The Social Relevance of Applied Linguistics Chaired by: Dr. Vander Viana and Dr. Florence Bonacina-PughThe talk will be followed by refreshments (16:15-17:00)About this eventLanguage is undeniably central to human life: it shapes how we perceive the world, make sense of our experiences and interact with others. In this context, Applied Linguistics is especially important as a research field that addresses some of the most pressing real-world social issues involving language. It advances our understanding of language use, helps improve communication in multicultural societies, promotes inclusivity, supports the preservation of endangered languages, contributes to the development of effective language teaching methods, and informs language policy-making, to cite just some examples. Ultimately, Applied Linguistics bridges gaps between diverse communities by fostering understanding and collaboration across linguistic and cultural boundaries. This joint lecture will explore two concrete examples that demonstrate the lasting impact of Applied Linguistics in social contexts.Presentation 1: Applications of Corpus LinguisticsSpeaker: Professor Susan HunstonSince the 1970s, applied linguists have used computational methods to analyse large amounts of language, or corpora. This talk will illustrate some of the ways this research has been put to use, from establishing authorship in legal cases to uncovering hidden attitudes in news reporting. It will show how corpora can assist with writing dictionaries or even telling jokes. The talk will also discuss the ethics of corpus research and how this mirrors discussions of the impact of AI in the modern world.Presentation 2: Language and future (un)makingSpeaker: Professor Miguel Perez-MilansIn this talk, I engage with the theme of this lecture series – i.e., “the social relevance of applied linguistics” - by bringing language use at the heart of the study of socioeconomic processes of change. To this aim, I focus on the role of communication in making certain types of people and forms of social relation recognisable in the everyday life of institutions. I will show how these communicative practices often constitute a terrain of struggle where organisations, groups and individuals compete over who gets to define what counts as a desirable way of being and doing. But not only that: by helping to perform desirable types of people and forms of social relation, such daily communicative practices are also deeply entangled with wider political configurations and the futures they strive for. With reference to my own research in the UK higher education context, I will examine how university students (un)learn to become recognisable personae and, in the process, foreshadow future worlds in dispute. A focus of this sort, I argue, provides a key building block for any interdisciplinary analysis that takes seriously the embeddedness of everyday meaning-making and the moral (re)ordering of social life.About the speakersSusan HunstonSusan Hunston is Professor of English Language at the University of Birmingham, UK. She specialises in corpus linguistics and discourse analysis and has published books and articles on topics such as: evaluative language, academic discourse, the use of corpora to describe the grammar and lexis of English, and the interface between corpus and discourse studies.Miguel Pérez-MilansMiguel Pérez-Milans is Professor of Language, Discourse and Communication at University College London. He is Co-Director of the UCL Centre for Applied Linguistics and former Co-Editor-in-Chief of Language Policy (Springer) and Language, Culture and Society (Benjamins). Miguel has been Co-President elect of the EDiSo Association for Studies on Discourse and Society (2019-2023). He has authored Urban Schools and English Language Education in Late Modern China (2013) and Co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Language Policy and Planning (2018) and Re-imagining Language and Communication in Collaborative Projects: Ethnographic Perspectives on the Future (2026).Joining the talkThis event will take place in a hybrid format.MS Teams login details will be sent to you in an auto-generated confirmation message from Eventbrite upon completion of your registration. (Please scroll down to the bottom of the message.) Please contact MHSES-REI-Events@ed.ac.uk if you do not receive this message.For any enquiries, please contact us at MHSES-REI-Events@ed.ac.uk.Register to join Tags Language, Interculturality and Literacies Research events Conferences, seminars and lectures Jun 18 2026 15.00 - 17.00 The Social Relevance of Applied Linguistics This joint public lecture will be delivered by Professor Susan Hunston and Professor Miguel Pérez-Milans. It is hosted by the Language(s), Interculturality and Literacies Hub and is part of the Stewart Alan Robertson Lecture Series funded by the Robertson Endowment. In person: Godfrey Thomson Hall, Thomson's Land, Holyrood Road Edinburgh EH8 8AQ Online: MS Teams Register for free on Eventbrite
