Dr Robert McKenzie

My research is focussed mainly in the areas of variationist sociolinguistics, folklinguistics and the social psychology of language. I have a particular interest in folk perceptions of and attitudes towards spoken language variation, especially the ways in which individuals’ attach social meanings to language varieties and how linguistic diversity is indexed within given speech communities. In turn, I also investigate the ways in which non-linguists’ perceptions of language variation impact upon communities of speakers more widely. My recent research has been relatively wide-ranging in scope and has focussed on implicit and explicit public attitudes towards language variation, language attitude change, speech perception, language ideology and identity, the social psychology of language spread and quantitative research methods in sociolinguistics.

As a result of a 2020-21 British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship Award (Sole PI, £137,078.50) (MD20/20009), I published my second monograph - 'Implicit and Explicit Language Attitudes: Mapping Linguistic Prejudice and Attitude Change in England' (Routledge, 2023)
http://routledge.com/9780367703530

I am also Founding Director of the Speaking of Prejudice Project: https://hosting.northumbria.ac.uk/languageattitudesengland/about/


My research findings have featured in a large number of newspapers and online media in the UK and elsewhere - including the Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mirror and The New York Times.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/12/accent-discrimination-is-alive-and-kicking-in-britain-study-suggests?fs=e&s=cl

I have been invited to discuss a range of sociolinguistic issues on both radio and television, including a range of BBC and ITV outlets as well as NHK in Japan.

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Implicit and Explicit Language Attitudes: Mapping Linguistic Prejudice and Attitude Change in England, McKenzie, R., McNeill, A. 2023
• The social psychology of English as a global language: attitudes, awareness and identity in the Japanese context, McKenzie, R. Sep 2010
• Implicit–explicit attitudinal discrepancy and the investigation of language attitude change in progress, McKenzie, R., Carrie, E. 21 Oct 2018, In: Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development
• “The people who are out of ‘right’ English”: Japanese university students' social evaluations of English language diversity and the internationalisation of Japanese higher education, McKenzie, R., Gilmore, A. 1 Mar 2017, In: International Journal of Applied Linguistics
• The competence and warmth of Thai students’ attitudes towards varieties of English: the effect of gender and perceptions of L1 diversity, McKenzie, R., Kitikanan, P., Boriboon, P. Aug 2016, In: Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development
• The sociolinguistics of variety identification and categorisation: free classification of varieties of spoken English amongst non-linguist listeners, McKenzie, R. 16 Apr 2015, In: Language Awareness
• UK university students’ folk perceptions of spoken variation in English: the role of explicit and implicit attitudes, McKenzie, R. 10 Oct 2015, In: International Journal of the Sociology of Language
• American or British? L2 speakers’ recognition and evaluations of accent features in English, Carrie, E., Mckenzie, R. 2018, In: Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development
• Social factors and non-native attitudes towards varieties of spoken English: a Japanese case study, McKenzie, R. Mar 2008, In: International Journal of Applied Linguistics
• The Role of Variety Recognition in Japanese University Students’ Attitudes Towards English Speech Varieties, McKenzie, R. 2008, In: Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development

• Chaglar Davutoglu Relative Clause Structures Between Standard Turkish and Cypriot Turkish Dialect. An analysis of change in Northern Cyprus Start Date: 01/03/2019 End Date: 02/10/2025
• Zidan Wang A Psycholinguistic Study: Big Five Personality Traits, Anxiety, Confidence, and IELTS Speaking Performance in Chinese Learners Big Five Personality Traits, Anxiety, and IELTS Speaking Performance in Chinese Learners Start Date: 09/01/2023 End Date: 18/07/2026
• Zidan Wang The effect of WTC, extroversion/introversion on English speech fluency among Chinese adult users of English Start Date: 09/01/2023 End Date: 15/11/2025
• Asma Shaukat A Regional Study on People’s Implicit and Explicit Attitudes towards English Language Variation in Southern and Northern Areas in England Start Date: 01/03/2024
• Asma Shaukat A Regional Study on People’s Implicit and Explicit Attitudes towards English Language Variation in Southern and Northern Areas in England Start Date: 01/03/2024 End Date: 17/10/2025
• Zidan Wang The effect of WTC, extroversion/introversion on English speech fluency among Chinese adult users of English Start Date: 09/01/2023 End Date: 17/10/2025
• Suhang Xiao Investigating the development of children’s oral proficiency in L2 Chinese speaking Start Date: 01/03/2018 End Date: 02/04/2026
• Suhang Xiao Investigating the development of children’s oral proficiency in L2 Chinese speaking Start Date: 01/03/2018 End Date: 17/10/2025

• Linguistics PhD December 12 2006
• Applied Linguistics MSc September 01 1996
• Psychology MA (Hons) July 03 1989
• Individual Member International Association of Language and Social Psychology (IALSP) 2015
• Individual Member British Association of South Asian Studies (BASAS) 2014