 Undergraduates from Across U.S. Coming to UMass Amherst to Gain Research Experience in Linguistics
June 1, 2009
AMHERST, Mass. – Fourteen undergraduates from around the country will gain valuable research experience in linguistics through the Summer Dialect Research Project being held June 7-20 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Run by the Center for the Study of African American Language (CSAAL) at UMass Amherst, the project is aimed at promoting interest in language-related disciplines and increasing the number of students, particularly those from underrepresented minority groups, who conduct graduate-level research in the field, according to Lisa Green, associate professor of linguistics and CSAAL director.
The focus of the summer program is on the description of patterns in African American English (AAE). In addition to taking courses on the linguistic description of AAE, participants will gain research experience by exploring current issues in the study of AAE. The emphasis will be on methods for describing patterns in the use of AAE and analyzing data. Research will be conducted in laboratory settings on databases of adult and child AAE language samples. The descriptions of the data will characterize the differences between AAE and mainstream English. The linguistic description based on this research will be shown to have practical application in fields such as education and communication sciences.
Along with Green, UMass Amherst faculty members from the School of Education and the linguistics, communication disorders, and Afro-American studies departments will be working with the students. Other project faculty are from Smith College, the University of Pittsburgh, Gettysburg College and California State University, Fullerton.
This year’s participating students hail from Tennessee State University, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, University of South Florida, Louisiana State University, Howard University, University of North Texas, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Emerson College, University of Pittsburgh, Smith College and UMass Amherst.
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