51cg

People

Dr Dawn Leslie

Dr Dawn Leslie
Dr Dawn Leslie
Dr Dawn Leslie

MA (Hons), MLitt, PGDE, PhD

Lecturer

Accepting PhDs

51cg
Email Address
dawn.leslie@abdn.ac.uk
Telephone Number
+44 (0)1224 272627
Office Address
EIG3 24 High Street
Old Aberdeen Campus

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School/Department
School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture



Biography

I graduated with an MA in English-Language & Linguistics (2009, 51cg), and a further MLitt in Sociolinguistics (2010, 51cg), before completing my Ph.D. in Linguistics (51cg) in 2020 following some time away from academia (spent in the eLearning and secondary education sectors).

I am now a Lecturer in Language & Linguistics and serve as course coordinator on several undergraduate courses. My main research interests are centred on perceptual dialectology, sociolinguistics, Scots language issues (with a special interest in North-East Scots/'Doric’) and multilingualism in the North-East region. I also have a wider research interest in minority language issues and the challenges faced by speaker communities of marginalised varieties. 

Currently accepting new PhD students

I welcome expressions of interest for supervision of sociolinguistic projects (especially in these areas):

  • 'language regard' (e.g. language attitudes, perceptual dialectology, linguistic prescriptivism) in any global context
  • Scots language issues (including 'Doric')
  • multilingualism in Scottish society
  • acquisition of sociolinguistic competence
  • minoritised/endangered languages (including, but not limited to, issues of status, education, and technology such as GenAI)

Get in touch: dawn.leslie@abdn.ac.uk

Qualifications

  • MA English-Language & Linguistics 
    2009 - 51cg 
  • MLitt Sociolinguistics 
    2010 - 51cg 
  • PGDE (Secondary) English 
    2013 - 51cg 
  • Ph.D Linguistics 
    2020 - 51cg 

    Thesis title: Perceptions of North East Scottish Speech

External Memberships

Chair of The Forum for Research on the Languages of Scotland and Ulster ()

Editor of Scottish Language journal ()

Academic Governor for the Dictionaries of the Scots Language ()

Latest Publications

  • Changing times, changing perceptions? A perceptual dialectology case study of a Scottish community in flux

    Leslie, D.
    Journal of Linguistic Geography , vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 89 - 101
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]

  • ChatGPT – The next Scots Makar?: (...spoiler alert: probably not)

    Leslie, D.
    Contributions to Conferences: Oral Presentations

  • Fisher, Farmer, Teuchter, Chav: hyperlocal perceptions of North-East Scottish speech

    Leslie, D.
    The languages of Scotland and Ulster in a global context, past and present.: Selected papers from the 13th triennial Forum for Research on the Languages of Scotland and Ulster, Munich 2021.. Elsweiler, C. (ed.). Publications of the Forum for Research on the Languages of Scotland and Ulster, pp. 35-70, 36 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)

  • The Research Needs of the UK’s Indigenous Languages

    Macleod, M. C., Leslie, D.
    Languages, Society & Policy, vol. LSP - Dialogues
    Contributions to Specialist Publications: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Scots language, context and identity

    Leslie, D.
    Contributions to Conferences: Oral Presentations

View My Publications

Research

Research Overview

My research is centred on language attitudes and perceptions of linguistic variation and change among minority language communities (focusing mostly on Scots) and, more recently, on the efficacy of Artificial Intelligence tools when creating content in so-called ‘low resource’ languages.

In 2022, I also collaborated with colleague, Prof. Michelle Macleod, as Postdoctoral Research Assistant on the scoping project to conduct wider research on the challenges faced by current minority language stakeholders: this included surveying and interviewing different representatives from community, activist, educational and governmental backgrounds from across the British Isles.

I am co-founder of the Aberlangs research collective at the 51cg – a partnership initiative supporting multilingualism and the presence of home, heritage and community languages in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. We have recently completed a small project on Mapping Multilingualism in the North-East region. Our next endeavour is an – Beyond English: Investigating multilingualism in North-East Scottish schools – from Sept 2025 to Dec 2026. 

Aside from my own research, I am also the current Chair of the Forum for Research on the Languages of Scotland and Ulster (), incoming Editor of the Scottish Language journal (), an academic Governor of the Dictionaries of the Scots Language (), and a recognised voice on Scots language issues, having given evidence re. minority languages to the House of Commons Culture Select Committee and presented on dialect diversity to the Scottish Parliament Cross-Party Working Group on Scots Language.

