the University of Nottingham clock tower against a winter sky.

Literary Heritage, Dialects and Doctoral Study

Katy Birch is a PhD student in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures at the University of Nottingham. From 2024-2028, she will be working with Nottingham City of Literature on a collaborative doctoral research project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council through the Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership.

In October, I took the exciting (if slightly terrifying!) jump back into academia as I set out on a PhD. After completing a research master’s in Modern Languages at the University of Nottingham, I joined the Nottingham City of Literature team back in January 2023, working first on Story Valley before stepping into the role of Project Coordinator, leading various projects including Slamovision, Our Stories and, perhaps a personal highlight, Big City Reads.

Then, several months ago, came what felt like the perfect opportunity. An opportunity to combine my interest in languages and language-learning with a real-life, practical output – and all with the organisation whose mission of building better futures with words I deeply admire. A four-year Collaborative Doctoral Award from Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, working in collaboration with Nottingham City of Literature.

Guided by two inspiring academics – Professor Nicola McLelland at UoN, who specialises in multilingualism and language education, and Professor Natalie Braber at NTU, who is an expert on Nottingham and East Midlands dialects – as well as Hannah Trevarthen, Director at Nottingham City of Literature, the project is called ‘Understanding language heritages, supporting literacies and cultural enrichment’. In essence, we want to understand:

  • What languages – or language varieties – do people in Nottingham speak? That includes the local dialect of English alongside our city’s rich multilingualism.
  • How might we think about these different languages as part of Nottingham’s intangible cultural heritage – or living heritage?
  • How can we raise awareness of and encourage positive attitudes towards these diverse language heritages?
  • What role could Nottingham City of Literature play in this effort – especially through our work with young people?

Now is a particularly exciting time to be thinking about these questions. Earlier this year, the UK government signed up to the UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage – a slightly convoluted way of saying that the government now has a formal commitment to protect ‘intangible’ forms of heritage, including performing arts, festivals, arts and crafts, and language. I’m excited to explore how we might be able to work with our partners to contribute to this effort locally.

What’s next?

There’s a lot on the horizon! Right now, my main task is diving into the literature review, identifying existing research and examples of similar projects from other cities, like Multilingual Manchester. I’m also starting to think about how to go about collecting data. There’s an exciting approach called Youth Participatory Action Research, which directly involves young people in identifying issues that affect them and developing potential solutions. Next on my to-do list will be getting ethical approval for the research, after which I’ll be able to start reaching out to schools and cultural organisations to hopefully get them involved in the project.

I’m also looking forward to seeing what the next year has in store for Nottingham City of Literature. 2025 marks 10 years of Nottingham being a City of Literature, and as part of the celebrations, we’ve been holding a consultation to find out what the people of Nottingham want the next decade to look like. The new year will also see the return of Story Valley, our creative storytelling project for schools and colleges, and I’m excited to see the impact this has on the students and teachers who take part, and to explore the potential overlap with my research.

You can find out more about Katy and her research on the Midlands4Cities website.