Tags: language

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A long goodbye to the Southern accent

When we initially shared this new linguistics research late last year, it was tailor-made for media across the region, the nation and beyond. Since then UGA researchers Margaret Renwick and Jon Forrest have become a familiar presence in numerous reports of the demise of the Southern drawl. Georgia Magazine revisits the story in its new issue: Sometimes, linguistic studies start with a hunch. A good example is when a non-researcher notices that a…

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SIC'em, CANES! MLA Ranks UGA Latin program nation's largest

With a deep history as rich as the story of the university itself, the Latin program continues to be a robust presence on campus. A report from the Modern Language Association ranks the UGA latin program the largest in the nation: The study of classical languages at the University of Georgia dates to the university’s founding, when Latin and Greek were required for admission. In the wake of industrialization and the two world wars, higher…

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The healing power of music

Whether soothing, stirring, or inspirational, the power of music touches a boundless soul language in all of us – and probably more than a few animals, as well. Music as therapy in all its connotations logically follows the contours of this language. Music therapy as discipline and practice uses music to address conditions with few other avenues for treatment. The Hugh Hodgson School of Music music therapy program connects the power of music…

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Department of Linguistics faculty receive NSF grant to support research on endangered languages

Keith Langston, Professor of Linguistics, was recently awarded a three-year, $450,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study endangered languages on the Istrian peninsula of Croatia and the Kvarner Bay in the northern Adriatic Sea. The project, supported by the NSF Dynamic Language Infrastructure–NEH Documenting Endangered Languages program, seeks to document and analyze endangered language varieties in the Istria and Kvarner…

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Decoding Silence

Sometimes the meaning is in what you don’t say rather than in what you do say. For example, unlike English, many East Asian languages, as well as European languages including Spanish and Italian, don’t always use pronouns, such as I, he, she, it, him, or her. In English the answer to the question, “Did John see Mary?” is “He saw Mary.” But in Chinese the answer can simply be “Saw Mary.” A team led by University of Georgia researchers has been…

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Studying the impact of language on identity

Shannon Rodriguez studies a dialect of English spoken by Latinos born in Georgia, a particular blend of Southern drawl, clipped Latino vowels and a more general mainstream American accent. Speakers pull features from each to emphasize different parts of their identity. In January, she presented her dissertation on the topic “Latino English in Georgia:  a sociophonetic analysis of ethnicity and identity” to the board of regents. The…

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Teaching Writing for a Better World: Write@UGA 2021 recap

Vanessa Swenson, a Writing Intensive Program graduate student, shared this recap of the Write@UGA 2021 event from February. On February 22, 2021, the Write@UGA event series “Writing for a Better World,” welcomed Asao B. Inoue, an award-winning scholar whose work considers the intersection of writing assessment and race and racism. In a morning keynote address, “What Does It Mean To Assess Writing For A Better World? Or What Does It…

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Amazing student Zakiyya Ellington

Foundation Fellow Zakiyya Ellington came to UGA, in part for the big sports atmosphere—and in part for the travel associated with her fellowship. She’s studied at Oxford, and traveled to Tanzania, Morocco, Spain, France and Costa Rica. Still one of her favorite UGA experiences was playing women’s club rugby, which taught her to be fearless. In describing her study abroad experiences, Ellington said: After freshman year, I completed a…

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Writing for a Better World

  On February 22, 2021, Write@UGA hosts “Writing for a Better World,” an online educational event featuring keynote speaker Asao B. Inoue, Professor and the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Equity, and Inclusion for the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at Arizona State University.  Featured Events – Keynote Address “What Does It Mean to Assess Writing for a Better World?” 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM (EST)…

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German/Engineering program receives new support from The Halle Foundation

The University of Georgia Dual Degree Program in Engineering and German, one of the university’s signature initiatives combining Humanities and STEM disciplines, has been awarded a new grant from the Atlanta-based The Halle Foundation—named after the late Claus M. Halle, a German native who had a brilliant career with the Coca-Cola company—to support international engagement and recruitment initiatives. The grant of $280,000 will support…

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Physical basis of language comprehension

With an assist from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, researchers are getting a better handle on where and how the brain assembles individual words into full sentences when a person listens to a story being read. In a new study, an international team of researchers, including a UGA cognitive scientist, report that a computational model based on the concept of "phrase structure” most closely matches functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)…

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UGA among Peace Corps’ 2020 top-producing schools

