Dr. Jon Forrest's research focuses on language variation and change in Southern US Englishes, using sociological theory to explain loss of older features and the adoption and diffusion of new sound changes. He is especially interested in the ways that sociological analyses of meso-level social groups like organizations or neighborhoods can help integrate social-structural factors into the study of language variation. His most recent project examined stylistic variation in native Southerners working at a technology firm in the South, contrasting self-recordings made by participants while on the job with their recordings of friend and family interactions.
PhD, Sociology, North Carolina State University, 2018
MA, English (Sociolinguistics), North Carolina State University, 2013
BA, English (World Literature), North Carolina State University, 2011
Research
Areas of Interest:
Sociolinguistics and Language Variation
Specific Research Areas:
Sociolinguistics, Language Variation and Change, Southern US Englishes, African American Language, Phonetics, Phonology