UVic Linguistics hosts conference on the (Phonetic) Building Blocks of Speech, September 18-20, 2014

Don't miss this conference in honour of Professor John Esling, who will be retiring from UVic in 2014 after more than 32 years with the Linguistics Department.

Professor John Esling has had a distinguished and prolific career on the forefront of Articulatory Phonetics. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, former editor of the Journal of the International Phonetic Association, the former secretary and current President of the International Phonetic Association, and an internationally renowned leader in the field of Phonetic Sciences. (Phonetic) Building Blocks of Speech is intended to honour him and his immeasurable contributions to his field, his students, and his colleagues. It is also intended to reflect and carry forward his legacy of rigorous empirical and applied (phonetic) research.

Click here for all the details!

September 2014: Welcome and Welcome Back!

All of the staff and faculty in the Department of Linguistics would like to welcome our new students and welcome back our continuing students for another exciting and rewarding year in our department.
As always, please feel free to contact our office staff if you have any questions or concerns.

June 2014: Congratulations to all our Graduates!

As the 2013/14 year draws to a close we wish to send out a big "congratulations" to all the linguistics graduates this year and thanks for being such an important part of our Department !

Our iPA Phonetics APP Hits the Apple Store

It's HERE! The APP that everyone has been waiting for has just dropped! Get your FREE copy today for your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. We now have three Apps available in the Apple store for iOS! You can find this and the other apps by doing a keyword search in the appstore on UVic Linguistics.

Read all about it here..
...or view the iTunes preview of iPA Phonetics for iOS.

Dr. Barbara Pritchard Harris Remembered

Dr Barbara Pritchard Harris, a long-time graduate advisor, the first woman professor in the University of Victoria Department of Linguistics, and the first woman departmental chair, died April 4, 2014. We express our deep condolences to her family and friends.

Dr Harris was a lover of words. This interest in language fuelled her study of linguistics, as she earned an MA and PhD from UVic. Canadian English was the subject of her doctoral dissertation, “Selected political, cultural, and socio-economic areas of Canadian history as contributors to the vocabulary of Canadian English” (1975). She immensely enjoyed being a lexicographer for the Gage Canadian Dictionary and also contributed significantly to study of Chinuk Wawa (Chinook Jargon).

Barbara shared her love of linguistics with many students at UVic as both a teacher and graduate supervisor. Her enthusiasm for spying and detection meant that she even taught a third-year grammar course as a detective story. Barbara was a kind mentor and supporter of her colleagues.

A memorial service will be held at the Interfaith Chapel, UVic, at 10:30 am on May 23, followed by a reception at the University Club. All are welcome.

[This notice was provided by Barbara's step-daughter Barbara Doyle and added to by colleague Leslie Saxon.]

UVic Linguistics Profs Huang and Saxon Honoured

The announcements came recently that Dr Li-Shih Huang and Dr Leslie Saxon are recipients of faculty and university awards. Dr Huang is the 2014 winner of the Faculty of Humanities Teaching Excellence Award and Dr Saxon is the 2014 winner of the Craigdarroch Award for Knowledge Mobilization. Congratulations!

UVic Linguistics welcomes Dr. Alec Marantz as a Lansdowne Lecturer March 26-28

Alec Marantz is one of the world’s leading scholars in linguistics, producing significant research in three distinct areas—morphology, syntax, and neurolinguistics. He completed his Ph.D. at MIT at the age of 23, joining Harvard's illustrious Society of Fellows...

Dr. Marantz will be giving three talks during his visit to our campus. Check out our EVENTS page for all the details.

Come to the 7th Annual Applied Linguistics Fair

Everyone is welcome at our free Applied Linguistics Fair. The event takes place on March 20th, 2014, from 1:30 -3:30 p.m., at UVic, in the Upper Lounge of the Student Union Building. The Fair is a celebration of language learning and teaching in Victoria. Check out information tables from our Applied Linguistics program, language schools around Victoria, language departments at UVic, non-profit organizations, and more. There will also be digital research presentations from Applied Linguistics students, a scavenger hunt for language students, and lots of great door prizes.
To book a table, or for more information, contact Nick at alassist@uvic.ca

Click here to view poster.

Dr Trish Rosborough coming on March 13

Dr Trish Rosborough, Indigenous Education and Curriculum and Instruction, UVic, will give a talk on:
Kwak’wala Language Learning and Being Indigenous
As a Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw community member engaged in the revitalization of Kwak’wala, Trish uses story to illustrate the need for Kwak’wala revitalization efforts to employ multifaceted approaches that take into account the impacts of colonization. Trish will speak about the importance of sustaining the spirit of the language by maintaining the literal and symbolic meanings and constructs of Kwak’wala. 

Thursday, March 13, 2014
11:30-12:45, CLE A207

Ling Undergrads Nicole Edgar and Geoff Stevenson presenting at the JCURA Fair

Join us in celebrating the outstanding research produced by 115 Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards scholars. Located at the Student Union Building in the Michele Pujol room & Upper Lounge area. Over 100 Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards are available each year worth $1,500 each!

MARCH 5, 2014
11:30-3:00 P.M.
SUB

Dr Nicole Rosen coming on February 27

Dr Nicole Rosen, Canada Research Chair in Language Interactions Department of Linguistics University of Manitoba will give a talk on "The Sounds of Southern Alberta English".

Thursday, February 27, 2014
11:30-12:45, CLE A207

Click here for abstract.

Annual Linguistics Department Research Forum and Social Hour - January 23rd, 2014

Thursday January 23, 2014
11:30 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.
Clearihue D132

Mark your calendars for this popular (and free) event being held in D132. A meet and greet social hour will take place immediately foloowing in the Linguistics Seminar Room. Talk titles are available here!

October 2-3 2013 - Distinguished Women Scholars Lecture Series presents Sali Tagliamonte

Sali Tagliamonte (http://individual.utoronto.ca/tagliamonte/) will be here as part of the Distinguished Women Scholars Lecture Series. Her visit is hosted by UVic Linguistics.

Her public lecture is Wednesday, October 2 from 7-8.30 in what used to be SSM A104 (it’s now the Turpin Building). Title: Internet language in the young generation: So sick or so cool?

Her department colloquium is Thursday, October 3 from 11.30-1 in CLE-C112. Title: Variable dative constructions as probabilistic syntax.

September 2012: Welcome & Welcome Back !

All of the staff and faculty in the Department of Linguistics would like to welcome our new students and welcome back our continuing students for another exciting and rewarding year in our department. As always, please feel free to contact our department office if you have any questions or concerns.

August 9-10 2013 - Salish & Neighbouring Languages Conference

UVic Linguistics will be co-hosting the 48th International Conference on Salish and Neighbouring Languages August 9-10 2013. For more information, here’s a link to the website: http://www.icsnl.org/

June 4th Canadian Linguistic Association (CLA)

Amid the talks, posters, round tables, and plenary lectures, Leslie Saxon assumed the role of president of the Canadian Linguistic Association at the annual general meeting of the association at Congress on 1 June 2013, and will complete her term in two years. The new vice-president is Wladyslaw Cichocki of the University of New Brunswick. Leslie's thoughts on the job: "It is a huge honour! I hope to work with everyone to move the association forward so it provides even more support and opportunities for researchers at all levels of their careers all across the country."

CAAL Conference coming to UVic June 3rd - 5th!

The Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics will hold its 2013 ACLA / CAAL Conference during the 2013 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, hosted by UVic this year. Additional information is available here: http://aclacaal2013.webs.com/

CLA Conference Coming To UVic June 1st- 3rd!

The Canadian Linguistic Association will hold its 2013 conference as part of the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada, from Saturday June 1 to Monday June 3, 2013. More information is available on the CLA website here: http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~cla-acl/prog2013.html.

You can also check them out on facebook here.

Mark your Calendars for April 11th! Don't miss the Spring 2013 Ling 486 Poster Session!

Thursday April 11th 1:00-3:00pm, CLE C108

Click here for details !

Lansdowne Scholar Dr. Alister Cumming is here March 27-28, 2013

Head of the Centre for Educational Research on Languages and Literacies, OISE/University of Toronto, Professor Alister Cumming, an internationally renowned scholar and researcher and a highly sought-after speaker at major scholarly gatherings, has written extensively on second-language education, language assessment, literacy, and international education policy. Professor Cumming will share his expert knowledge and research in learning, teaching, and assessing writing in English as an additional language, evaluation of programs and curricula for second-language education, and development of assessment instruments and procedures in academic, professional, and settlement contexts.

Three presentations will be offered:

Supporting International Students’ Academic Writing Development: Using the Mother Tongue Strategically, Expressing Acquired Knowledge, and Establishing an Intercultural Identity
Wednesday, 27 March, 7:30 p.m.
Social Sciences and Mathematics Building, Room A104

Adolescent Literacies in a Multicultural Context: A Case Study of After-School Tutoring in Toronto
Thursday 28 March, 11:30 a.m.
Strong Building, Room C108

Linking Assessment to Curricula, Teaching, and Learning in Language Education
Thursday, 28 March, 7:30 p.m.
Strong Building, Room C116

How do you say it?

Jan 24, 2013. Victoria, BC. UVic Linguistics: We've released a brand new APP to the Apple iTunes store for use with your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. The iSLR Field-Recorder allows you to record words or phrases prompted by your own text list (optionally randomized- and in any iOS- supported Language). Then, simply upload your recording session to your Dropbox account or Sync with iTunes. You can retrieve new wordlists through Dropbox too!

Download your FREE copy today! https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/islr-field-recorder/id594675946?mt=8

The 2013 Applied Linguistics Information & Resource Fair

You are invited to the 6th Annual Applied Linguistics Information and Resource Fair. This FREE event is a celebration of language learning and teaching in Victoria. Visit information tables from Victoria language schools, UVic language departments, the UVic Bookstore, Non-profit organizations, and web resource providers. There will be poster presentations from students, teachers and researchers, as well as exciting door prizes! This is a great networking opportunity for language students and professionals alike.

If you’re interested in hosting a table, doing a poster presentation, or would like any further information, please contact Nick Travers at alassist@uvic.ca

Date: Thursday, February 14, 2013, from 1:30p.m. - 3:30p.m.
Admission: FREE
Location: Michele Pujol Room, Student Union Building, University of Victoria

January 2013: Linguistics Field Methods

The language to be studied in Ling 461/500 this semester will be Kiswahili, the national language of Tanzania and several other east African nations. Our linguistic consultant is a teacher and current UVic PhD student who is eager to share her native language with us. Our first class will be on Monday 7 January, and our first meeting with our Kiswahili teacher will be the following Monday. The class meets Mondays and Wednesdays, 4:30-6:30 pm. If you haven't signed up for the class yet, it isn't too late. Gain a passport to east Africa and learn a fascinating language with deep roots and many influences.

UVic Linguistics Researchers profiled on UVic's YouTube Channel

Check out the short information videos in our Research section of some of our faculty and their research as profiled on the UVic YouTube Channel.

In Memoriam: Distinguished UVic Linguistics Adjunct Professor Jimmy G. Harris Remembered

Jimmy Gene Harris died in Seattle on September 30, 2012, at the age of 82. He led a remarkable life. He was always proud of his hillbilly roots and had an early knack for languages and for understanding cultural differences and human nature in general. He was a soldier of fortune, a champion for human rights, an exacting phonetic fieldworker, a teller of stories, a teacher and a mentor. More >>>

Annual UVic Linguistics Dept. Research Forum and Social Hour, November 22nd starting at 11:30am in David Strong Building C-112

Mark your calendars for this popular event being held in DSB-C112. Talk titles are available here!

September 2012: Welcome & Welcome Back !

All of the staff and faculty in the Department of Linguistics would like to welcome our new students and welcome back our continuing students for another exciting and rewarding year in our department. As always, please feel free to contact our department office if you have any questions or concerns.

A busy 2012 Summer in Victoria Linguistics! Congratulations to Jianxun Liu, Tingfeng (Jill) Fu, (Stephanie) Zhaoru Yu, and Xiaoqian Guo for defending their Master's theses!

On August 27th Xiaoqian Guo successfully defended her thesis on L1 and L2 Writing Strategies and on August 30th Stephanie Zhaoru Yu defended her thesis on "The Production and the Perception of English Vowels by Madarin Speakers". Then, on Sept. 3rd, Jianxun Liu defended his thesis on 'oblique object' construction and DOC in Chinese. Finally, on Sept 4th, Jill also joined the MA ranks with a spectacular presentation and defense on corrective feedback and learner uptake. Congratulations to all!

Welcome to new graduate students in the Indigenous Language Revitalization program

Twenty-eight new graduate students have entered the Graduate Certificate and Master's programs in Indigenous Language Revitalization, a joint program of the Department of Linguistics and Indigenous Education in the Faculty of Education. Here in Victoria for the month of July from all over BC and other parts of the country including Ontario and the NWT, these students bring tremendous experience, resources, commitment, and spirit to our departments. Glad that you have joined us.

Congratulations to Aliana Parker for defending her Master's thesis

On Monday 16 July Aliana defended her thesis 'Learning the Language of the Land' in front of colleagues, family, friends, and examiners at First Peoples' House. Congratulations on your work!

June 2012: Congratulations to all our Graduates!

As the 2011/12 draws to a close we wish to send out a big "congratulations" to all the linguistics graduates this year and thanks for being such an important part of our Department ! Special congratulations go to our Graduate Students Rebeca Duque Colmenares, Yanan Fan, Kyoko Kaneko, Hailey Hyekyeong Ceong, David Robertson, and Jun Tian !

New Professor Coming Soon!

We are happy to announce that Peter Jacobs will be joining our department as an assistant professor specializing in Indigenous Language Revitalization. Peter starts his position on July 1, 2012, and we look forward to welcoming him to our department.

Victoria Linguistics Professor Ewa Czaykowska-Higgins Receives Community Award

In its coverage this morning (April 26th, 2012) on the 2012 BC Community Achievement Awards, the Times Colonist chose to showcase UVic's Ewa Czaykowska-Higgins, who is working with First Nations to revitalize languages, as one of 36 residents honoured at the Government House event last night. UVic is also showcasing Dr. Czaykowska-Higgins as one of the university's new Faces of UVic Research video subjects and in the announcement released by UVic today about the community award. Read more about her efforts in the recent RIng article too.

Tlicho language App Now Available!

Dr. Leslie Saxon and multimedia programmer Chris Coey from UVic Linguistics have teamed up with the Tlicho Community Services Agency to create a Tlicho language app for iPhones, iPods, and iPads. A brief story appears here from the CBC News. The APP is now available free from Apple's iTunes APP store here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/yati/id525154015?mt=8 A department web page has also just been set up for the APP here.

