The students authoring these blogs were each awarded a 2024 Linguistics Undergraduate Research Award (LURA 2024) for innovative work in a linguistics course at CU Boulder. Students in introductory as well as advanced courses were considered for the award. Nominated by faculty, GPTIs, and TAs, award winners were asked to create a short blog about their research. This project was supported by the ASSETT Faculty Fellows Program.
Y’Tekriy: An Invented Language for an Imagined Culture on a Distant World
How would a peaceful culture of intelligent beavers from an icy exoplanet communicate? Read more
Pluses and Minuses of Girl Math
What are the metamessages behind TikTok’s Girl Math meme and how does the language of the meme reinforce or resist harmful stereotypes? Read more
“The Quiet Strength of a True Leader”
How President Biden's 'War Zone' ad challenges perceptions of leadership through powerful visuals and strategic language, reshaping his image amidst declining approval ratings. Read more
Using Aspect in Standard Chinese
How do languages actually work? Is there a standard set of features that each language needs to have? Read more
LGBTQIA+ Education Through TESOL
In a cumulative project for our TESOL listening and oral skills course, we collaboratively developed a curriculum unit revolving around English language acquisition in combination with transgender and LGBTQIA+ education. Read more
Lauren Boebert Framing Conservatism to Fit Her Agenda
Is Lauren Boebert’s campaign rewriting the GOP playbook, and are voters noticing the shift? Read more
Male Genitalia in Contemporary US Slang
How does everyday slang for male genitalia index cultural and sexual ideologies? Read more
Get babygirlified idiot
Have you ever seen an adult man get called “babygirl”? If you’ve been on the internet in the last few years, the odds are higher than you’d think. Read more
The Wonders of American Sign Language (ASL)
Have you ever thought that communication is more than just speaking? Let's do some research on American Sign Language (ASL). The words in ASL are not spoken with the mouth, but expressed with movements and gestures. They gesture with their hands to express what they want to say. Read more
Teenage Boys’ Unique Language
Trying to decode my brother’s slang isn’t always easy, but there are reasons he speaks differently than others in my circle. Read more
Unveiling Gendered Marketing: Exploring the Impact of Linguistic Choices in the Hygiene Industry
Heard of the Pink Tax? It’s not alone anymore. Read more
Sanskrit: A language with use beyond communication
When we think of language we often think about language as a tool for communication, but what about language as a tool for spiritual growth? Read more
How Announcers Talk About Female Climbers (A Case Study)
Female and male athletes are not treated exactly the same in discourse, but in the case of rock climbing this may be a good thing, as it creates and redefines a new type of femininity. Read more