor Anthony Grant, whose weekly and often daily support, interest, advice and indeed humour have been immeasurable throughout my work. I would also like to sincerely thank Dr Deborah Chirrey and Dr Clive Grey, whose support and effort as co-supervisors was also greatly appreciated. On a personal level, I would like to thank my wonderful girlfriend Chelsealeigh Farrell, who has been a constant source of support and inspiration throughout my PhD and whose patience and interest have been unwavering. Her strength and determination have been central to all that I have achieved in this thesis. I would also like to thank my family and friends for their love and support during my research. This thesis is dedicated to my late grandfather Alan Jordan, who was the person who first instilled in me a reverence for languages and a pride in one's own knowledge. He was the driving force behind my secondary education in which I learnt Latin, French and German and developed that reverence into an informed passion. My mother and father and my brother and sister have all supported and encouraged me during a long period of work and it is thanks to this strong and secure foundation that I was able to finally finish my thesis. During the writing of this document, my grandmother invited me to set up an office at her house and this was the catalyst which propelled me towards completion; for this, and for her, and my wider family's eternal love and support I will be forever grateful. Throughout the project, I am indebted to countless fellow academics and like-minded people, for whom the study of language and social science is something sacred. In this regard, I would like to thank
Language and Literature: International Journal of Stylistics, 2019
This paper reports on a diachronic study of the language employed by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex... more This paper reports on a diachronic study of the language employed by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner in his songs over a 13-year period. The analysis adapts Simpson’s (1999) USA-5 model for studying accent in vocal performance, and focuses on the realisation of three phonological variables and two dialect variables in a 16,000-word corpus of 69 songs across all six albums released by the band. Hailing from High Green, Sheffield, Turner speaks with a vernacular Yorkshire accent, and the band’s early appeal (particularly in northern England) is often accredited partially to their authentic down-to-earth image, content and performance. Throughout their career, the band have evolved in terms of their musical genre and style, and, having recorded their first two albums in England, later albums were recorded and produced mostly in Los Angeles. Simpson’s model is modified in order to analyse trends in usage of five linguistic variables with non-standard variants iconic of northern Brit...
A study of adjectives in Northern Sotho, which considers their nature as a recognisable distinct ... more A study of adjectives in Northern Sotho, which considers their nature as a recognisable distinct lexical category, and compares the ordering of stacked adjectives to that of English, and other languages.
PhD Thesis documenting a study of adjective order in English noun phrases, and providing typologi... more PhD Thesis documenting a study of adjective order in English noun phrases, and providing typological comparison with Welsh, Mandarin Chinese, Tagalog, Northern Sotho and Polish.
This paper reports on a diachronic study of the language employed by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex... more This paper reports on a diachronic study of the language employed by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner in his songs over a thirteen-year period. The analysis adapts Simpson's (1999) USA-5 model for studying accent in vocal performance, and focuses upon the realisation of three phonological variables and two dialect variables in a 16,000-word corpus of 69 songs across all six albums released by the band. Hailing from High Green, Sheffield, Turner speaks with a vernacular Yorkshire accent, and the band's early appeal (particularly in northern England) is often accredited partially to their authentic down-to-earth image, content and performance. Throughout their career, the band have evolved in terms of their musical genre and style, and, having recorded their first two albums in England, subsequent albums were recorded and produced mostly in Los Angeles. Simpson's model is modified in order to analyse trends in usage of five linguistic variables with non-standard variants iconic of northern British identity, with a view to analysing how Turner's changing linguistic practice relates to his affiliation with vernacular and institutional norms, and thus his performance of different identities within songs.
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