Biography
Jonathan Pye is a PhD student in Hispanic Linguistics in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research interests center primarily on sociolinguistics, in particular, the relationship between language and media. He is currently interested in applying raciolinguistic and discourse analytic approaches to the study of the use of language by celebrities such as Sofía Vergara in order to shed light on wider discourses on the relationship between race, language and citizenship in the United States. In addition to this, he is also interested in studying the use of language on new media platforms, such as Youtube and TikTok, in order to understand how content creators create a sense of intimacy and community with their viewers. As part of this, he is interested in considering how concepts of scale and chronotope can provide insights into online community-building processes and how these processes of linguistically-mediated community-building compare transnationally.
Jonathan earned a BA with Honours in American and Latin-American Studies from The University of Manchester (UK) and an MA in Spanish with a concentration in Hispanic Linguistics. He also holds a Post-Graduate Diploma (PGDE) in Education from Liverpool John Moores University and has experience teaching Spanish, Linguistics, French and Interdisciplinary Studies at the university, high-school, middle-school and elementary-school levels.
Research Interests
Sociolinguistics
Discourse Analysis
Language and Media
Linguistic Anthropology
Spanish in the United States
Research Description
My research centers primarily on language and media; in particular, the relationship between race, language and citizenship in traditional and new media contexts. I use discourse analytic and sociolinguistic approaches in addition to raciolinguistic approaches, in order to understand the relationship between these three categories and the power dynamics underlying these interrelations. My work has recently focused on Sofía Vergara, in particular, her accent and use of English and how these can be understood within broader raciolinguistic ideologies. In order to analyze Vergara's language, I have mainly used tools from discourse analysis and linguistic anthropology, and considered how her language use can provide insight into wider discourses on race, citizenship and belonging.
I am also interested in language use in new media, such as Youtube and TikTok. I am especially interested in how content creators on these platforms create a sense of intimacy through the use of chronotopic linguistic features and how viewers legitimate this. As part of this chronotopic intimacy, I am interested in also considering how language and linguistic features play a role in the creation of community on Youtube. For this area of my research, I primarily apply discourse analytical tools.
Education
Liverpool John Moores University (UK), Post-Graduate Diploma (PGDE) in Education, 2016
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, MA - Spanish (Linguistics), 2015
The University of Manchester (UK), BA (Hons) American and Latin-American Studies, 2013
Courses Taught
SPAN252 - Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics - Spring 2022 / Summer 2022
SPAN204 - Advanced Grammar in Context - Fall 2021
SPAN228 - Spanish Composition - Spring 2015 / Fall 2021
SPAN130 - Intermediate Spanish - Fall 2013 / Spring 2014 / Fall 2014 / Spring 2015