Salina Cuddy
Associate Lecturer

Profile

Biography

My research is within sociolinguistics and sociophonetics, with a speciality in language and identity. I am interested in how speakers index elements of their identity using language, with a particular focus on gender, sexuality, and sport and how these can interact with each other. I use a range of quantitative methodologies, including auditory and acoustic production analysis and perceptual questionnaires, as well as qualitative analysis. 

I am the Secretary for the BAAL Language, Gender and Sexuality Special Interest Group.

I am currently the Media Recruitment Manager for CURLEW, overseeing the digital outreach of the project and developing media engagement strategies, as well as leading participant recruitment. In addition to this role, I am also an Associate Lecturer in Problem-Based Learning, facilitating seminars in this innovative form of teaching.

Career

• Media Recruitment Manager for CURLEW
  University of York (2026 - )
• Associate Lecturer and Part-Time Teacher
  University of York (2024 - )
• Lecturer in Sociolinguistics
  Queen Mary University of London (2021-23)
• Teaching Associate in Variationist Sociolinguistics
  University of Sheffield (2019-21)
• PhD in Linguistics
  University of York (2015-20)
• MA in Sociolinguistics
  University of York (2013-14)
• BA in English
  Cal Poly Humboldt (previously Humboldt State University) (2009-11)

Teaching

Undergraduate

I have been teaching within Higher Education over the past decade across several universities. My specialities are sociolinguistics and language and gender; however, I have led a breadth of modules at these different institutions. I have convened modules in Sociolinguistics, Language and Gender, Research Methods, Language in the UK, and many more. For the past three years, I have been teaching the module Understanding Language in the Real World, which uses problem-based learning. This is a unique approach to learning that centres students and promotes problem-solving and individual research.

Research

Overview

I have used several different methodologies in my research on gender, sexuality, and sport. While I have primarily focused on sociophonetic research, I am developing qualitative research within the field. I have contributed to several research projects at the University of York, including investigating Student Perceptions of Clinic-Based Learning, the Breathing for Speech app, and an Accent Bias Britain side project on group influence. I have also worked with the University of Warwick to analyse the language of coaching at live boxing events. For a full list of publications and conference talks, please see my website.

Publications

Selected publications

• Edmondson, D., Shaw-Hawkins, R., Cuddy, S., and Heritage, F. (in press, publication Feb 2027) Resisting Essentialism in Quantitative Language, Gender and Identity Research: Count Us In. Palgrave McMillan [website]
• Cuddy, S. "For the love of Sporty Spice: the interaction of gender, sexuality, and sport in /s/ production" Linguistics, vol. 64, no. 1, 2026, pp. 165-187. https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2023-0244

External activities

Invited talks and conferences

Selected Conferences

• 2025 - University of York, UK Service-Learning / Community Engaged (SL/CEL) Learning Network, “Mutual Benefit in Community Engaged Learning: How Do We Know It’s Working?”
• 2024 - University of Brighton, Lavender Language and Linguistics Conference 30  “Contending with the categories: Essentialism in sociophonetic perception research”
• 2024 - De Montfort University, BAAL Language, Gender and Sexuality Special Interest Group “Football, childhood, politics, and everything else: A topic analysis of /s/ within a women’s football team”
• 2023 - University of Edinburgh, UKLVC 14  “The L Heard? F0 and perceptions of sexuality in women”
• 2022 - University of Vienna, ICLaVE 11 “Perceptions of female sexual orientation: F0 perceptions and the importance of listener identity”