The Peace Corps ranks University of Georgia at No. 5 among large schools on the agency’s list of top volunteer-producing colleges and universities in 2020. There are 64 Bulldogs currently volunteering in countries around the world: UGA made a big leap to No. 5 from last year’s spot at No. 13. “UGA’s commitment to the Peace Corps is ongoing,” said Yana Cornish, director of global education. “The recent growth of participation in the UGA…

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12 UGA students, alumni receive Fulbright offers

12 UGA students and recent alumni have been selected to receive international travel-study grants offered through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, the sixth straight year—and 10th time in the past 11 years—that UGA has received 10 or more offers. Of the 12, nine were able to take advantage of the opportunity. Four received academic and arts grants, and five will be teaching English. Eight are students or alumni with…

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International Year of the Periodic Table

The Periodic Table of Chemical Elements is one of the most significant achievements in science, a common language for science capturing the essence not only of chemistry, but also of physics, medicine, earth sciences and biology. 1869 is considered as the year of discovery of the Periodic System, and Dmitri Mendeleev was a major discoverer. 2019 will be the 150th anniversary of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements and has…

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Student scholarships for the Russian Flagship Program

The Russian Domestic Undergraduate Flagship Program at UGA recently received a $100,000 intensive domestic language studies scholarship from the Institute of International Education and the National Security Education Program to help fund the study abroad experience of Russian Flagship students: The program—which admitted its freshman cohort of 20 students in fall 2018—awards each student $5,000 to study abroad during the summer and $15,000…

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2019 Berlin Seminar in Transnational European Studies

Next week, the Franklin College and the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts at the University of Georgia and the Nanovic Institute for European Studies at the University of Notre Dame will host the second annual Berlin Seminar in Transnational European Studies: The week-long residential seminar brings together 20 faculty members and Ph.D. students from both institutions, representing all ranks and many different…

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Virtual German Exchange Program

A virtual exchange between an American and a German peer, the summer term of the UGA Linguistics / Germanic & Slavic Studies exchange program with the University of Hannover, Germany began May 20. As an additional opportunity to work on their German language skills, returning UGA exchange participants and other students who are interested can sign up for the Skype/Zoom Tandem program, which is offered twice a year, once toward…

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Flagship Programs figure strongly in 2019 Boren scholars

A record number of seven University of Georgia undergraduates - including five who participate Flagship Language Programs - were awarded Boren Scholarships this spring, which will allow them to study abroad during the 2019-2020 academic year in world regions critical to U.S. interests: An initiative of the National Security Education Program, the 2019 Boren Awards will send 244 Boren Scholars and 106 Boren Fellows to live in…

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New Russian Flagship program at UGA

The power and importance of language skills, from global collaboration and entrepreneurship to defense and diplomatic capabilities, continues to grow and expand at UGA: The development of global partnerships and a growing Eastern European economy have created an expansion of job opportunities for professionals with Russian language skills in fields ranging from the biological and mathematical sciences to the social sciences and…

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$1.7M awarded for Latin American and Caribbean Studies

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded $1.7 million in support of the University of Georgia Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute(LACSI) to expand research, teaching and public service in Georgia and beyond: A unit of UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, LACSI has more than 200 faculty affiliates spanning every college and professional school on campus, including 55 language or area studies specialists. The…

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Faculty lead effort on new Indo-European linguistics book

A new multi-volume book is widely considered the most comprehensive coverage of the field of Indo-European linguistics in a century: The Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics is a collaborative, three-volume work of 120 scholars from 22 countries. Edited by University of Georgia professor Jared Klein, the book combines the exhaustive coverage of an encyclopedia with the in-depth treatment of individual…

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Fulbright program brings global perspective

Providing students experience with international diversity and opportunities to work with people from other cultures paired with unique language courses is, in many ways, the measure of a great university. The Red & Black offers a terrific introduction to the 2018 Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants on campus this year: Every year, hundreds of people apply to be a Fulbright Foreign Language Teacher…

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Six students receive Critical Language Scholarships

Bryana Shook These students join approximately 580 competitively selected American students at U.S. colleges and universities who received the award this year. ... The Critical Language Scholarship program provides scholarships to U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to spend eight to 10 weeks overseas studying one of 14 critical languages: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Punjabi,…

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Jasper Johns by Isabelle Wallace

Associate professor of art history Isabelle Loring Wallace talks about her recent Phaidon Focus book on Jasper Johns in this interview,    
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