Associate Professor and
Associate Chair

office: 75 McReynolds
phone: 573-882-8590
email: gordonmj@missouri.edu
office hours: T&R 1:54-2:37ish

Research and teaching areas:
linguistics and the structure,
dialects, and history of the
English Language

Matthew Gordon

Matthew Gordon teaches courses in linguistics and the structure, dialects, and history of the English Language. His research interests include sociolinguistics, language and gender, American dialectology, and language change. He authored a monograph titled Small-Town Values, Big-City Vowels: A Study of the Northern Cities Shift in Michigan (Duke University Press, 2001) which examines the diffusion of sound changes to rural communities. His Sociolinguistics: Methods and Interpretation (2003, Blackwell), co-authored with Lesley Milroy, presents a criticial discussion of sociolinguistic theory and methods. Currently he is engaged in research examining linguistic variation in Missouri.

Education
PhD 1997, University of Michigan

Selected Publications

• Matthew Gordon. "Techniques of analysis 1: Phonological variation." Routledge Companion to Sociolinguistics. Eds. C. Llamas, et al. London: Routledge, 2007. 19-27.
• Matthew Gordon. "The investigation of diachronic variety in language: Traditions and recent developments." History of the Language Sciences Vol. 3. Eds. S. Auroux, E.F.K. Koerner, et al. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
• Matthew Gordon. "Interview with William Labov." Journal of English Linguistics 34(2006): 1-20.
• Matthew Gordon. "Tracking the low back merger in Missouri." Language Variation and Change in the American Midland: A New Look at "Heartland" English T. Murray and B. Simon. Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2006. 57-68.
• Matthew Gordon. "Slang, dialect, and other types of marked language." American History through Literature: 1870-1920 Eds. G. Scharnhorst and T. Quirk. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2006. 1051-1055.
• Matthew Gordon. "The sounds, they are a shiftin'. Do you speak American?" This website is a companion to a documentary series which aired on PBS in January 2005.
• Matthew Gordon. "Research aims and methodology." Sociolinguistics: An International Handbook of the Science of Language and Society, 2nd edition Eds. U. Ammon, N. Dittmar, K. Mattheier, and P. Trudgill. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2005. 955-965.
• Matthew Gordon. "New York, Philadelphia, and other northern cities." Handbook of Varieties of English: The Americas and Caribbean, Vol. 1, Phonology Ed. E. Schneider. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 2005, 282-299.
• Matthew Gordon. "The Midwest and West." Handbook of Varieties of English: The Americas and Caribbean, Vol. 1, Phonology Ed. E. Schneider. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 2005. 338-350.
• Lesley Milroy and Matthew Gordon. Sociolinguistics: Methods and Interpretation (Blackwell, 2003) www.blackwellpublishing.com
• Matthew Gordon. Small-Town Values, Big-City Vowels: A Study of the Northern Cities Shift in Michigan (Duke University Press, 2001) www.dukeupress.edu

Courses Taught

• English 1060: Human Language
• English 2000: Topics in English Studies: Funny Talk in Literature and Real Life
• English 4600/7600: Structure of American English
• English 4610/7610: History of the English Language
• English 4620/7620: Regional and Social Dialects of American English
• English 8600: Seminar in the English Language

address: 107 Tate Hall, Columbia, MO 65211-1500
phone: 573.882.6421 | fax: 573.882.5785 | department email: umcenglish@missouri.edu

website email: englishweb@missouri.edu
maintained by Sarah Zurhellen

English Department | College of Arts and Science | University of Missouri
copyright © The Curators of the University of Missouri | an equal opportunity/ADA institution