Directory of Research and Expertise

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Research Summary and Profile

Research interests:

Contemporary History, Digital resources, Digitisation, Human rights, International Law, Language and Literature (French), Law, Manuscript studies, Medieval History, Palaeography, Politics, Regional history, Social Sciences

Regions:

Europe

Summary of research interests and expertise:

I have trained as a historical linguist and philologist analysing the language of MS Glasgow Hunter 252, the only extant manuscript of the Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles, and producing a new critical edition of this 15th-century collection of short stories, which offers a unique insight into French usage at the court of Philip III of Burgundy. Thanks to funding awarded by Switzerland’s Fondation pour la Protection du Patrimoine Culturel, Historique et Artisanal I am furthermore preparing a digital edition of this manuscript, in partnership with the Dictionnaire du moyen français(Opens in new window) (French Scientific Research Council / ATILF). My findings have encouraged me to engage in larger-scale research into phono- and morpho-graphematic variation across the Middle French digital corpus, the conclusions of which contradict established theories on the standardisation and deregionalisation of late medieval written language. 

In parallel, I am very interested in contemporary debates around language in France and the Francosphere, especially the various ideologies they mobilise in interaction with public policy. As a member of the Management Committee of the New Speakers in a Multilingual Europe(Opens in new window) network (European Cooperation in Science and Technology ISCH COST Action IS1306), my research has focused on the discrimination of indigenous language communities in metropolitan and overseas France, and argued for stricter observance of cultural rights and equal opportunities.

Languages:

	Spoken	Written
French	Fluent	Fluent

Publication Details

Related publications/articles:

Date	Details
01-Jul-2023	‘The Hierarchization of Regional Languages in the Linguistic Landscapes of Brittany’ Articles Linguistic Minorities in Europe Online (De Gruyter)
01-Feb-2023	Toward a Scriptology of Middle French: The Case of MS Glasgow Hunter 252 Chapters The Cent Nouvelles nouvelles (Burgundy-Luxembourg-France, 1458 – c. 1550). Text and Paratext, Codex and Context, ed. Prof. Graeme Small, Brepols, Texte, codex et contexte vol. 23
01-Jan-2018	The langues de France and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages: keeping ratification at bay through disinformation – 2014-2015 Chapters French Language Policies and the Revitalisation of Regional Languages in the 21st century, M. Harrison & A. Joubert, Palgrave Macmillan, p. 309-333
01-Jan-2017	Langues de France et Charte européenne des langues régionales ou minoritaires : inventaire critique des arguments anti-ratification (2014-2015) Articles co-authored by Dr. Julia De Bres Sociolinguistic Studies, 11.1, p. 131-152
01-Jan-2017	Les scriptae régionales du moyen français : état des lieux Articles Romanica Helvetica, 138, p. 109-152
01-Jan-2016	La mise-en-scène des Cent nouvelles nouvelles : point de vue dialectologique Chapters Autour des Cent nouvelles nouvelles, sources et rayonnements, contextes et interprétations, ed. J. Devaux & A. Velissariou, Champion, Bibliothèque du XVe siécle, p. 177-192
01-Jan-2016	L’éllipse verbale en français: point de vue diachronique Conference papers co-authored by Prof. Richard Ingham Actes du XXVIIe Congrès international de linguistique et de philologie romanes, Nancy, 2013
01-Jan-2016	Review of Aviv Amit, Regional Language Policies in France during World War II Review Language Policy 15.3, pp. 351-353
01-Jan-2014	Koineisation in the Burgundian Netherlands: A Scriptological Insight from the Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles? Articles Pecia vol. 16, ‘Performance and the Page’, p. 109-127
01-Jan-2013	Direct Speech in the Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles : A Linguistic Analysis Articles Le Moyen Français, 72, p. 143-167

Publications available on SAS-space

Research Projects & Supervisions

Current PhD topics supervised:

Dates

Details

From: 01-Sep-2025 Until: 31-Aug-2026

An Institutional Analysis of Language Policy in the Iparralde (French Basque Country) In the developing literature on governance of pro-Regional Minority Language (RML) Language Policy and Planning (LPP), there has been much attention devoted to the outcomes of LPP interventions in empowered territorial entities in favour of their local languages. Yet even within the highly centralised power structures of France, some local pro-RML LPPs have enjoyed modest degrees of success in reversing the decline of local languages. The limited state-like administrative powers directly invested in the Office Public de la Langue Basque (OPLB) (the body entrusted with Basque Language Policy in the French Basque country) mean it is not the direct agent of most policy interventions – rather, it acts as a convenor for both state and sub-state governmental actors (the region, state educational authorities, etc.), as well as local private, charitable and social activist actors, as well as academic and other evaluating bodies. Since the creation of the OPLB, speakership figures have ceased to decline, whether attributable to their interventions or not. This research, then, will try to approach an answer to the following question, with reference to the French Basque case: what powers should go where to make Pro-RML LPP interventions as effective as possible? Is there room for more effective interventions, even within the tight institutional constraints of the French language policy climate, through the use of quasi-autonomous agencies involving all levels of actors in the policy-making process? As a ‘best-practice’ piece of research, it will be important to include a comparative element. Therefore, Welsh, Irish, Basque and other French cases will be taken into consideration. These cases have also at certain points involved (to varying degrees) state-empowered autonomous or quasi-autonomous organisms in the formulation, adoption, implementation and evaluation of their language policies – the successes and failures of those bodies will make for ideal comparisons with those of the OPLB.

Available for doctoral supervision: Yes

Consultancy & Media

Available for consultancy:

Yes

Media experience:

Yes

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