Erez Levon

Erez Levon

Sociolinguistics and Director of the Center for the Study of Language and Society (CSLS) at the University of Bern. His research investigates how language variation creates social meaning and influences perception, identity and interaction. Combining quantitative, qualitative and experimental methods, he explores topics such as language attitudes, multilingualism, linguistic diversity and social categorisation. 

Through his work, Erez Levon seeks to better understand how language both reflects and shapes the societies we live in. His research has been published internationally and contributes to current debates on language, identity and social perception. 

His Video

flashMOOCs University of Bern, Thumbnail to the video "The Halfling Question – How Language Shapes What We Notice"

The Halfling Question – How Language Shapes What We Notice

Can the language we speak influence what we notice about the world? Starting with an unexpected question from a fantasy role-playing game, this animated documentary explores how language shapes perception, attention and social meaning through contemporary linguistic research.

Institute

Selected publications

  • Levon, E. (2021). Sexuality as non-binary: A variationist perspective. In Angouri, J. & J. Baxter (eds.) The Routledge handbook of language, gender and sexuality, 37-51. London: Routledge.

  • Levon, E. & Y. Ye (2020). Language, indexicality and gender ideologies: Contextual effects on the perceived credibility of women. Gender and Language 14(2): 123–151. 

  • Hall, K., E. Levon & T. Milani, eds. (2019). Navigating normativities: Gender and sexuality in text and talk. Special issue of Language in Society 48(4). 

  • Levon, E. (2018). Language and sexual politics. In Barrett, R. & K. Hall (eds.) The Oxford handbook of language and sexuality [online first]. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

  • Levon, E. & R. Mendes, eds. (2016). Language, sexuality, and power: Studies in intersectional sociolinguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

  • Levon, E. (2016). Gender, interaction and intonational variation: The discourse function of High Rising Terminals in London. Journal of Sociolinguistics 20(2): 133-163. 

  • Levon, E. (2015). Integrating intersectionality in language, gender and sexuality research. Language and Linguistics Compass 9: 295-308. 

  • Levon, E. (2015). Language and the politics of gender. In Whelehan, P. & A. Bolin (eds.) The international encyclopaedia of human sexuality. Oxford: Blackwell, 657-660. 

  • Levon, E. (2014). Categories, stereotypes and the linguistic perception of sexuality. Language in Society 43(5): 539-566. 

  • Levon, E. (2011). Teasing apart to bring together: Gender and sexuality in variationist research. American Speech 86(1): 69-84. 

  • Levon, E. (2010). Language and the politics of sexuality: Lesbians and gays in Israel. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 

  • Levon, E. (2007). Sexuality in context: Variation and the sociolinguistic perception of identity. Language in Society 36(4): 533-554. 

  • Levon, E. (2006). Hearing ‘gay’: Prosody, interpretation and the affective judgments of men’s speech. American Speech 81(1): 56-78.