Jon Forrest

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Associate Professor

I am a sociophonetician whose research focuses on language variation and change in Southern US Englishes, using sociological theory to explain loss of older features and the adoption and diffusion of new sound changes.  I am especially interested in the ways that sociological analyses of meso-level social groups like organizations or neighborhoods can help integrate social-structural factors into the study of language variation.  My students and I are currently working at documenting speech in Georgia, both in terms of broad social group patterning over time and how speakers or small groups of speakers motivate these differences and changes.

I am a sociolinguist, but my specialties are social theory and sociophonetics.  I use mixed-methods approaches and include qualitiative and ethnographic data in my analyses, but I am not a discourse analyst and cannot direct discourse analysis projects.

Education:

PhD, Sociology, North Carolina State University, 2018

MA, English (Sociolinguistics), North Carolina State University, 2013

BA, English (World Literature), North Carolina State University, 2011

Areas of Interest:
Corpus Methods
Phonetics and Phonology
Sociolinguistics and Language Variation
Specific Research Areas:

Sociolinguistics, Language Variation and Change, Southern US Englishes, African American Language, Phonetics, Phonology

Courses Taught:
LING 3060
LING 8980
LING 4015/6015
LING(ANTH) 4860/6860
LING 4400/6400
LING(CMLT) 4870/6870
Events featuring Jon Forrest
Image of Talking Black in America movie poster
December 10, 6:00pm

Film Screening: "Talking Black in America"

Athens-Clarke County Library, Jon and Virginia Appleton Auditorium - 2020 Baxter St. Athens, GA

There will be a screening of the documentary "Talking Black in America" at the Athens-Clarke County Library in the Jon and Virginia Appleton Auditorium. The documentary talks about the formation and history of African American Language in the United States, as well as the functions it serves in the community. Linguistics Assistant…

Articles Featuring Jon Forrest
Dr. Jon Forrest

UGA Linguistics Professor Jon Forrest Featured in Segment on the Southern Drawl

We’re excited to share a recent feature highlighting our own Dr. Jon Forrest, Associate Professor of Linguistics!

In a new interview with 11Alive, Dr. Forrest discusses what current research is showing about a topic that many people feel strongly about:…

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Dr. Jon Forrest Wins Willson Center Faculty Research Grant in the Humanities and Arts

Recently our very own Dr. Jon Forrest won a Willson Center Faculty Research Grant in the Humanities and Arts for his project, "Black Language and Identity in Georgia."

College students in Atlanta, 1990's, via Flickr

Mobility and education are reshaping Black accents in Georgia

Written By: Alan Flurry, writer and producer for Franklin College of Arts and Sciences

NWAV 52 Flyer

Linguistics Faculty and Students Present At NWAV 52 Conference in Miami

This month Florida International University and the University of Miami hosted the 52nd annual Ways of Analyzing Variation (NWAV) conference in Miami. Our Linguistics Department was fortunate to have multiple faculty members and students participate this year.…

Illustrative

Georgia's Changing Accents

Dr. Jon Forrest and Dr. Peggy Renwick's research on changing pronunciations among different generations of speakers in Georgia has been featured in Georgia Magazine and in this YouTube video.

A graph showing vowel changes across generations

Collaborative UGA & Georgia Tech Linguistics Study Featured in Columns, Across News Outlets

UGA Linguistics faculty members Dr. Margaret Renwick and Dr. Jon Forrest were featured in this week's Columns article, discussing the rapid decline of the Georgia accent among…


Dr. Jon Forrest Nominated for Spotlight on Inclusive Excellence

This month, the Linguistics department's Spotlight on Inclusive Excellence will feature Dr. Jon Forrest and his course offering for Fall 2023, Language, Race, & Ethnicity in the U.S. 

Linguistic Society of America logo in blue and white

UGA Linguistics Faculty and Graduate Students present at the 94th Annual Meeting of the Linguistics Society of America

University of Georgia Linguistics Faculty and Graduate Students presented at the 94th Annual Meeting of the Linguistics Society of America, in New Orleans, Louisiana, January 2-5,…

Dr. Jon Forrest standing in front of light brick wall with black coat and burgundy sweater

Dr. Jon Forrest receives Innovation in Multicultural Curriculum Award from Franklin College of Arts & Sciences

Congratulations to Department of Linguistics Assistant Professor, Dr. Jon Forrest for receiving an Innovation in Multicultural Curriculum Award from Franklin College of Arts & Sciences to support the development of his…

Portrait of Dr. Jon Forrest in a black coat and burgundy scarf standing in front of brick wall

Dr. Jon Forrest joins the UGA Department of Linguistics

We are very happy to announce the appointment of Dr. Jon Forrest as Assistant Professor in the Department of Linguistics. Dr. Forrest received his B.A. in English with a World Literature & Japanese minor, M.A. in English with a sociolinguistics…

Contact Information

jrforrest@uga.edu
Office: 102 Gilbert Hall
Office Hours: T/Th 12:00-1:00

Other Information

Curriculum Vitae: Forrest_CV_4.pdf (163.49 KB)

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