Tiéphaine Thomason

I am a second-year PhD candidate at Murray Edwards, funded by the Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholars Programme.



I work on histories of language, with a particular focus on spoken French, in the 18th century. I'm particularly interested in processes of language acquisition, translation, creolisation and attrition, and how these operate within colonial port contexts. I'm especially keen to investigate these processes where they take place orally and use this to rethink how the French language was used in ports which are traditionally labelled as 'francophone'. My research currently investigates the following spaces - Nantes, Québec City, New Orleans and Saint-Pierre in Martinique.



I received a BA in History from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge in 2020. I then undertook an MPhil in Early Modern History in 2021, also at Gonville and Caius. I'm currently co-editor-in-chief of the Doing History in Public Blog and co-convenor of the History of Memory and Emotions Workshop.