Lorna Williams in the Peninsula News

The Peninsula News Review is telling the story of how many First Nations languages, including SENĆOŦEN, are being brought back from the brink of extinction. Lorna Williams comments in the article that the language, developed organically over thousands of years, and holds a very intimate and very tangible connection to these lands.

Ideafest 2012: The Book is Dead debate on Youtube

The debate, sponsored by the Faculty of Humanities, was hosted by the Dean, Dr. John Archibald, with debaters Dr. Martha McGinnis-Archibald (Linguistics), Dr. Margaret Cameron (Philosophy) declared that the book is dead while Dr. Jentry Sayers (English) and Dr. John Tucker (English) argued that the book is not dead.

Watch the video clips on UVic's Humanites youtube channel here.

The 2012 Applied Linguistics Information & Resource Fair

You are invited to the 5th Annual Applied Linguistics Information and Resource Fair. For more information look here!

February 2012: Check out our Colloquium page for special guest talks!

Several Colloquia and other seminars happen each semester in the Department of Linguistics at UVic. Click here for more information.

January 2012: Welcome & Welcome Back !

All of the staff and faculty in the Department of Linguistics would like to welcome our new students and welcome back our continuing students for another exciting and rewarding year in our department.

As always, please feel free to contact our office staff if you have any questions or concerns.

 

January 2012: Congratulations to all our Graduates!

We wish to send out a big "congratulations" to all the linguistics graduates in 2011 and thanks for being such an important part of our Department ! Special congratulations go to the newest MAs and PhDs from our department, Hailey Ceong, Yanan Fan, and Jun Tian! They all defended in the last week of last semester. Congratulations also to Dave Robertson, who completed his PhD in November 2011.

Happy Holidays from UVic Linguistics !

Thanks to all for another great year in the Linguistics Department. See you in 2012 !

January 15 application deadline is approaching for the new UVIC Graduate program in Indigenous language revitalization!

Nick Claxton, the Indigenous Education Advisor, is available to help students through the application process for this Program.

Nick Claxton:
Indigenous Education Advisor/Coordinator
Iedadvis@uvic.ca
250-721-8389

Kaitlyn Charlie
Language Programs Assistant
Iedlpa@uvic.ca
250-721-7824

Nov 25, 2011: Department Colloquia: Claire Turner

Claire Turner will be presenting a talk on Friday Nov 21, 3:30-5:00 in room CLE-C112.

Presentation Title: Perfective and imperfective in Saanich (Northern Straits Salish): the role of
grammatical aspect in predicate classification

Check out our Linguistics Seminars and Linguistics Events pages for additional details on presentations.

Nov 18, 2011: Department Colloquia: Ken Reeder

Ken Reeder will be presenting a talk on Friday Nov 18, 3:30-5:00 in room CLE-C112.

Presentation Title:Third Generation CALL Research at UBC

Check out our Linguistics Seminars and Linguistics Events pages for additional details on presentations.

Nov. 2011: 27th Northwest Linguistics Conference Proceedings Now Available

We are pleased to announce that the Proceedings of the 27th Northwest Linguistics Conference are now available online as WPLC Volume 21 Issue 1. Thank you to all the authors for their contributions and to the editors for their work.

Details and content can be viewed on the WPLC website.

Oct 21, 2011: Department Colloquia: David Lorenz

David Lorenze will be presenting a talk on Friday 21, 3:30-5:00 in room CLE-C110.

Presentation Title: From reduction to conventionalization: gonna and gotta

Check out our Linguistics Seminars and Linguistics Events pages for additional details.

Oct 2011: Lansdowne Lecturer

J.K. (Jack) Chambers

Jack Chambers is one of the foremost experts in Canadian English studies, dialectology, and the social context of language – author of Sociolinguistic Theory: Linguistic Variation and Its Social Significance and co-editor of The Handbook of Language Variation and Change.

Sleeping with an Elephant’: English at the Canada–U.S. Border 
Wed. Oct 5, 7:30 pm
Social Sciences and Mathematics, Room A104

Also:
Talking Heads Don’t Talk to You: TV Talk and Your Talk 
Thurs. Oct. 6, 11:30 am
David Strong Building, Room C112

Why We Can’t Never Stamp Out Multiple Negation
Fri. Oct 7, 3:30 pm 
Clearihue Building, Room A307

September 22nd, 2011: Fall Victoria Linguistics Research Forum

Please mark your calendar for the next Linguistics Department Research Forum:

Thursday, September 22nd
11:30 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.
David Strong Building C112

Presenters and titles are on the flyer here.

 

September 2011: Welcome & Welcome Back !

All of the staff and faculty in the Department of Linguistics would like to welcome our new students and welcome back our continuing students for another exciting and rewarding year in our department.

As always, please feel free to contact our office staff if you have any questions or concerns.

 

August 2011: UVic Linguistics in Hong Kong

This year the International Congress of Phonetics Sciences (ICPhS) conference was held in Hong Kong August 16th-21st --and we were there! Among the many highlights was the news that Glasgow, Scotland will host the next ICPhS conference (August 2015) AND that our very own Department Chair Dr. John Esling has been elected the new President of the Association for the next four years.

Congratulations John!

May 2011: Congratulations to all our Graduates!

As the 2010/11 draws to a close we wish to send out a big "congratulations" to all the linguistics graduates this year and thanks for being such an important part of our Department !

June 18-19 2011: Workshop on the Syntax of Relative Clauses

On June 18-19, 2011, the University of Victoria will host the Workshop on Syntax of Relative Clauses. This is the seventh in an annual series of SSHRC-funded workshops featuring linguists from across Canada with a shared research interest in the grammatical structure and interpretation of noun phrases.

May 14-15, 2011: The official Change and Variation in Canada (V) Workshop

The UVic linguistics department is excited to host the 5th annual Change and Variation in Canada (CVC V) workshop May 14-15, 2011. This conference will host researchers working within the variationist tradition on Canadian language varieties or at Canadian institutions. CVC is a student-led and student-centred event, thus students are especially encouraged to submit abstracts.

Find the call for papers and more information at http://web.uvic.ca/~cvcv/

 

April 2nd, 2011: End of the Year Linguistics Dance

Tickets will be on sale starting March 7th for the big Linguistics Year End Bash!

Contact the Underlings for details.

March 4th, 2011: Department IT Guy Chris Coey awarded

Our own webmaster and all-round tech/programmer guy receives the President's award for outstanding service. Pictured here with son Liam and Dept. chair John Esling.

February 17-29, 2011: Lansdowne Lecturer Coming from China

Dr. Daming Xu, Nanjing University, China - is the Director of the Sociolinguistics Laboratory at Nanjing University. His PhD is from the University of Ottawa, and he has been Visiting Professor at Utrecht University, Jilin University, Hong Kong University, National University of Singapore, and UCLA. He is the Founding Editor of China Language Planning, an international journal on language planning. He is an expert on language policy-making in China, focusing on the many large minority language groups that exist in China. He is an advisor to the State Language Commission and major funding agencies in China. Click here for details...

Feb 19-20: NWLC 27th Northwest Linguistics Conferencecomes to Victoria

The 27th annual Northwest Linguistics Conference is scheduled for the 19th and 20th of February, 2011, at the University of Victoria. Registration and details at http://www.nwlc2011.com/

Full schedule is now available here!

