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HomeDepartment of Language and Linguistic ScienceAbout usNews2026York researchers present work at 7th DiPVaC conference

York researchers present work at 7th DiPVaC conference

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Posted on Thursday 15 October 2026

Dr Claire Childs and Dr Ben Gibb-Reid presented research on teacher perceptions of language variation at the international conference in Salzburg.

Researchers from the Department of Language and Linguistic Science recently participated in the 7th Discourse-Pragmatic Variation and Change (DiPVaC) conference. The event took place from 23 to 25 September 2026 at the University of Salzburg in Austria.

Dr Claire Childs, who has served as chair of the DiPVaC network steering committee since 2024, presented collaborative research led by fellow steering committee member Dr Ben Gibb-Reid. Their presentation, titled "Investigating Teacher Perceptions of Discourse-Pragmatic Variation in British Schools", examined how educators perceive language variation in classroom settings.

The DiPVaC network brings together international scholars investigating variation and change in discourse-pragmatic features. These include interpersonal and textual elements such as discourse markers, tag questions, silence, filled pauses, adverbs, and general extenders. The network provides a platform to share new findings, build research collaborations, and promote the field within and beyond linguistics.

The conference was organised by a team at the University of Salzburg comprising Professor Erik Schleef, Dr Jana Pflaeging, Dr Matthew Hadodo, Evelyn Roth, and Sabrina Ryffel.