This past weekend, on April 4th, UIUC hosted the 7th Sociolinguistics Symposium. The event took place in the Lucy Ellis Lounge and was attended by approximately 55 people.
This year's theme was Between Languages, Between Worlds: Language, Culture, and Global Communication, and the symposium featured approximately 20 total speakers from a range of institutions, including the University of Texas at Austin, Purdue University, Northeastern University, Ghent University, the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and UIUC.
The plenary speaker, Dr. Jamie Shinhee Lee, gave an informative talk on "World Englishes in mediated and performative spaces: Korean pop culture as a site of linguistic innovation."
Several UIUC students also presented their research. PhD student Melika Rajabi presented "Maintaining Persian as a heritage language in the US", coauthored by Dr. Silvina Montrul. MATESL student Mehmet Sahin presented "Practicing Belonging: Academic Speech, Identity, and Power in the University Speaking Center as a Transnational Contact Zone" coauthored by Dr. Laura Stengrim.
Additionally, several undergraduate students presented their research as part of an ongoing project in the LING 222 Language in Globalization class:
- Colonial Necromancy: Examining the Revitalization of Italian Language Programming in Somalia – Kadee Swanson
- Blended Language in the Liminal Third Space – Ben Toole
- Exploring the Rebounds of Native Speakerism in EFL Education Across Nations – Caden Green
- Cross-Cultural Conversation in Farsi and English – Lillian Dowlatshahi
The full program can be found on the SoSy website.
Thank you to the conference organizer, Saman Jamshidi, the faculty advisor, Rakesh Bhatt, and to the sponsors: the Kachru Foundation, Department of Linguistics, Center for the Study of Global Gender Equity, School of Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education, Center for East Asian & Pacific Studies, European Union Center, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center, and the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.
Video by Saman Jamshidi; Photography by Parya Jangjou