January 2011: Applied Linguistics Information and Resource Fair

The 4th Annual Applied Linguistics Information and Resource Fair will be held at Uvic on January 14th, 2011, from 2:00 – 4:30 p.m. The Fair will feature language teaching seminars, information from language schools and publishers, resources to browse through, and other networking opportunities for anyone interested in language teaching. Complete info here.

UVic Linguistics Reserch Forum Tomorrow!

Please stop by the Elliot building (Room 061) at 11:30am on November 18th to listen to six presentations on current research projects happening in our department. Then, come back to the Linguistics Department Seminar Room (Clearihue D329) for a social hour immediately following the presentations.

Everyone is welcome !

Click here for details and titles.

October, 2010: New website launched for the 27th Northwest Linguistics Conference hosted in Victoria Feb. 2011

The official website for the 27th annual Northwest Linguistics Conference, scheduled for the 19th and 20th of February, 2011, at the University of Victoria is live.

Check it out at http://www.nwlc2011.com/

October, 2010: New website launched by UVic Linguistics Circle

The website serves as digital edition of the WPLC Journal. As of 2010 there will be no printed WPLC volumes and all future volumes will be digital e-versions. This site will eventually contain the entire archive of nearly 30 years of WPLC, along with each new edition.

Check it out at http://web.uvic.ca/~wplc/

October, 2010: Former UVic Ling Students keeping busy !

Former UVic Linguistics students (and newlyweds) Hannah (Amrhein) and Stefan Virtue are celebrating the arrival of their first baby, Salvador Winter Virtue, born September 2nd, 2010.
Congratulations Stefan and Hannah! (Picture on our facebook.)

September 27-28, 2010: Aboriginal Language Conference at UVic's First People's House

The Office of Indigenous Affairs is hosting an Aboriginal Language Conference at First Peoples’ House on September 27th-28th. Lorna Williams (CRC in Indigenous Knowledge and Learning, UVIC) and Jeannette Armstrong (Executive Director, En’owkin Centre) are Keynote Speakers.  The Conference also features workshops from community groups from across Vancouver Island. One of the workshops, on community-university partnerships will be presented by The Coast Salish Language Revitalization CURA Project, a SSHRC-funded project that has involved a partnership between the Department of Linguistics (Ewa Czaykowska-Higgins, PI; Tom Hukari and Suzanne Urbanczyk, co-investigators), the Saanich Native Heritage Society, the Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group, and First Peoples’ Heritage, Language and Culture Council. In conjunction with the conference, the Certificate in Aboriginal Language Revitalization program is offering LING 187 “From Idea to Project: Special Topics in Language Revitalization”, taught by Xway’Waat (Deanna Daniels) and Dr. Suzanne Gessner of First Peoples’ Heritage, Language and Culture Council.

INAF website with registration info for Conference: http://web.uvic.ca/inaf/
CALR website: http://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/calr

September 2010: Welcome & Welcome Back !

All of the staff and faculty in the Department of Linguistics would like to welcome our new students and welcome back our continuing students for another exciting and rewarding year in our department.

As always, please feel free to contact our office staff if you have any questions or concerns.

Prestigeous Premier's One World Scholarship 2010 Awarded to linguistics student Brittney O'Neill

University of Victoria student Brittney O’Neill is the recipient of a $20,000 Premier’s One World Scholarship for study abroad announced Hugh Gordon, chair of the Irving K. Barber British Columbia Scholarship Society today. Read more...

New UVic Linguistics Partnerships formed! CALR+NWT !

Our department, in partnership with Continuing Studies and the En'owkin Centre, has a new partnership with the Government of the Northwest Territories. From 19-31 July 2010, two courses from the Certificate in Aboriginal Language Revitalization (CALR) are being offered in Yellowknife to 21 language activists and teachers from Ulukhaktok to Trout Lake and Fort Resolution and all points between, representing 8 of the 9 official Aboriginal languages of the Northwest Territories. Ling 180A and Ling 180B are being co-taught by Iehnhotonkwas Bonnie Jane Maracle and Brock Pitawanakwat, both of whom have been associated with the CALR program from its earliest years. Leslie Saxon is in Yellowknife participating in the Institute as CALR academic advisor. A second NWT Aboriginal Languages Revitalization Institute is being planned for the summer of 2011. For more information, see the press release here:

http://www.exec.gov.nt.ca/currentnews/prDetails.asp?varPR_ID=1601

New Department Secretary & Grad Secretary !

We have hired a new departmental secretary. She is Maureen Kirby, formerly the graduate secretary in Linguistics. Congratulations, Maureen!

We have also hired a new graduate secretary. She is Jenny Jessa, formerly the honours secretary in English. Jenny will start work on July 28, so please come in and say hello.

Our beloved Department Secretary is sailing off into the sunset !

Gretchen McCulloch is retiring from her position as UVic Linguistics Department Secretary. After over 25 years her last day on the job will be 23 June, 2010. She and her husband Brian plan to head north and cruise on their boat for about three months before returning to their moorage at Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel in Victoria’s harbour.

We wish to thank her for her many contributions as the backbone of the department over these many years. Good luck and much happiness, Gretchen and Bon Voyage -- May the wind always be at your back and the sun upon your face and may the winds of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars!

Psycholinguistics professor leaving for the Windy City

We are sad to announce that Dr. Ming Xiang will be leaving us this summer to take up a position with the University of Chicago. Her expertise in psycholinguistics and other areas will be missed in the department. All the best, Ming!

Department graduate and friend Bill Lewis mourned

Bill Lewis, who received his Master's in our department in 2004, passed away in May in South Korea. He was a tireless scholar and passionate advocate for language revitalization, among his many interests. He enlivened the department when he was with us and is remembered and missed by the friends he made here. For a published obituary from the Eugene, Oregon Register-Guard, click here.

Two new memorial scholarships in Linguistics offered!

The Geoffrey & Alix O’Grady Scholarship in Linguistics

One or more scholarships are awarded to graduate students who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement and promise as researchers in the Department of Linguistics. Preference will be given to students entering the second year of a graduate program in Linguistics.

Recent recipients of this scholarship:

2009-2010  Nicholas Travers

Thomas M. Hess Scholarship in Indigenous Language Revitalization

The purpose of this fund is to provide scholarships for First Nations students in the Faculty of Humanities or Education who show promise in learning or revitalizing an indigenous language.
 
This scholarship will be awarded to an indigenous student(s) who has shown promising progress in an indigenous language course or program at UVic. Students may be selected from the Faculty of
Humanities or Education, and be enrolled in an Indigenous Language course, or an undergraduate Indigenous language program such as the Certificate in Aboriginal Language Revitalization, or a degree program in linguistics or education which focuses on the revitalization and learning of Indigenous languages.

April 9th, 2010: Linguistics 382 Poster Session

Please try to make time to drop by the 382 class' poster session 2010 in Clearihue c108 from 10:00am-12:00. There will be some great Phonetics projects on display as well as lots of refreshments and snacks ! Click here for project titles and details.

March, 2010: Grad Student has his first Journal Publication

Ph.D student Scott Moisik's article, "A high-speed laryngoscopic investigation of aryepiglottic trilling," has been published online in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (Vol. 127, Issue 3).

