Jane Helen Stuart-Smith is a linguist and professor of sociolinguistics and phonetics at the University of Glasgow. She is recognised as a specialist in the dialects of Glasgow.
In 1998 she established the Glasgow University Laboratory of Phonetics (GULP), which she is still co-directing.
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Biography
Stuart-Smith studied at University College London (UCL) and Oxford University, where she graduated with an M.Phil in General Linguistics and Comparative Philology in 1991. Following this, she studied for a PhD in Historical Phonology at Oxford University, completing her dissertation in 1996. She became professor of phonetics and sociolinguistics at the University of Glasgow in 2013.
Research
Stuart-Smith's research focusses on the interface of speech and society. She published articles on the variation and phonetics of a number of languages and accents, including the Glaswegian accent and British varieties of Panjabi. Additionally, she is interested in media influence on language change, on which she taught a course at the 2015 Linguistic Summer Institute, hosted by the University of Chicago. To advance mainstream education on speech and accents, Stuart-Smith also co-developed the website Seeing Speech.
Honours and organisational work
Member of the council of the International Phonetic Association for two periods (2015–2023)
Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (2018)
President of the Association for Laboratory Phonology (2022)
UK fellow of the British Academy (2023)