Department ofGermanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures

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James Stratton

James Stratton

Assistant Professor of German and Linguistics
variationist sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, second language acquisition, Germanic languages, lexis, intensifiers

232 Burrowes Building

Websites:

Education:

Ph.D. in Linguistics, Purdue University

Biography:

James Stratton is a specialist in variationist sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, and second language acquisition. His research focuses on the factors that influence variation and change in Germanic languages, both past and present, with an emphasis on lexis and discourse. He has published in journals such as Language Variation and Change, Journal of Germanic Linguistics, Journal of Historical Linguistics, Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, Journal of Phonetics, and The Modern Language Journal. In 2025, he also published a volume on Expanding Variationist Sociolinguistic Research in Varieties of German (Routledge).

A large body of his work focuses on intensification in Germanic (e.g., English, German, Norwegian). He is currently working on two books on intensifiers: one on intensifiers in Early Germanic and one on intensifiers in Middle English (Cambridge University Press). In addition to his work on language variation and change, he has also published in the area of instructed second language acquisition and in 2024 he received ACTFL-NFMLTA/MLJ Paul Pimsleur Award for Research in Foreign Language Education for his work on learner preferences and perceptions about different instructional practices.

Prior to coming to Penn State, he worked as an Assistant Professor of English Linguistics at the University of British Columbia as a specialist in the history of English. At Penn State, he teaches courses on German(ic), sociolinguistics, language variation and change, and second language acquisition.

 

Book cover that reads "Expanding Variationist Sociolinguistic Research in Varieties of German, edited by James M. Stratton and Karen V. Beaman"