March 23-25, 2010: Lansdowne Lecture with Dr. Sandra Chung

Sandra Chung was trained at Harvard University and has taught at the University of California since 1975, first at UC San Diego and now at UC Santa Cruz, where she is a Distinguished Professor. Her research in syntactic theory focuses on the in-depth investigation of selected Austronesian languages, including Maori, Indonesian, and Chamorro, an Indigenous language of the Mariana Islands. Her current projects are mostly concerned with the the syntax-semantics interface and the documentation of the Chamorro language.  She has been active in the Linguistic Society of America and is the current vice-president and president-elect. Click here for more details.

March 2010: Come see us at Inter-D-Day !

The Linguistics Department will be a major component to this years' UVic Interdisciplinary Day, March 11th, in ECS 688 from 10am-2pm. This free event, hosted by the Computer Science department, will feature talks by some of our own Grad Students and a special keynote presentation on Voice analysis in Anime by Linguist Mihoko Teshigawara (download powerpoint). There will also be an exclusive screening of an Anime film in the evening.

February 8, 2010: Aliki Marinakis Honoured

Congratulations to Linguistics Department Alumna Aliki Marinakis (BA ’99, MA ‘04)
On 8 February Aliki became the first recipient of the the 'First Five Years  – Outstanding Contribution Award', a newly introduced UVic President's Distinguished Service Awards. For her story go to http://web.uvic.ca/hr/pdsa/2009pdsawinners.html

February 4, 2010: Alex has a new BLOG

Read Alexandra D'Arcy's entry on the Oxford University Press Blog.

January 21st, 2010: We're on Facebook !

The official Victoria Linguistics Facebook is now live. Check us out !

January 2010: Welcome & Welcome Back !

All of the staff and faculty in the Department of Linguistics would like to welcome our new students and welcome back our continuing students for another exciting and rewarding term in our department.

As always, please feel free to contact our office staff if you have any questions or concerns.

Check the EVENTS page for upcoming items for your calendar.

November 2009: Congratulations to all our Graduates!

Some snapshots of Fall Convocation 2009. Congratulations to all the Grads and thanks for being such an important part of our Department !

Department mourns the loss of friend and colleague Thom Hess
October 26th, 1936 - August 27th, 2009

Thom Hess, who died on August 27, 2009, was a giant of twentieth century linguistics, invisible to those whose eyes could not reach high enough to take the true measure of his greatness, but in plain sight to those whose minds are open to clear thinking, unbiased analysis and true commitment to one’s tasks.  Although his life’s work was geographically limited to a few Amerindian languages of the northwest, its scope was boundless in the range of topics covered within his field of study, and few could match the depth of his insights or the clarity with which he explained them.  His impact on Native American linguistics will be deep and lasting.

Thom was born in 1936, in Flint, Michigan.  He did his undergraduate work at the University of Colorado (1959), and his Master’s (1964) and Ph.D. (1967) at the University of Washington..  It is unfortunate that his Ph.D. dissertation, Snohomish Grammatical Structure, hitherto has remained unpublished, because it is the first detailed description of the Snohomish dialect of Lushootseed, a Coast Salish language to which Thom would dedicate many more years of his professional life.  Over time, Thom would also make contributions to Saanich and Nitinaht, respectively a Salish and a Wakashan language of southern Vancouver Island.

It is typical of Thom’s humility that he generally shied away from publications that would only benefit the academic world, but that he concentrated on works that would be useful to the Native language communities where he obtained his data.  Aside from a number of publications in scholarly journals, and contributions to the annual conferences on Salish and neighbouring languages, the bulk of his work is pedagogically based, such as his two-part Lushootseed: The language of the Skagit, Nisqually, and Other Tribes of Puget Sound, co-authored with his long-time Lushootseed consultant Vi Hilbert, and his three-volume series of Lushootseed text collections, with translations, glossaries and grammatical analysis, published between 1995 and 2006 in the University of Montana Occasional Papers in Linguistics.  In these works, and in his purely academic publications, Thom managed to explain difficult topics in clear language that eschews theoretical jargon but cuts to the core of the matter without fuss or obfuscation.  His outstanding ‘Central Coast Salish Words for Deer: Their Wave-Like Distribution’ (IJAL 45:5-16) is just one example of his complete mastery of profound analysis and insightful academic writing. His discussion of agent- and patient-oriented stems in his first Lushootseed text collection (1996, see above) is another.

It is indeed a hallmark of Thom’s work that he always combined pedagogical usefulness with academic rigour, and that his scholarly contributions remain accessible even to undergraduate students without losing any of their theoretical depth, while his pedagogical work never suffered from an ill-advised attempt to popularize (and trivialize) his writing style.  As such he was a teacher in the purest and best sense of the word.  The students at the University of Victoria, where he taught from 1968 to 2000 were very lucky to have him as their teacher and mentor.  Amongs his many students, Thom earned a reputation for generosity and fairness.  Ever willing to share his experience and wisdom, he was also ever-willing to share (even give away) the data he had collected and his insights on it with the next generation of academics.  His attitude towards students’ work was always supportive, even on those occasions where their ideas were at odds with his own, and more than a few current researchers in Northwest and other languages owe their success to Thom’s guidance, equanimity, and forbearance.
Thom’s intellectual talents were more than matched by his emotional and moral qualities, and I have rarely if ever met a more generous and caring individual in my life.  I remember with particular fondness his moral support during the years 1985 to 1989 when my family and I lived in Victoria, B.C., and long-term jobs in linguistics had basically dried up.  Not only was Thom there always with genuine concern, heartfelt words, and useful advice, but he also offered to help us out financially for as long as it would take for me to find a decently paying job.  (Fortunately I did not have to take him up on his offer, due to the fact that I obtained an appointment at First Nations University of Canada in 1989, but Thom’s generosity allowed me to coin the term “Hessian loan” for what is in fact an outright monetary gift.)

Finally, and most poignantly, I should mention the exemplary courage with which Thom faced his final, difficult years when he was stricken with cancer.  It is a source of profound consolation to his many friends that during this period he was supported and cared for by his long-time partner Rob Taylor in a manner that we all wish for, should we have to face the ordeal that Thom did.  We can be grateful that Thom was accorded as much love and compassion as he always devoted to others, and that his end was peaceful.  We shall reward his kindness with the sweetness of our memories of him.  As a linguist he was superb, as a human being he was sublime.

Jan van Eijk
Department of Indian Languages, Literaures and Linguistics
First Nations University of Canada

[Thanks are due to David Beck (University of Alberta) and Leslie Saxon (University of Victoria) for providing some of the personal memories and biographical details that have been entered into this obituary. A dedication video from the Lushootseed language staff of Tulalip can be viewed here.]

Workshop on Applying to Graduate School in Linguistics

When: Friday, November 13, 3:30 - 5:00
Where: Clearihue C110
Who: Hosted by Su Urbanczyk, this workshop is open to all Linguistics Undergrads.

* pizza will be provided *

Our Department Chair John Esling Visits Korea: Hangul-nal October 9, 2009

Friday morning I returned to the boulevard at Sejong Hall and viewed the preparations to mark the presidential opening of National Alphabet Day. Then I went to the palace (Gyeongbokgung) and found a colourful sea of 15th-century soldiers, archers, administrators and officials rehearsing for the proclamation of Humminjeongeum. There were musicians, bands, a wonderful orator, and music and chanting recalling the steppes. King Sejong was carried in and held court. I was transported in time for the whole morning. It really was the crowning glory of the writing system symposium and a fitting conclusion to the alphabet question. Click here to view pictures.

