Ashley Wenjing Xing

PhD Linguistics & English Language

  • Linguistics and English Language
  • School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences

Contact details

Address

Street

Dugald Stewart Building

City
3 Charles Street, Edinburgh
Post code
EH8 9AD

Biography

Background

Hi there! I’m currently a third-year PhD student in Sociolinguistics at the University of Edinburgh. My research interest lies in the interrelation between linguistic landscape and Chinese diaspora & Sinophone queer cultures. I'm specialized in sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology. I'm keen on incorporating decolonized and creative theories and methods to research. I speak a variety of the Guiyang dialect (first language), Mandarin, and English.

I'm co-supervised by Christian Ilbury and Guy Puzey. 

 

Qualifications

PhD in LEL, University of Edinburgh (2023-

Master by Research in Linguistics, University of Edinburgh (2022-2023)

MSc in English Language, University of Edinburgh (2021-2022)

Responsibilities & affiliations

I’m hosting the Sociolinguistics Reading Group at the university from September, 2024. We meet every other week discussing a research article under a sociolinguistics topic. The SRG welcomes anyone who is interested in sociolinguistics, including undergraduates, postgraduates, and staff members. Please drop an email to me if you’re interested in joining!

Undergraduate teaching

I'm tutoring Sociolinguistics and LEL 1B in the academic year of 2024-2026.

I also work at PPLS Skills Centre providing one-to-one academic writing support from 2024-2026.

Research summary

linguistic landscape, ethnography, Chinese diaspora, queer community 

Current research interests

I’m currently working on my PhD project about linguistic landscapes of the Chinese LGBTQ+ diaspora at Pride in UK, supervised by Dr. Christian Ilbury and Dr. Guy Puzey.

Past research interests

I gained my Master by Research in Linguistics with Distinction from the University of Edinburgh in 2023. I did an ethnographic study to explore the nuances of the linguistic landscapes of Chinese restaurants in two urban areas of Edinburgh, and how this was related to diasporic change of the local Chinese community.

Conference details

Xing, A .W. (2025). Constructing Transnational Queerness: Linguistic Landscapes of the Chinese LGBTQ+ community at UK Pride Protests. Linguistic Landscape 16. Essen. 3rd-5th September. Best Student Paper Award. 

Xing, A. W. (2025). Linguistic Landscapes of Transnational Queer Activism: Chinese LGBTQ+ Diaspora at Pride in UK. Lavender Languages and Linguistics Conference. Manchester. 20th-22nd August. 

Xing, A. W. (2025). Chinese Queer Diaspora at UK Pride: Through the Lens of Linguistic Landscape. The British Association of Applied Linguistics' Special Interest Group for Language, Gender and Sexuality. Online. 2nd July.   

Xing, A. W. & Han, S. (2025). Affective Digital Feminism in China: The Recontextualization of the Chinese ‘Female’ Script Nvshu on RED. Approaches to Digital Discourse Analysis conference. Tilburg. 21st-23rd. 

Xing, A. W. (2025). Linguistic landscapes of Chinese LGBTQ+ community at UK Pride. Queer Identities in Contemporary China. Edinburgh. 7th April. 

Xing, A. W. (2024). Linguistic Landscapes of Chineseness and Queerness: Chinese Queer Diaspora at Pride in UK. The British Association of Applied Linguistics' Special Interest Group for Language, Gender and Sexuality. Online. 6th July. 

Invited speaker

Xing, A. W. (2025). Penumbra que(e)ry shadow: Chinese LGBTQ+ diaspora in the linguistic landscape of UK Pride. Research seminar, English Language and Linguistics, University of Glasgow. Glasgow. 6th November.

Xing, A. W. (2025). Chinese Queer Diaspora at UK Pride: Through the Lens of Linguistic Landscape. The British Association of Applied Linguistics' Special Interest Group for Language, Gender and Sexuality. Online. 2nd July.   

Xing, A. W. (2024). Linguistic Landscapes of Chineseness and Queerness: Chinese Queer Diaspora at Pride in UK. The British Association of Applied Linguistics' Special Interest Group for Language, Gender and Sexuality. Online. 6th July. 

Organiser

Co-Founder and Chair

  • Queer Identities in Contemporary China Conference (当代中国酷儿身份学术研究分享会), Apr. 7th 2025, University of Edinburgh. For more details please see: https://qicc5.wordpress.com/ 

Organizing Committee

  • University of Edinburgh Linguistics and English Language Postgraduate Conference, June 2024
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