Lex Konnelly

Research interests

Since my teenage years, advocacy has always been of great importance to me. As an activist, I have been drawn to the advances made by sociolinguistics in demonstrating the connections between language and social justice: it shows not only how powerful language can be as a communicative tool, but also the covert power structures that inform its use. I am excited by the capability of the field to challenge language ideologies and often, by consequence, the social ideologies from which they are inseparable. For these reasons, I am driven to explore the ways that sociolinguistics – and sociolinguists – can be agents for change. 

In a general sense, I'm interested in linguistic innovation and advocacy in transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse communities of practice from a variety of different perspectives, with a focus on stylistic variation and its material impacts in social interaction. I am especially interested in pursuing community-based, socially-grounded, and interdisciplinary approaches to my research questions, often drawing substantially from queer theory and trans studies. My side interests include the linguistic constructions of specialized commodities, particularly the language of craft beer. 

Contact

Department of Linguistics

Fourth floor, 100 Sidney Smith Hall

Toronto ON M5S3G3

a.konnelly [at] mail.utoronto.ca