Ling Research Forum 2009 Coming Soon!

Please stop by the SS&M building (Room A120) at 11:30 on November 2nd to listen to six presentations on current research projects happening in our department. Then, come back to the Linguistics Department Seminar Room (Clearihue D329) for a social hour immediately following the presentations.

Everyone is welcome !

Click here for details and titles.

September 2009: UVic Linguistics Chair Newest Royal Fellow of Canada

John Esling is one of the University of Victoria’s newest fellows of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC). The distinction is considered Canada’s highest academic honour. MORE>>

September 2009: Welcome & Welcome Back !

All of the staff and faculty in the Department of Linguistics would like to welcome our new students and welcome back our continuing students for another exciting and rewarding year in our department.

As always, please feel free to contact our office staff if you have any questions or concerns.

August 2009: Congratulations to our latest Graduate Grads:

Haley De Korne - Degree: M.A..; MA thesis title: "Indigenous language education policy: Supporting community-controlled immersion"

Fatema Al Rubai'ey - Degree: M.A. Applied

Special Linguistics Circle Colloquia in July

The first talk of the summer will be held Thursday, July 16, 2009, from 2:30 p.m. ~ 4:00 p.m. in Clearihue D125. Speaker Harvey M. Sussman, Ph.D. will present A Tour Of Locus Equations: Phonetic Contributions, and Functional Applications.

A second talk has now been confirmed and will be held Monday, July 20, 2009, from 2:30 p.m. ~ 4:00 p.m. in Clearihue D125. Proffessor Gilberto Díaz-Santos, Ph.D. from the University of Havana, Cuba will present EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Curriculum Development in Cuba.

More>>

Tom Hukari, recently retired from our department, has certainly led an interesting life

UVic prof taught noisy Jimi Hendrix a lesson
By Jack Knox, Times Colonist June 20, 2009

If only Tom Hukari had managed to get his hands around Jimi Hendrix's throat, the Hul'q'umi'num' language might have been lost forever. Not to mention Purple Haze, Little Wing and Voodoo Chile. OK, that's an exaggeration. Read the whole story...

 

June 18 2009: Congratulations to all our Graduates!

Our department was well represented at Spring Convocation 2009. Congratulations and thanks for being such an important part of our department !

June 2009: Congratulations to our latest Graduate Grads:

Allison Benner - Degree: Ph.D.; "Production and Perception of Laryngeal Constriction in the Early Vocalizations of Bai and English Infants"

Pauliina Saarinen - Degree: M.A.; "The Finnish Language in Post-Utopian Sointula: The Effects of Frequency on Consonant Gradation"

May 2009 - UVic Linguistics instructor Dave McKercher releases "The Polysemy of 'with' in First Language Acquisition"

Available in paperback from many online booksellers, this book presents evidence from a corpus study and three psycholinguistic experiments that suggests that children begin with a general meaning of accompaniment.

This book will be of interest to linguists and psycholinguists who have wondered about the meanings of prepositions and about how multiple meanings are dealt with in first language acquisition. 

 

Available now at a web store near you.

 

Victoria Linguistics represented at the 4th Newcastle Postgraduate Conference in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics

Dr. John Esling and PhD students Scott Moisik and Thomas Magnuson were
among the presentations at this very productive conference.

Ling 382 Showcase April 8th, 2009

It's time again for the Linguistics 382 Class Poster Session!

Click for a list of the presentations.

Visiting Scholoar Tastes BC Outback

Visiting Lansdowne Lecturer Dr. John Ohala (right) went on a Victoria Linguistics hike
during his recent visit to our Department:

Friend and Colleague Philip Rabesca Mourned

The department lost a friend and colleague when Philip Rabesca died in Yellowknife in
February 2009. He was faculty member Leslie Saxon's partner and is deeply missed by her, their families, friends, and communities. More>>

Schedule for Exams Spring 2009

A timetable is available here for spring exams (Winter Term) 2009.

Schedule for Summer 2009

A timetable is available here for Summer Studies 2009 in the UVic Linguistics Department !

Special Presentations in February

Lauren Hall-Lew
Feb. 2, 11:30 – 12:50 Colloquium in CLE C113, “The emergence of identities through linguistic practice”

Vineeta Chand
Feb. 9, 11:30 – 12:50 Colloquium in CLE C113, “Social Alignments and Language Practices in Urban Indian English”

Alexandra D’Arcy
Feb. 12, 11:30 – 12:50 Colloquium in CLE C108, “Quotative be+like: The sociolinguist’s horn of plenty”

Dr. John Ohala, Berkeley Coming in March '09

Dr. John Ohala, Berkeley will be giving a series of lectures during the first week of March.
Click here for details.

Geoffrey O'Grady
January 01, 1928 - December 28, 2008

(from the Victoria Times-Colonist January 3rd, 2009)

O'GRADY, Geoffrey Noel Ph. D. January 01, 1928 December 28, 2008
Professor Emeritus of Linguistics, Loving husband, father, grandfather and friend. Our beloved Aussie Boundary Rider" left us after a lengthy struggle with Parkinson's. He leaves an irreparable gap in the lives of his grieving family: wife Alix after 51 years of marriage; his daughter Liane (Henry) and his grandson Geoffrey Patrick; his daughter Danielle (Tim) and granddaughters Elena and Isabelle; his brother Denis; and family member Rod McCormick. According to friends and colleagues on various continents Geoff was a true gentleman. Geoff was a man of great modesty, outstanding linguistic talent and a total lack of artifice. His lifelong fascination with languages first manifested itself at Adelaide High School by his taking additional subjects in Latin, German, Russian and Hungarian. After a short banking career he ventured into the Australian Outback where he spent six years as jackaroo on a vast sheep station of 25,000 sheep, located between the Eighty Mile Beach and the Great Sandy Desert. He rode approximately 10,000 miles on horseback in the company of his Aboriginal mates, camping in the bush, and learning their rich and intricate languages and dialects. Geoff was adopted into the Nyangumarta tribe and spoke their language fluently. In 1956 the University of Sydney offered him a research assistantship. While working on his B.A. he pursued field trips to record and transcribe indigenous languages usually at his own expense. His endeavours in alphabetizing Nyangumarta resulted in a literacy program and a Nyangumarta newspaper still published. He met Alix from Riga, Latvia at the University of Sydney and they married in 1957. After Liane was born in Sydney, Geoff was granted a Fulbright Scholarship at Indiana University where he completed his Ph.D. and where Danielle was born. Three summers were spent travelling five days in a decrepit Plymouth on Route 66 to Arizona for field studies in HopiTewa. On completion of his Ph.D. he accepted a position at the University of Alberta, Edmonton and proceeded to record northern Canadian First Nations languages. In 1965 he began his long association with the University of Victoria, becoming involved in the study of various indigenous languages on Vancouver Island. Invitations followed for advice from First Nations communities in northern B.C. and Yukon. He was warmly received wherever he went. Geoff's passion remained the Australian Aboriginal languages; he developed the seminal body of work about the origins and relationships of the 250 Aboriginal languages and mapped their boundaries. Geoff is regarded as a pioneer and one of the leading scholars in Australian linguistics. Upon his retirement the Australian National University honoured him with an international Festschrift entitled Boundary Rider". In addition to linguistics Geoff loved the sea and had an extraordinary knowledge of the earth's oceans. The family enjoyed many weekends rowing among the Gulf Islands as well as outings, picnics and frequent get-togethers with friends at their home. Geoff and Alix travelled extensively in North America and abroad. Geoff will be remembered for his class and charm, his easygoing nature and gift for humour and wordplay. This allowed him to form a quick rapport with total strangers. He had a prodigious memory for phrases from a wide variety of languages and throughout his life surprised people with samplings in their mother tongue.

