Research to Protect Language Diversity
Evan Owens '25
Mililani Mauka, (Oʻahu,) Hawaiʻi
What drew you to this field of study?
There is a famous Hawaiian proverb: “I ka ‘ōlelo nō ke ola, i ka ‘ōlelo nō ka make.” In language there is life, in language there is death. Growing up in Hawaiʻi, I studied Hawaiian in school, but I didn’t understand why many in my parents’ generation didn’t speak it until I learned about Act 57, which banned Hawaiian from being taught for over 90 years, until 1986. This ongoing reality for Hawaiian and countless other endangered Indigenous languages around the world deeply troubled me.
With language loss being accelerated by government suppression, globalization, and colonization, learning how to describe and document a language’s grammar is vital for its longevity. I chose UMass for its renowned linguistics program to uncover these inner workings and ensure that no language is taken for granted.
How do you conduct your research?
Languages that distinguish between singular and plural have different ways of doing so. English is full of irregular plurals from other languages and, as an unstandardized language, has no official rules governing loanword pluralization, giving English speakers the freedom to choose between the different forms. Previous studies have found that Latin pluralization was preferred in English, even when technically incorrect (such as the Greek octopus becoming octopi instead of octopodes). This may be due to language ideologies, or implicit biases about languages, that valorize Latin as a historic and academic language associated with being cultured and well-educated.
My research examines how Hawaiian and Japanese loanwords are pluralized in English and the ideologies at play, such as certain social contexts in which a speaker may switch from using one form to another, showing how language is a dynamic tool used to express (or conceal) parts of our identity. Additionally, by identifying and addressing negative ideologies [about] Hawaiian, we can help normalize and promote the language.
What do you see as the impact—or potential impact—of your work?
Although Act 57 was overturned and Hawaiian is being taught again, it is still classified by UNESCO as critically endangered. Teaching the language alone is not enough for its survival. Because the majority of Hawaiians live outside of the islands, they may feel unmotivated to learn and maintain the language or ashamed to speak it in public.
Understanding the attitudes that people possess toward certain languages can help us to counteract bias and promote linguistic diversity. This is more important than ever in the face of globalization and the rise of Anglocentrism, such as a recent executive order declaring English as the official language of the United States.
I’m also fascinated by the vast diversity in language choices, even among native English speakers. The variety is striking, and I believe people should take pride in these differences rather than feeling pressured to conform to a single way of speaking.
How does your faculty mentor support your research?
My freshman year, I worked as a research assistant under Associate Professor of Hispanic Linguistics Meghan Armstrong-Abrami, studying how children in multilingual primary schools acquire gesture, tone, and intonation. This experience sparked my interest in the overlap between multilingualism and psycholinguistics, and I knew I wanted to pursue further research.
Since my sophomore year, I have been in the Language, Intersensory Processing, and Speech (LIPS) Lab, led by Associate Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences Alexandra Jesse, who has been an immense source of inspiration and advice for my research. Researching face-to-face communication inspired me to explore the impact of learning Hawaiian online versus in person, and investigating speech perception and recognition made me study how the [different types] of learning materials (written, spoken, cultural, or non-cultural) impact learners’ fluency and motivation. LIPS has shown me that there is always something new to learn because there is science in everything. It has also reinforced the value of linguistic diversity for cultural reasons, its cognitive benefits, and its role in understanding more about the human mind.
What do you find most exciting about your research?
What excites me most in my research is seeing how such subtle differences in upbringing can lead to drastically different mindsets on language use. It highlights just how sensitive we are to our environments and influences as children, showing the importance of deliberately teaching future generations to be respectful toward other languages and cultures.
I’m also fascinated by the vast diversity in language choices, even among native English speakers. The variety is striking, and I believe people should take pride in these differences rather than feeling pressured to conform to a single way of speaking. With over a billion English speakers around the world, there’s no need to try to sound like everybody else!
What are you most proud of?
I’m proud of my efforts to make linguistics and anthropology accessible to others outside of higher education. As a freshman, I interned with the Demystifying Language Project, working with professors and high school students to transform complex academic papers in linguistic anthropology and social justice into clear, engaging materials that could be taught in classrooms. As a sophomore, I was the teaching assistant for Ling 201: Introduction to Linguistic Theory, a general education course that serves as many students’ first encounter with the field and higher education as a whole. It was important to me to make students feel supported and engaged while also demonstrating how linguistics applies to other disciplines. I was honored when some of my students told me they had decided to pursue a minor in linguistics because of the course.
Currently, I assist with the instruction of The Foundations of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Access, a course taught at Revere High School through UMass’s Edwin C. Gentzler Translation Center. We explore the importance of linguistic diversity and tangible career pathways in translation and interpretation—one of the fastest-growing fields today. My hope is that introducing more people to these fields prior to university can inspire future linguists.
How has your research enhanced your overall educational experience at UMass?
The truth is, it’s the other way around: My educational experience at UMass has significantly enhanced my research. At the end of my freshman year, we hosted the Linguistic Society of America's Linguistic Institute, where hundreds of students and renowned professors from around the world gathered, allowing me to connect and share ideas without needing to leave campus! Thanks to UMass covering my tuition for the institute, I was also able to attend the European Summer School of Logic, Language, and Information at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, where I was again exposed to a wide array of ideas in an unforgettable multicultural experience abroad. I was also accepted to present my research this spring at the McGill Canadian Conference for Linguistics Undergraduates.
What are your plans for the future?
After graduating, I will be interning with Wikitongues, a nonprofit organization that hosts an archive of over 800 languages and resources to support language revitalization projects around the world. In the fall, I will be moving to Japan to work as a foreign language teacher for a few years before pursuing a PhD in language documentation and revitalization. Eventually, I hope to work with endangered languages on orthographic design, as it’s estimated that around 40 percent of all languages do not have a writing system, which is important for preserving a language by facilitating the creation of creative and educational materials.
Why would you recommend UMass to a friend?
While I was already sold on UMass due to our Department of Linguistics, I was still apprehensive about attending such a large university, especially as an out-of-state student. But right from the start, I couldn’t have felt more at home with my freshman seminar class on playing the ukulele! Since then, I’ve gone on surf trips with the UMass Surf Club and joined the Japanese Students Association as an event coordinator. Outside of student life, UMass also has many different resources, such as the Asian/Asian American Defined Residential Community and the CMASS Cultural Centers, allowing me to live alongside students with similar experiences and stay connected to my culture through events such as lei-making.
UMass also does a great job of promoting and supporting language learning and linguistic diversity. In addition to receiving the Luise Bronner Scholarship, which supports students studying foreign languages, I also was one of the winners of an essay contest centered around the theme of “Why Do I Learn Languages?” There is also the Five College consortium's Center for World Languages, which teaches a wide variety of under-taught languages. This award is yet another great example of how much support and opportunities there are for undergraduates here, regardless of academic discipline! (And if you’re still not convinced, the food is delicious too!)