UC Spark

Dr Kevin David Watson

School of Social and Political Sciences; Linguistics; New Zealand Institute of Language, Brain & Behaviour

Phone: +64 3 364 2987 ext. 6909
 Office: Locke Building (English) 205

Researcher Summary

My research area is sociophonetics - I work in phonetics & phonology (and the interface between the two) but always have at least one eye firmly fixed on variation in spoken language. This means I work at the intersections between phonetics & phonology and sociolinguistics, (particularly language variation and change). I am interested in how language varies according to a whole range of geographical and social dimensions in both large and small speech communities, and also how that variation can be modelled in a phonological theory. Two broad questions that keep me occupied are: (i) what is 'a phonology' and what information is stored there? and (ii) how can phonological theory benefit from the insights of variationist sociolinguistics?

Subject Area: Disciplines

Affiliations

Publications


  • Clark, L. and Watson, K. (2013) Comparing individual speaker constraints with the speech community: /t/ debuccalisation in English. Christchurch, New Zealand: Variation and Language Processing Conference (VALP), 16-18 January 2013. (Conference Contribution - Poster presentation)
  • Peek, M. and Watson, K. (2013) Personality and non-linguistic perceptual sensitivity predict phonetic convergence. Christchurch, New Zealand: Variation and Language Processing Conference (VALP), 16-18 January 2013. (Conference Contribution - Poster presentation)
  • Watson, K. (2012) False teeth, pollen or depression? Where did the Kiwi accent come from? Christchurch College of English Language, New Zealand: 12 Sep 2012. (Oral Presentation)
  • Watson, K. (2012) Patterns of accent variation in British English. In D. Clayton (Ed.), Language. A Student Handbook on Key Topics and Theories: 44-59. London: English and Media Centre. (Chapter in Book)
  • Watson, K., Clark, L. and Gold, E. (2012) Phonological convergence and divergence in North-West England: the case of /t/ lenition. Auckland, New Zealand: 13th Language and Society Conference, 27-28 Nov 2012. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Watson, K. and Clark, L. (2012) Sociolinguistic salience and the NURSE/SQUARE merger. Auckland, New Zealand: 13th Language and Society Conference, 27-28 Nov 2012. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Watson, K. (2012) Where does the New Zealand accent come from? And where is it going? Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand: Platform Arts Festival: Talkfest, 5 Oct 2012. (Oral Presentation)
  • Watson, K. and Clark, L. (2011) Capturing listeners' real-time reactions to local and supralocal linguistic features. Chester, UK: Variation and Language Processing Conference, 11-13 Apr 2011. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Clark, L. and Watson, K. (2011) Capturing listeners' real-time reactions to the NURSE~SQUARE merger. Boston, MA, USA: International Society for the Linguistics of English 2011 Conference (ISLE 2011), 17-21 Jun 2011. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Watson, K. and Clark, L. (2011) Change point analysis and language attitudes: measuring reactions to regional variation in real time. Poznan, Poland: Poznan Linguistics Meeting, 1-3 May 2011. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Watson, K., Clark, L. and West, H. (2011) Changes in Liverpool English interdental fricatives. Wellington, New Zealand: 19th Biennial Conference of the Linguistics Society of New Zealand, 17-18 Nov 2011. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Clark, L. and Watson, K. (2011) Evidence for phonological priming from sociophonetics. Edge Hill University, UK: 8th UK Language Variation and Change Conference (UKLVC8), 12-14 Sep 2011. (Conference Contribution - Poster presentation)
  • Clark, L. and Watson, K. (2011) Testing claims of a usage-based phonology with Liverpool English t-to-r. English Language and Linguistics 15(3): 523-547. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1360674311000153. (Journal Article)
