Mian Feng

Profile

I joined the School of Languages, Cultures, and Societies, University of Leeds as a PGR student in 2024. Prior to my PhD studies, I completed my undergraduate degree in English Language and Literature in mainland China. After discovering my passion for linguistics, I obtained my MA in Linguistics degree at the Chinese University Hong Kong and worked as a research intern in the Childhood Bilingual Research Centre at CUHK. 

Recent publications:

• Feng, M. (2020). Comparison Between English and Chinese Borrowings. Frontier of Higher Education, 2(4), 30-32.
• Feng, M. (2020). 从《爱弥儿》析卢梭女性教育观其现实意义. 科学导报, 4(26), 367–368. (Translation: An Analysis of Rousseau’s Views on Women’s Education in Emile and Their Practical Implications)

Research interests

I like vowels. They are great.

My research interests lie in second language phonology and speech perception. In particular, I’m passionate about the perspective of how second language learners perceive and accommodate regional accents (especially vowels) in their phonological system.

My doctoral thesis aims to investigate how different accents of English (i.e., the West Yorkshire accent) are perceived and acquired phonetically and socially by L2 listeners from the Expanding Circle, raising the awareness of incorporating non-native perspectives in current research landscapes.

I am also an active member of the research group Language@Leeds, hoping to bring positive impact of language research to our community. I’m more than happy to collaborate on topics related to second language acquisition, phonetics and phonology, and accent variation. I’d also be open to discuss interdisciplinary opportunities both within and beyond the faculty whenever they arise. Please email me and let’s grab hot chocolate!

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy in Languages, Cultures, and Societies (incoming)
• Master of Arts in Linguistics (Language Acquisition and Bilingualism stream)
• Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature (Normal)