Academic & Teaching staff

Dr Leendert Plug

Lecturer in Linguistics

Dr Leendert Plug

Biography

I came to Leeds in 2007, after doing an MA and PhD at the University of York, and working as an Reasearch Assistant in the University of Sheffield's Academic Neurology Unit. I first became interested in linguistics and phonetics while doing my first degree, an MA in English Literature and Linguistics at the University of Leiden.

Research

My research interests are in laboratory phonology, usage-based phonology, phonetic reduction and disfluency in spontaneous speech, and interactional linguistics, with a focus on Dutch and English. I am Principal Investigator on the ESRC-funded project Prosodic marking revisited: The phonetics of self-initiated self-repair in Dutch. I have  recently worked on the acoustics and perception of rhoticity (with Dr Barry Heselwood, Leeds), on the phonetics of /t/ in English (with Emanuela Buizza, Leeds), on prosodic aspects of Dutch conversation (with Dr Harrie Mazeland, University of Groningen) and on linguistic aspects of doctor-patient interaction (with Dr Markus Reuber, University of Sheffield). I am a member of the AHRC-funded network A multi-methodological approach to the instrumental phonetic and perceptual study of rhotic sounds in varieties of English, and of the White Rose Language and Interaction Research Group.

Teaching

At Level 1, I teach the phonetics and phonology component of Linguistics 1. At Level 2 and 3, I run the option modules Phonological Theory, Language Change and Interactional Linguistics. At MA level, I run the core module Foundations of Phonetics and Phonology and teach on Topics in Phonetics and Phonology.

Postgraduate supervision

I am happy to consider applications for postgraduate research in laboratory phonology, usage-based phonology, and phonetic reduction and disfluency in spontaneous speech.

Selected publications

  • Buizza, E. and L. Plug (2012) Lenition, fortition and the status of plosive affrication: The case of spontaneous RP English /t/. Phonology 29: 1-38.
  • Plug, L. (2011) Phonetic reduction and informational redundancy in self-initiated self-repair in Dutch. Journal of Phonetics 39: 289-297.
  • Plug, L. (2010) Pragmatic constraints in Usage-based Phonology, with reference to some Dutch phrases. Journal of Pragmatics 42: 2014-2035.
  • Plug, L., B. Sharrack and M. Reuber (2011) Metaphors in the description of seizure experiences: Common expressions and differential diagnosis'. Language and Cognition 3: 209-234.