Michelle Sheehan

Michelle is Professor of Linguistics at Newcastle University in the UK.

She is interested in the structure of language (syntactic theory), how languages vary and how we can model this variation (typology, comparative syntax) and how structure and meaning interact (syntax/semantics interface). She has a particular interest in languages descended from Latin (Romance languages), especially Spanish and Portuguese varieties and in the study of language universals from a variety of perspectives.

Michelle also leads the project Linguistics in Modern Foreign Languages (run with colleagues at Birmingham, Bristol, Westminster and Leeds). This project aims to introduce secondary language students to linguistics. For more information about the project see linguisticsinmfl.co.uk. For a concise overview of the project’s philosophy see https://www.tes.com/news/teaching-linguistics-improves-language-skills.