English is the perfect research subject for linguists because it has remained unique for a long time. The progression of language variation and change can be researched from the Anglo-Saxon period of 1,000 years ago up to the modern day.

In my research I have studied the process of change over long periods of time, from the 1100s to the 1600s. In doing so, I was able to investigate who or what kinds of situations contribute to language change, as well as how quickly changes were happening. In my most recent research project, I have studied language change in the creation of social relations, roles and identities from 1500–1800. In the same way that clothes, customs and tastes indicate belonging to a group, so too does language create identity.

In the Dynamics of Change in Language Practices and Social Meaning (1700–1900) project, I research how changes in language practices and social factors are interrelated and how this relationship can be studied. We focus on language practices that relate to social groups, group distinctions, social aspirations and attitudes in the context of eighteenth and nineteenth-century Britain. Social factors exist outside of language, but they are expressed and created through language. What role do language practices play when inter-group dynamics change? The language used in a variety of situations is affected by both individual and social factors.