Students from CU Boulder’s program in Culture, Language, and Social Practice (CLASP) joined their advisor Professor Kira Hall to deliver a well received panel at the AAA/CASCA conference in Vancouver, Canada, November 2019. Entitled “Language and Middleclassness,” the panel originated from a Spring 2019 CU Boulder seminar of the same name, taught by Prof. Hall. Seven students submitted abstracts of work conducted in the seminar and were invited by the Society for Linguistic Anthropology to present papers.

In its May graduate recognition ceremony, CU Linguistics celebrated 26 majors, 6 BA/MA students, 18 MA students, 4 MS CLASIC students, and 3 PhD students, recipients of Linguistics Undergraduate Research Awards, David Rood Scholarship, and Van Ek Scholars Award, as well as recipients of Departmental (Latin) Honors, TESOL BA certificates, and CLASP certificates. 

New Senior Instructor of TESOL Theory and Practice Dr. Rai Farrelly now directs the Undergraduate Certificate Program in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). Do you want to teach English internationally or in the US? Visit the program site or contact Rai Farrelly with questions.

Colorado Research in Linguistics (CRIL), a peer-reviewed electronic journal hosted by CU Scholar, is a student-run working papers periodical that has been published by CU Linguistics since 1971. Pictured are current members of the editorial board (L-R): Jonnia Torres, Olivia Hirschey, Jared Desjardins, and Kayla Kohake. 

CU Linguistics offers a MS in Computational Linguistics, Analytics, Search and Informatics (CLASIC), an interdisciplinary degree providing a solid foundation in computer science and linguistics, as well as coursework in data-driven linguistics, computational linguistics and information processing. Apply by December 1 (international) or January 10 (domestic). For questions contact director Professor Martha Palmer. 

Researchers in the sociocultural linguistics program at CU Boulder analyze the ways that language contributes to organizations of social life in diverse contexts, whether local, regional, national, or global. Prof. Kira Hall is director of the interdisciplinary CLASP program on Culture, Language, and Social Practice, which sponsors innovative research initiatives, visiting scholars, and an internationally recognized biannual conference.

Dr. Martha Palmer, Professor of Linguistics and Computer Science and Faculty Fellow in the Institute of Cognitive Science, has been named a Professor of Distinction by the College of Arts and Sciences. The honorific title 'College Professor of Distinction' is reserved for scholars and artists of national and international distinction who are also recognized by their College peers as teachers and colleagues of exceptional talent. Dr. Palmer gave a talk about her research -- past, present, and future -- at a special reception earlier this Fall. 

Like spoken languages, sign languages differ greatly across the globe. Nonetheless, many deaf refugees are evaluated and declared to have no language ability and/or severe mental deficiencies simply because they cannot communicate in American Sign Language (ASL). Linguistics graduate student Pamela Wright is working to help these individuals communicate in the U.S. context. To read more about this important work, check out the article in "CU Boulder Today" here.

How might universal but often arbitrary patterns arise across the languages of the world? Practitioners of Construction Grammar reject the prevailing view that they come from a genetically specified 'Universal Grammar', instead viewing them as products of cultural transmission, adapted to communicative needs and routines. CU Linguistics Professor Laura Michaelis, shown at the Tenth International Conference on Construction Grammar, is a leading proponent of Construction Grammar.