  • Maguire, W., Clark, L. and Watson, K. (2011) The meaning of 'merger'. Boston, MA, USA: International Society for the Linguistics of English 2011 Conference (ISLE 2011), 17-21 Jun 2011. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Clark, L., Watson, K. and West, H. (2011) Th-fronting in the north west: new data from an old friend. Edge Hill University, UK: 8th UK Language Variation and Change Conference (UKLVC8), 12-14 Sep 2011. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Watson, K. (2010) Lax articulation or fine-grained control?: Plosive lenition in Liverpool English. Landau/Pfalz, Germany: 34th International LAUD Symposium on Cognitive Sociolinguistics, 15-18 Mar 2010. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Clark, L. and Watson, K. (2010) Testing a usage-based phonology with northern English t-to-r. Montpellier, France: PAC Workshop 2010, The Phonology of English: usage, varieties and structure, 13-14 Sep 2010. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Watson, K. and Clark, L. (2010) 't-to-r' in British English: Word Frequency, Constructions, and Sociolinguistics. San Antonio, TX, USA: New Ways of Analysing Variation (NWAV 39), 4-6 Nov 2010. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Watson, K. (2009) Phonetics. In J. Culpeper, F. Katamba, P. Kerswill, R. Wodak and T. McEnery (Ed.), English Language: Description, Variation and Context: 11-29. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. (Chapter in Book)
  • Watson, K. and Whisker, K. (2009) Plosive lenition in Liverpool English: Using a phonological corpus to compare the past with the present. Aix-en-Provence, France: PAC Workshop on Models, Variation and Phonological Corpora, 10-11 Sep 2009. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Watson, K. (2009) Regional Variation in English Accents and Dialects. In J. Culpeper, F. Katamba, P. Kerswill, R. Wodak and T. McEnery (Ed.), English Language: Description, Variation and Context: 337-357. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. (Chapter in Book)
  • Watson, K. and Mattock, K. (2009) The effect of speakers' geographical mobility on their production and perception of a phonological merger: evidence from NURSE and SQUARE in Liverpool English. Leuven, Belgium: Perception, Production & Attitude, 2-3 Apr 2009. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Watson, K. and Mattock, K. (2009) The effect of speakers' geographical mobility on their production and perception of a phonological merger: Evidence from NURSE and SQUARE in Liverpool English. London, UK: 3rd International Conference on the Linguistics of Contemporary English (ICLCE3), 14-17 Jul 2009. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Watson, K. and Owen, A. (2009) The production and perception of NURSE and SQUARE in Wigan. Newcastle, UK: 7th UK Language Variation and Change Conference (UKLVC7), 1-3 Sep 2009. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Watson, K. and Hollmann, W. (2007) Definite article reduction in northern England: on frequency, constructions and sociolinguistics. Milwaukee, WI, USA: 25th UWM Symposium on Formulaic Language, 18-21 Apr 2007. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Watson, K. (2007) Is Scouse Getting Scouser? Exploring Phonological Change in Contemporary Liverpool English. In A. Grant and C. Grey (Ed.), The Mersey Sound: Liverpool's Language, People and Places: 215-241. Ormskirk: Open House Press. (Chapter in Book)
  • Watson, K. (2007) The phonetics and phonology of plosive leniton in Liverpool English. PhD, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK. (Thesis - Doctor of Philosophy)
  • Watson, K. (2007) Utterance-final debuccalisation in Liverpool English. Lancaster, UK: 6th UK Language Variation and Change conference (UKLVC6), 11-13 Sep 2007. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Watson, K. (2006) Language & gender meets theoretical phonology: bridging the pedagogic gap? Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, UK: Gender and Language BAAL Special Interest Group on Current Issues in the Teaching of Language, Gender and Sexuality in Further and Higher Education One-day Seminar, 15 Sep 2006. (Oral Presentation)
  • Watson, K. (2006) Lenition and Segmental Interaction: Evidence from Liverpool English (and Spanish). Glossa 1(1): 54-71. (Journal Article)
  • Watson, K. and Papen, U. (2006) Speech and spelling: facilitation or interference? University of Limerick, Ireland: Sociolinguistic Symposium 16 (SS16), 6-8 Jul 2006. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Watson, K. (2005) Lenition and structured phonetic variability in Liverpool English. Edinburgh, UK: 1st International Conference on the Linguistics of Contemporary English, 23-26 Jun 2006. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Watson, K. (2005) Phonological convergence and divergence in Liverpool English. Aberdeen, UK: UK Language Variation and Change, 12-14 Sep 2005. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)
  • Watson, K. (2005) Phonological convergence and divergence in the same British city. New York, NY, USA: New Ways of Analysing Variation 34, 20-23 Oct 2005. (Conference Contribution - Full conference paper)