Overview
After graduating in Linguistics from Girton College, Cambridge I went on to study the MA in Welsh and Celtic Studies at the School of Welsh. My undergraduate dissertation examined the effectiveness of a particular method of second language instruction, the Total Physical Response. The linguistic landscapes of Cardiff was the topic of my MA dissertation. I have worked in second language Welsh teaching at secondary school and further education levels, most recently at the City Literary Institute, London. I continue to teach Welsh as a freelancer and also as a tutor on Cardiff University's Cymraeg i Bawb scheme. My doctoral research examines the suprasegmental pronunciation of adult learners of Welsh.
Publications
Pulman-Slater, J. 2020. The Operationalization Headache. Short Papers in Language and Linguistics (SPiLL), Issue (i), Winter 2020, pp. 2-3.
Pulman-Slater, J. 2020. How do you like your vowels: soft or hard? Language Magazine, February issue, pp. 29-31.
Pulman-Slater, J. 2019. Three more excuses to give up learning Welsh. Morrisville, USA: Lulu Press, Inc.
Pulman-Slater, J. 2019. Three excuses to give up learning Welsh. Morrisville, USA: Lulu Press, Inc.
Publication
2023
- Pulman-Slater, J. 2023. Caffaeliad prosodig ymhlith dysgwyr brodorol ac anfrodorol y Gymraeg: astudiaeth o aceniad geirfaol a goslef frawddegol. PhD Thesis, Prifysgol Caerdydd.
Thesis
- Pulman-Slater, J. 2023. Caffaeliad prosodig ymhlith dysgwyr brodorol ac anfrodorol y Gymraeg: astudiaeth o aceniad geirfaol a goslef frawddegol. PhD Thesis, Prifysgol Caerdydd.
Research
My research considers the pronunciation of adult learners of Welsh and examines their realisation of suprasegmental features of speech, i.e. those aspects of language above the level of individual sounds. I am focusing in particular on the realisation of stress and patterns of intonation in adult learners of Welsh from two sociolinguistically contrasting areas of south Wales with differing community Welsh language usage. My project will provide the first comparative phonetic description of learners’ prosody and compare their speech with fluent speakers from the same areas. I am also exploring possible transfer effects from two varieties of Welsh English and comparing this with transfer from non-Welsh varieties of English. The project aims to provide a description of synchronic prosodic variation and transfer within the context of minority language learning. I hope to make a direct contribution to the interesting and ongoing discussion surrounding the teaching and learning of pronunciation in Welsh for Adults classes.
I am funded and supported by the South, West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership.
Teaching
- Tutor - Cymraeg i Bawb / Welsh for All
