A Conversation with Cecilia

The third episode of the PLEJ Podcast engages with the intersection between language, politics and gender. PhD student Cecilia Berti provides an overview of her research which aims to critically understand the discourse of key women in right-wing political parties: Giorgia Meloni, Marine Le Pen, Alice Weidel and Frauke Petry. In their communicative methods, across various platforms, what is revealed about the ideologies and aims of each of these leaders? We also discuss how unique expressions of femininity advance wider party agendas, and how this is adapted for audience, podium and time. About Cecilia: Thanks to a Quirk PhD Scholarship at UCL, I am able to research the role of gender, as discourse topic and as performance, by women leaders of radical right parties in Europe. This follows a long-standing interest in the intersection of identity with political linguistics. I was awarded a distinction for my MA dissertation at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg (Germany), on the variation of BATH/TRAP vowels by Scottish Labour and Scottish Nationalist Party politicians before and after the Scottish Independence Referendum. In addition, I am an affiliated student with the Centre for French and Francophone Research and the Plenary for Linguistic and Epistemic Justice at UCL. About Hayley: Hayley was Student Associate for PLEJ and is a current MA student of Languages and Cultures Across Borders at the University of London. She graduated from UCL in September 2025 with a degree in European Social and Political Studies, specialising in Hungarian and History. She is due to begin an MPhil/PhD at SSEES in September, focusing on multilingualism, minoritisation and marginalisation in South-East Slovakia.