My Research

My work is situated within sociolinguistic and linguistic anthropological approaches to the intersection of language, gender, and other identities. My work primarily explores ideologies of language that are present in trans communities, both in the US South and in online contexts.

The North Carolina Trans and Nonbinary Language Project

The North Carolina Trans and Nonbinary Project documents the voices, linguistic practices, and language ideologies of transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse individuals across North Carolina. Using sociolinguistic interview methods, the project attends to various aspects of language and language change within transgender communities in North Carolina, providing a unique look at the language and lives of a minoritized gender group in the U.S. South.

Dissertation Research

My dissertation explored language practices, ideologies and linguistic activism within transgender communities in the Southern United States.

I address how trans communities in South Carolina navigate trans language in relationship with other salient identities (i.e., age, race, and regional identity), as well as the political and social context of the South. In these discussions, they express a high level of metalinguistic awareness and are attuned to the material impacts of language as a tool for both self-determination as well as social recognition and political change.

A photo of Archie, a white nonbinary person with red hair and wearing a mask, presenting at a conference.

Presenting at the Society for Linguistic Anthropology in Boulder, CO in April 2022

Other Projects

Online Discourses and Methodology

How do trans communities engage online? How can researchers engage with online communities?

  • Article: (2022) Language Ideologies and Legitimacy among Nonbinary YouTubers. Journal of Language and Sexuality. Read it here.

  • Chapter: (2021) Research Methods for Online & New Media in Research Methods in Linguistic Anthropology, Sonya Pritzker and Sabina Perrino (eds).

Transmasculinity and the Voice

I am also interested in exploring the relationship between the voice, masculinity, and whiteness in transmasculine speakers taking Testosterone.

  • Article: (2021) The weight of the voice: Gender, privilege, and qualic apperception. Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics. Read it here.

  • Conference Presentation: (2021) Transmasculinity, Privilege, and Qualic apperception,” American Anthropological Association. Baltimore, MD. Slides here.

Interdisciplinary Collaborations

I am passionate about fostering interdisciplinary collaboration to expand conversations about language and gender. I have worked with colleagues from Philosophy, Education, Computer Science, and Library and Information Science.

  • Article: (2022) Sofia Melendez and Archie Crowley. Pronouns in Higher Education. Journal of Language and Sexuality. Read it here.

  • Article: (2022) Anne Lauscher, Archie Crowley, Dirk Hovy. Welcome to the Modern World of Pronouns: Identity-Inclusive Natural Language Processing beyond Gender. Read it here.

Publications and Presentations

Below are select lists of recent publications and presentations; for a complete list, see my CV.

Publications

  • Crowley, Archie. (2022). Language Ideologies and Legitimacy among Nonbinary YouTubers. Journal of Language and Sexuality.

  • Melendez, Sofia and Archie Crowley. (2022). Pronouns in Higher Education. Journal of Language and Sexuality.

  • Crowley, Archie and Elaine Chun. (2021) “Online Research and New Media” In Sabina Perrino and Sonya E. Pritzker (Eds.) Research Methods in Linguistic Anthropology. Bloomsbury Academic.

  • Crowley, Archie. (2021). The weight of the voice: Gender, privilege, and qualic apperception. Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics, 43(1). https://doi.org/10.33137/twpl.v43i1.35969

Presentations

  • May 2022. “'They keep adding letters': Intergenerational Evaluations of Language Practices within Transgender Communities in South Carolina”. Lavender Languages and Linguistics 28. Slides here.

  • April 2022. “‘Thank you, sir or ma’am’: Navigating the Gendered Linguistic Landscape of the South,” Society for Linguistic Anthropology. Boulder, CO. Slides here.

  • with Lex Konnelly. Jan 2022. “Critique and Possibility in Trans Linguistics,” Linguistic Society of America. Washington, DC. Video recording coming soon!

  • Nov 2021. “The Weight of the Voice: Transmasculinity, Privilege, and Qualic apperception,” American Anthropological Association. Baltimore, MD. Slides here.

  • with Lex Konnelly. May 2021. “The “transgender couple”: transnormativity, trans separatism, and the discourse of t4t”. Lavender Languages and Linguistics 27. Slides here.

  • Jan 2020. "Nonbinary YouTubers, Language Ideologies, and Legitimizing Discourses" Linguistic Society of America. New Orleans, Louisiana.

  • May 2019. “We recognize when language doesn't work”: Language Ideologies in the Trans Community". Lavender Languages and Linguistics 26. University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

  • Jan 2018. “Trans Enough: Nonbinary vloggers and the transgender label”. The American Name Society at the Linguistic Society of America. New York, New York.