The Social Relevance of Applied Linguistics Chaired by: Dr. Vander Viana and Dr. Florence Bonacina-PughThe talk will be followed by refreshments (16:15-17:00)About this eventLanguage is undeniably central to human life: it shapes how we perceive the world, make sense of our experiences and interact with others. In this context, Applied Linguistics is especially important as a research field that addresses some of the most pressing real-world social issues involving language. It advances our understanding of language use, helps improve communication in multicultural societies, promotes inclusivity, supports the preservation of endangered languages, contributes to the development of effective language teaching methods, and informs language policy-making, to cite just some examples. Ultimately, Applied Linguistics bridges gaps between diverse communities by fostering understanding and collaboration across linguistic and cultural boundaries. This joint lecture will explore two concrete examples that demonstrate the lasting impact of Applied Linguistics in social contexts.Presentation 1: Applications of Corpus LinguisticsSpeaker: Professor Susan HunstonSince the 1970s, applied linguists have used computational methods to analyse large amounts of language, or corpora. This talk will illustrate some of the ways this research has been put to use, from establishing authorship in legal cases to uncovering hidden attitudes in news reporting. It will show how corpora can assist with writing dictionaries or even telling jokes. The talk will also discuss the ethics of corpus research and how this mirrors discussions of the impact of AI in the modern world.Presentation 2: Language and future (un)makingSpeaker: Professor Miguel Perez-MilansIn this talk, I engage with the theme of this lecture series – i.e., “the social relevance of applied linguistics” - by bringing language use at the heart of the study of socioeconomic processes of change. To this aim, I focus on the role of communication in making certain types of people and forms of social relation recognisable in the everyday life of institutions. I will show how these communicative practices often constitute a terrain of struggle where organisations, groups and individuals compete over who gets to define what counts as a desirable way of being and doing. But not only that: by helping to perform desirable types of people and forms of social relation, such daily communicative practices are also deeply entangled with wider political configurations and the futures they strive for. With reference to my own research in the UK higher education context, I will examine how university students (un)learn to become recognisable personae and, in the process, foreshadow future worlds in dispute. A focus of this sort, I argue, provides a key building block for any interdisciplinary analysis that takes seriously the embeddedness of everyday meaning-making and the moral (re)ordering of social life.About the speakersSusan HunstonSusan Hunston is Professor of English Language at the University of Birmingham, UK. She specialises in corpus linguistics and discourse analysis and has published books and articles on topics such as: evaluative language, academic discourse, the use of corpora to describe the grammar and lexis of English, and the interface between corpus and discourse studies.Miguel Pérez-MilansMiguel Pérez-Milans is Professor of Language, Discourse and Communication at University College London. He is Co-Director of the UCL Centre for Applied Linguistics and former Co-Editor-in-Chief of Language Policy (Springer) and Language, Culture and Society (Benjamins). Miguel has been Co-President elect of the EDiSo Association for Studies on Discourse and Society (2019-2023). He has authored Urban Schools and English Language Education in Late Modern China (2013) and Co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Language Policy and Planning (2018) and Re-imagining Language and Communication in Collaborative Projects: Ethnographic Perspectives on the Future (2026).Joining the talkThis event will take place in a hybrid format.MS Teams login details will be sent to you in an auto-generated confirmation message from Eventbrite upon completion of your registration. (Please scroll down to the bottom of the message.) Please contact MHSES-REI-Events@ed.ac.uk if you do not receive this message.For any enquiries, please contact us at MHSES-REI-Events@ed.ac.uk.Register to join Tags Language, Interculturality and Literacies Research events Conferences, seminars and lectures Jun 18 2026 15.00 - 17.00 The Social Relevance of Applied Linguistics This joint public lecture will be delivered by Professor Susan Hunston and Professor Miguel Pérez-Milans. It is hosted by the Language(s), Interculturality and Literacies Hub and is part of the Stewart Alan Robertson Lecture Series funded by the Robertson Endowment. In person: Godfrey Thomson Hall, Thomson's Land, Holyrood Road Edinburgh EH8 8AQ Online: MS Teams Register for free on Eventbrite
Jun 18 2026 15.00 - 17.00 The Social Relevance of Applied Linguistics This joint public lecture will be delivered by Professor Susan Hunston and Professor Miguel Pérez-Milans. It is hosted by the Language(s), Interculturality and Literacies Hub and is part of the Stewart Alan Robertson Lecture Series funded by the Robertson Endowment.
