For anyone interested in my writing, I include here a list of my publications, which fall into three broad areas.
Looking at written English as a set of choices, I have analysed the way English works in science fiction, fantasy, crime fiction, and modern British drama.
Also interested in educational issues, I have looked at the way textbooks of the English language represent conversational English.
In my most recent work, I have explored the different ways that linguists and educational researchers look at the language of popular culture.
Where links to accessible versions of my work exist, I have given those. Other links may lead to paywalls, although members of academic libraries may be able to access these via their institutions.
On Science Fiction and Fantasy
Mandala, S. 2024. 'Science Fiction, The Future, and Now: Some Mid-Life Reflections from a Life-Long Fan'. Fafnir: Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research. 11 (1-2): 9-12. https://fafnir.journal.fi/
Mandala, S. 2018. ‘“Listening” to the Neanderthals in William Golding’s The Inheritors: A Sociopragmatic Approach to Fictional Dialogue’. Discourse, Context and Media 23: 62-69. Special Issue: Sociolinguistics of Fiction, edited by Anastasia Stamou. https://sure.sunderland.ac.uk/id/eprint/8295/
Mandala, S. 2011. ‘Star Trek Voyager’s Seven of Nine: A Case Study of Language and Character in a Televisual Text’ in Piazza, R., Rossi, F., and Bednarek, M. (eds.). Telecinematic Discourse: Approaches to the Language of Films and Television Series. Pragmatics and Beyond New Series 211. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 225-247. ISBN 978 90 272 5615 7. https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.211.14man
Mandala, S. 2010. Language in Science Fiction and Fantasy: The Question of Style. London: Continuum. ISBN 9781847063014. https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/language-in-science-fiction-and-fantasy-9781441145482/
Mandala, S. 2008. ‘Representing the Future: Chinese and Codeswitching in Joss Whedon’s Firefly’ in Wilcox, R. and Cochran, T. (eds.). 2008. Investigating Firefly and Serenity: Science Fiction on the Frontier. London and New York: I.B. Tauris. 31-40. ISBN 978 1 84511 654 5. https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/investigating-firefly-and-serenity-9781845116545/
Mandala, S. 2007. 'Solidarity and The Scoobies: An Analysis of the -y Suffix in the Television Series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.' Language and Literature 16 (1): 53-73. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0963947007072845
On Crime Fiction
Mandala, S. 2012. ‘Crime Fiction as Regional Fiction: An Analysis of Dialect and Point of View in Sheila Quigley’s Bad Moon Rising.’ Style 46 (2): 177-200. https://doi.org/10.5325/style.46.2.0177
On Modern British Drama
Mandala, S. 2017. ‘Pragmatic Stylistics and Dramatic Dialogue: Re-Assessing Gus’s Role in Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter’, in Mildorf, J. and Thomas, B. (eds.). Dialogue across Media. Dialogue Studies Series. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 19-36. ISBN 978 90 272 1045 6. https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/books/9789027266156-ds.28.02man
Mandala, S. 2007. Twentieth Century Drama Dialogue as Ordinary Talk: Speaking between the Lines. Hampshire, England and Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate Press. ISBN 0 7546 5105 3. https://www.routledge.com/Twentieth-Century-Drama-Dialogue-as-Ordinary-Talk-Speaking-Between-the-Lines/Mandala/p/book/9780754651055?srsltid=AfmBOoot_1KOzhmdPVTuT9GhwVSYn9zNm8Cga6m1X3Qw-MsZfGa6UX8T
On Textbooks and Educational Research
Mandala, S. 2025. 'Reporting to Governance: Effective and Precise Communication while Adhering to the Nolan Principles'. In Birch, T. and Lane, I. et al. (eds.), Advising on Governance in Education. 113-121. AOEA/Critical Publishing.
Mandala, S. 2024. ‘Stylistics, popular culture, and educational research: A systematized review and case study.’ English Text Construction 16 (2): 144-168. Special Issue, Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Language of Pop Culture, edited by Montoro, Rocío. and Werner, Valentin. https://sure.sunderland.ac.uk/id/eprint/16833/
Mandala, S. 2000. ‘Talk in the Mind: Scripted Dialogues and Mental Scripts’, in Coulthard, M., Cotteril, J. and Rock, F. (eds.) Working with Dialogue. Tübingen, Germany: Max Niemeyer Verlag. 347-360. ISBN 3 484 75022 7. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110941265-030
Mandala, S. 1999. ‘Exiting Advice.’ Pragmatics and Language Learning. Monograph Series 9: 89-111. University of Illinois, Division of English as an International Language, Intensive English Institute.