Our thanks go to Drs. Sun and Thorpe and the Staff at RJH Emergency as well as to the thoughtful Ambulance Attendants. In particular, we are grateful for the excellent care of our family physician, Dr. R. A. Sealey and Mary Ann. A private family memorial will be held. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Victoria Epilepsy and Parkinson's Centre will be appreciated (813 Darwin Ave., Victoria, B.C. V8X 2X7).

Links:

http://www.legacy.com/can-victoria/obituaries.asp?Page=Notice&PersonID=122139265

http://www.legacy.com/can-victoria/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=122139265

http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/elac/2009/01/_geoffrey_n_ogrady.html

Congratulations to our latest Graduate Grads:

Qian Wang - Degree: Ph.D,
Thomas Magnuson - Degree: M.A.
Abby Bell Degree: - M.A. Applied
Cristina Peterson - M.A. Applied

Dr. Joseph Kess Awarded Japan's Prestigious Order of the Rising Sun

On November 3, 2008, an official announcement was made in Tokyo to confer on Dr. Joseph F. Kess, Emeritus Chair in Japan and Asia-Pacific Relations and Professor Emeritus, Linguistics, University of Victoria, one of Japan’s most prestigious honours, the “Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon”.  This award was bestowed on the recipient in recognition of his service and dedication to facilitate better understanding between Japan and Canada.

 

The contributions of Dr. Joseph F. Kess to greater understanding of Japan have come through all facets of his professional career.  His landmark books on Japanese psycholinguistics, his acknowledged excellence as a teacher, and his leadership at the Center for Asia Pacific Initiatives at the University of Victoria stand out among his many accomplishments that have served to increase awareness and knowledge about Japan in Canada.

In recognition of the outstanding contributions of this Canadian, His Excellency Mr. Hirofumi Nakasone, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, has sent a congratulatory note praising his work.

Mr. Seiichi Otsuka, the Consul General of Japan in Vancouver, will host an award ceremony for Dr. Kess at the Consul General’s official residence on Wednesday, December 10th.

Members of the media wishing to seek further information or interview the recipient should contact Ms. Ellen Lee, Consulate General of Japan at 604-684-5868 local 240.

Explanation of the Order of the Rising Sun:

http://www8.cao.go.jp/english/decoration/kyoku.html

 

New Colloquium Schedule Fall '08 - Spring '09

Click here for the schedule.

Department Research Forum December '08

At this event graduate students have the opportunity to make short presentations about their current research projects. Everyone welcome ! Free Pizza !

Where: Clearihue A127

When: Thursday, December 4th, starting at 1:30pm.

Topics: PDF version here.

Congratulations to our latest Graduate Grads: Nicholas Welch and Scott Moisik !

July 2008: Nicholas Welch has successfully defended his MA thesis "Northwest Passage: Northern Athabaskan Auxiliaries and Copulas".

July 2008: Scott Moisik has successfully defended his MA thesis: "A Three-Dimensional Model of the Larynx and the Laryngeal Constrictor Mechanism: Visually Synthesizing Pharyngeal and
Epiglottal Articulations Observed in Laryngoscopy".

July 1st, 2008 - New Chair of the Department !

UVic's Linguistics Department has a new chair. Effective 07-01-2008, Dr. John Esling will be wearing the "C" and the yellow armband. After five outstanding years as chair Dr. Leslie Saxon gets a well-deserved break and will be on leave until mid-2009.

Two Senior Professors Emeriti Honoured

At a gathering in late June 2008, the contributions to the department of Dr Geoffrey N. O'Grady and Alix O'Grady and Dr Thomas M. Hess were recognized. The department seminar room will now be called 'The Dr Geoffrey N. O'Grady Linguistics Seminar Room' and the resource room will be called 'The Dr Thomas M. Hess Linguistics Resource Room'. Many thanks to Drs O'Grady, O'Grady, and Hess for all they contributed to the department through their humanity and their research, teaching, and mentorship of junior colleagues and students.

Convocation June, 2008

A big congratulations to all our students graduating this week:

Sheryl McDonald, Laura Penney, Tamara Tobler, Stacy Adams, Giovanna Aquila, Michelle Bunney, Christopher Campese, Yin-Fang Chen, Lucas Damer, Alexa Doering, Elizabeth Duffas, Margaret Fryer, Asako Fukui, Kathleen Gaudet, Lu Lu Guan, Brenna Haimes Kusumoto, Jessie Hemphill, Seung-Eun Hong, Kai-Chieh Hsu, Soohyun Jeon, Yong Mi Kim, Elllen LaVoie, Kelly Laycock, Eui Jin Lee, Yan Jing Li, Melanie Lidstone, Alysin Lypchuk, Fraser MacGillivray, Asami Mori, Yu Nakayoku, Hikaru Nozawa, Aliana Parker, Philana Peawiradiradja, Pauline Quon, Tamara Reiter, Hiu Shek, Mari Shimode, Heather Slack, Andrew Speirs, Sandra Topelko, Valerie Wasylik, Hilary Begin, Jasmine Heschuk, Rochelle Machan, Ashley Orr, Lauren Robinson, Harumi Tominaga, Laticia Walker, Delphine Derickson, Susan Quinlan, Hannah Amrhein, Laura Hawkes and Linda Smith.

Undergrads Reporting on Research This Summer

CLA Annual Meeting, June 2008, UBC.
Lexicon of Tlîchô Yatiì: Echoes from the Nineteenth Century
Aliana Parker and Dr. Leslie Saxon

LSA Summer Meeting, July 2008, Ohio State University
L1 interference in the production of English lexical stress by French learners of English
Jasmine Heschuk and Dr. Tae-Jin Yoon

Travelers Return from China

John Esling (top-right) - along with his research team, just returned from the 2008 Phonetics Conference of China. Professor Hua Lin (not in picture) also presented a paper at the conference. Both the conference presentations and the research projects were highly successful, and much data was collected for further study.

 

Congratulations to the latest Graduate Grads: Linda Smith & SooYoun Ham!

April 2008: Linda Smith has successfully defended her MA thesis " Súwh-tˆs’éghèdúdính: the Tsìnlhqút’ín Nímính Spiritual Path".

April 2008: SooYoun Ham has successfully defended her thesis: "Tsilhqut'in Ejectives: A Descriptive Phonetic Study".

New Professor Coming Soon!

We are happy to announce that Dr Ming Xiang will be taking up a position with us starting in July 2009. Her expertise in psycholinguistics and other areas will be welcome additions for the department.

SSHRC Student Awards 2008

Students from our department have received PhD and Master's SSHRC awards in the 2008 competition. Three PhD students in our program will receive SSHRC doctoral awards, and hearty congratulations to them. The former president of the Underlings, Jonathan Blasberg, now doing a Master's in Psychology at UBC, has been awarded a Master's Scholarship.

