Dr Joseph Gafaranga
Senior Lecturer
Linguistics and English Language
School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences
The University of Edinburgh
Adam Ferguson Building
40 George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LL
Tel: +44 (0)131 650 3496
Fax: +44 (0)131 650 3962
josephg@ling.ed.ac.uk
Interests
My research interests are in the general area of language as actually used by real people in natural social contexts. More specifically, I teach, do research and supervise in Sociolinguistics and Discourse Analysis, with a preference for bilingual conversation and doctor-patient interaction.
Recent Research grants
(i) Res-000-22-1165 (ESRC) investigated language shift and maintenance among bilingual Rwandans in Belgium
(ii) AHRC 112778 (AHRC) developed an account of language alternation among bilingual speakers from a Conversation Analytic perspective.
(iii) SG-46729 (The British Academy) used to initiate research collaboration with Rwandan academics on work and life in three languages in Rwanda.
Previous research work
For my PhD thesis, I collected and analysed a corpus of conversations among bilingual Rwandans in Belgium (1996). After the PhD, I was given access to a corpus of service encounters in Barcelona and one of general practice consultations collected in the Midlands and the South of England. A list of publications based on these data sets can be accessed by following the link.
Teaching
My current teaching load includes Introduction to Discourse Analysis; Discourse Analysis, Discourse Studies and Language and Identity in Bilingual Settings and Bilingualism.
In the past, I have also taught on undergratuate courses in Language Variation and Change and in Sociolingustics and Discourse Analysis.
Administration
I am Programme Director for the MSc in Applied Linguistics.
Previous academic posts
2001-2002: Lecturer in Concordance, Department of General Practice and Primary Care, Kings College, London.
2000-2001: Lecturer, Deprtment of English Language and Literature, University of Newcastle
1996-2000: Part-time Lecturer, Department of English, Edge Hill University College
1998-2000: Research Fellow, Department of Education, University of Wales, Aberystwyth
1995-1998: PhD Student, Department of Linguistics and Modern English Language, Lancaster University
1983-1995: Lecturer, National University of Rwanda