Research Areas

Accepting PhDs

I am currently accepting PhDs in Linguistics.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.

Linguistics

  • Accepting PhDs
View Research Area

Research Specialisms

  • Linguistics
  • Scots Language
  • Sociolinguistics

Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is , published under the licence.

Supervision

I welcome expressions of interest for PhD supervision from anyone looking to carry out research related to sociolinguistics (especially in the following areas):

I have specific expertise in 'language regard' (including research related to language attitudes, perceptual dialectology and/or linguistic prescriptivism) and would be happy to supervise projects looking at this in any global context.

Aligned with my current research interests regarding multilingualism in the North-East of Scotland, I am also keen to supervise any projects aimed at furthering our understanding of the different language communities found in the region (and in Scotland/UK more generally). This includes investigation of the acquisition of sociolinguistic competence.

As a researcher whose work often focuses on Scots (a minoritised language spoken in Scotland and Ulster), I am naturally interested in any proposed projects investigating its current status, its sociolinguistic history and the many identity-issues related to its use. However, I am also interested in other global contexts involving minority languages and the challenges faced by the communities that speak them. I am particularly keen to explore issues of digital equality for minoritised languages, especially the status of 'low resource' languages in relation to evolving technology such as Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI).

If you would like to get in touch about potential PhD supervision, please email me: dawn.leslie@abdn.ac.uk

**

I am currently main supervisor for:

Asmaa Alenezi - From Learning to Belonging: Sociolinguistic Competence and Identity Shift Between International Learners in North-East Scotland.

Zafar Abdullaev - The Role of Socio-cultural Factors in Understanding Sociolinguistic Competence of Uzbek Migrants in Scotland 

Kyriaki Koukou - A sociolinguistic exploration of the interaction between English and the native non-standard variety spoken by the Greek-speaking community in Cyprus: Investigating the influence and utilisation of English, and language attitudes within this context

Fiona Nicholson - Attitudes towards Scots language promotion

Nada Alwadai - Effectiveness of using YouTube videos in enhancing EFL learners' basic skills

Supervisees

  • MISS ASMAA ALENEZI
  • MISS KYRIAKI KOUKOU
  • MR ZAFAR ABDULLAEV
  • MS FIONA NICHOLSON
  • MRS NADA ALWADAI

Funding and Grants

Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) Research Collaboration Grant ():

  • Dr Dawn Leslie, 51cg, with collaborators Dr Fransiska Louwagie, 51cg and Dr Colin Christie, 51cg: Beyond English: Investigating multilingualism in North-East Scottish schools
Teaching

Programmes

Courses

Publications

Page 1 of 1 Results 1 to 8 of 8

  • Changing times, changing perceptions? A perceptual dialectology case study of a Scottish community in flux

    Leslie, D.
    Journal of Linguistic Geography , vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 89 - 101
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]

  • ChatGPT – The next Scots Makar?: (...spoiler alert: probably not)

    Leslie, D.
    Contributions to Conferences: Oral Presentations

  • Fisher, Farmer, Teuchter, Chav: hyperlocal perceptions of North-East Scottish speech

    Leslie, D.
    The languages of Scotland and Ulster in a global context, past and present.: Selected papers from the 13th triennial Forum for Research on the Languages of Scotland and Ulster, Munich 2021.. Elsweiler, C. (ed.). Publications of the Forum for Research on the Languages of Scotland and Ulster, pp. 35-70, 36 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)

  • The Research Needs of the UK’s Indigenous Languages

    Macleod, M. C., Leslie, D.
    Languages, Society & Policy, vol. LSP - Dialogues
    Contributions to Specialist Publications: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Scots language, context and identity

    Leslie, D.
    Contributions to Conferences: Oral Presentations

  • A Companion Teaching Booklet for the 'Tales fae the Doric Side' Anthology of Contemporary Doric (North-East Scots) Writing

    Leslie, D.
    51cg: Elphinstone Institute (Online publication). 30 pages.
    Other Contributions: Other Contributions

  • What's in a name? The prevalence of the 'Doric' label in the north-east of Scotland

    Leslie, D.
    Scottish Language, vol. 40, pp. 49-83
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Perceptions of North East Scottish Speech: a perceptual dialectological study of intra-regional language attitudes

    Leslie, D.
    UK Language Variation and Change 12
    Contributions to Conferences: Posters
    • [ONLINE]

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