Draft Program Proposal: Master's and Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization and Maintenance

A draft proposal (MS-Word DOC) for the Master's and Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization and Maintenance has been prepared for discussion and consultation. Your comments on this interdisciplinary proposal are most welcome. Please direct them Leslie Saxon, Lorna Williams, or Jane Mertz, by 30 April 2008 for this round of comments.

UVic Linguistics Professor Dr. Hua Lin featured in new Canadian Documentary on Language

A press release from Rogers OMNI Television on April 9, 2008 announced the upcoming television premiere of "Speaking in Tongues: The History of Language" (Mandarin version with English subtitles; English version to premier soon), which featured heavy weight linguists Noam Chomsky, John
McWhorter, and Peter Ladefoged.

Episodes 3, 4 and 5 of the series also featured Dr. Hua Lin of our Department of Linguistics, alongside Larry Hyman of U.C. Berkeley, Jay Jasanoff of Harvard University, and Lyle Campbell of the University of Utah.

The 5-episode series is aired Sundays, April 13, 20 and 27 and May 4 and 11; Encore presentation is at 10:00PM ET on April 13.

Professional Development Workshop Series for Linguistics Graduate Students

See the events page for more details.

Special Colloquiums Added

There are three new dates for special presentations coming in the first half of February. You won't want to miss these !

Laura Sabourin, Linguistics Department, University of Ottawa - Monday, 4 February, 11:30 – 12:50   Colloquium in CLE A306, “Sentence Processing in First and Second Language Acquisition: What Can We Learn from On-Line Processing?”

Matthew Wagers, Department of Linguistics, University of Maryland - Friday, 8 February, 3:30 – 5:00pm in Clearihue C108, “Creating and navigating structure in real time”             

Ming Xiang, Linguistics Department, Harvard University - Monday, 11 February, 11:30 - 12:50  Colloquium in DSB C126, “Processing scalar implicatures: at the inferface of syntax, semantics and pragmatics”

Click here for more info.

Winner of a National Award of Excellence

In 2007, the Certificate Program in Aboriginal Language Revitalization Program was honoured with an Award of Excellence from the Canadian Association for University Continuing Education.

This innovative and accessible certificate program is offered by the En’owkin Centre in partnership with the University of Victoria’s Department of Linguistics and the Division of Continuing Studies. Congratulations to Jeannette Armstrong, Ewa Czaykowska, Joy Davis and Leslie Saxon for their vision in setting up and developing the program.

Dr. Huang Receives LT Development Grant

The Linguistics Department is pleased to announce that Dr. Li-Shih Huang recently received a Learning and Teaching Development Grant for the 2007/8 Academic year.

October 2007: Brain and Cognition Seminar

Carolyn Pytlyk from the Department of Linguistics will present her recent research on second language learning to the Psychology Department. The title of her talk is "Shared Orthography: Do shared written symbols influence the perception ofnative-nonnative sound contrasts? " The presentation will be held in Cornett A228 at 3:00 PM. All are welcome to hear about Carolyn's work and to join afterwards for drinks and conversation in the Grad Lounge.

March 2008: *Final* Exam Timetable Out

Click here to be directed to the exams timetable page.

October 2007: Colloquium Series Under Way

The fall colloquium series is now underway, with a visit from Dr. Helen Fraser from the University of New England, Australia on the 19th as our first guest speaker. Click here for details

September 2007: Welcome & Welcome Back !

All of the staff and faculty in the Department of Linguistics would like to welcome our new students and welcome back our continuing students for another exciting and rewarding year in our department.

As always, please feel free to contact our office staff if you have any questions or concerns.

UVic Linguistics Department Research Forum

The Linguistics Department will be holding a research forum on Thursday, September 27th, 2007 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. in the Engineering and Computer Science building in Room 128. There will be seven exciting presentations of various research projects that are going on in the department.
Everyone is welcome to attend ! Click here for additional info.

Congratulations to the latest Graduate Grads: Yuko Igarashi and Carolyn Pytlyk !

August 2007: Yuko Igarashi has successfully defended her PHD dissertation "The Changing Role of Katakama in the Japanese Writing System: Processing and Pedagogical Dimensions for Native Speakers and Foreign Learners. "

August 2007: Carolyn Pytlyk has recently earned the department's first degree in the Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics program. Earlier this week she defended her thesis: "Shared Orthography: Do shared written symbols influence the perception of native-nonnative sound contrasts?"

Summer 2007: Aboriginal Language Revitalization Program

This innovative and accessible certificate program is offered by the En’owkin Centre in partnership with the University of Victoria’s Department of Linguistics and the Division of Continuing Studies. Summer Institute core coursework, combined with flexible elective offerings, enables individuals concerned with language loss, maintenance, and recovery to develop both knowledge and practical strategies for language revitalization activities across British Columbia and beyond. Participants in this program have come from across British Columbia and as far away as Nunavut, and have learned from one another as well as from expert instructors and resource people. More...

June 7th, 2007: New Resource Room (D338)

There is a New Linguistics Resource Room available to Linguistics Grad Students and Faculty. Located in Clearihue D338, this room contains a number of hard-to-find publications of books and journals. There is also a computer workstation available to look up publications and for general research.

May 15th, 2007: Summer Session Classes

Click here for schedule. Still spaces available in most classes. Register today!

May 1st, 2007: Two Books Published By Faculty Members

Members of the UVic Department of Linguistics have recently published the results of their research in two books. Congratulations to Andrea, Hossein, and Sandra for this major accomplishment.

Andrea Wilhelm Telicity and Durativity : A Study of Aspect in Dene Suline (Chipewyan) and German Routledge (Outstanding Dissertations in Linguistics series)

Sandra Fotos and Hossein Nassaji (eds.) Form-focused Instruction and Teacher Education: Studies in Honour of Rod Ellis, Oxford University Press

April 27th, 2007: Two Faculty Members Recognized for Prestigious Awards

Hua Lin, 2007 Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives Asia-Pacific Service Award

John Esling, 2007 Faculty of Humanities Award for Research Excellence

Margaret Florey Visiting UVic April 23rd, 2007

Margaret Florey from the Linguistics Program, Monash University Victoria, Australia
will be presenting the following colloquia:

"Capacity building and community language activism in Central Maluku (Indonesia)"
Download abstract (PDF)
Download Revitalisation Handout (PDF)

Download Vitality Testing Handout (PDF)

Clearihue A206 Monday 23 April, 3:30 pm

 

Dr. Natasha Warner Coming in March, 2007

Visiting from the Department of Linguistics, University of Arizona, Natasha will give two talks.

New Book Published : The Unity Of Unbounded Dependency Constructions

UVic Linguistics faculty member Dr. Tom Hukari (along with Dr. Robert Levine) has recently published this syntax text which is now available through CSLI Publications.

Linguistics Website Re-Launch:

The Department of Linguistics announces the re-launch of our official Website. More updates and new content is being put on every day, so be sure to check back often. Also be sure to check our events page for more happenings in the department.

UVic Linguistics Department welcomes new and returning students:

The Department of Linguistics would like to welcome all of our new students and welcome back our continuing students for another exciting and rewarding year in our department.

As always, please feel free to contact our office staff if you have any questions or concerns.

UVic Linguistics Department welcomes the following new faculty members:

Dr. Sonya Bird, Assistant Professor in Acoustic Phonetics

Dr. Suzanne Gessner, Limited Term Assistant Professor in Syntax and First Nations Languages

Dr. Li-Shih Huang, