Tag: Linguistics

Jan 15, 2017

For Princesses, the Question Remains: Who’s the Fairest?

Linguists Karen Eisenhauer of North Carolina State University and Carmen Fought of Pitzer College analyzed the dialogue from 12 Disney movies, finding that in early films 60 percent of compliments to females related to looks and just 9 percent to abilities. 

Sep 19, 2016

Discrimination’s ‘Back Door’: Tackling Language Bias on Campus

North Carolina State University has a long tradition of sociolinguistic research. Walt Wolfram, a sociolinguist and another of Educating the Educated's directors, established the North Carolina Language and Life Project in 1993 to study the state’s varied languages, dialects, and accents. Walt Wolfram, English, and the Language and Life Project at NC State featured. 

Aug 22, 2016

Preserving the Spanish of Yucatan

For Foreign Languages and Literatures professor Jim Michnowicz Think and Do means, among other things, preserving linguistic diversity around the world, particularly Latin America. 

Jul 6, 2016

‘A Lee Chip’ Captures the Sound of an Island

When Caroline Myrick first went to the Caribbean island of Saba in 2012, she had no idea that she’d be publishing a dictionary on the native language four years later. 

Jun 23, 2016

CoastLine: Gender Differences in Speech – Perception or Power Dynamic?

Language is widely considered to be as much a function of gender as any other gender expression – whether clothing, gender-normative interests such as interior decorating, or personality traits. Caroline Myrick, sociolinguistics, featured. 

May 12, 2016

PBS Selects Cherokee Film for National Run

PBS has selected First Language: The Race to Save Cherokee, a film produced by NC State’s North Carolina Language and Life Project, for national distribution to its member stations throughout 2016. A new American Indian broadband TV channel, Tribal TV, is also screening the film. 

Apr 27, 2016

Study Breaks New Ground in Analyzing Colombian Spanish

Juan David Gutierrez's passion for languages has led him to research the differences in regional Spanish dialects in Colombia, providing emergent insight in an area without much existing data. 

Apr 21, 2016

Research Examines ‘SHtriking’ Sound Change in Raleigh

NC State graduate student Eric Wilbanks studies how sounds change in speech. In one of his latest projects, the M.A. in linguistics candidate honed in on (str) retraction, or when /s/ is spoken more like /sh/ in (str) clusters (e.g., “SHtreet”). 

Apr 5, 2016

Class Project Leads to New Research on Spanish in North Carolina

For professor Jim Michnowicz and his students, what started as a class experiment is now producing intriguing research findings that will be published in a new book on language diversity. Their work, which provides further insight into the evolution of Spanish in North Carolina, also serves as a clear example of the kind of purposeful, community-based research that can be carried out by undergraduates. 

Mar 14, 2016

NC State Initiative Sets Gold Standard for Language Diversity

After reaching thousands of students, faculty and staff on its Raleigh campus, NC State’s Educating the Educated program is quickly becoming a national model for language diversity education. The National Association of Student Personnel Administrators affirmed the program's broadening impact, awarding Educating the Educated its grand gold medal for excellence.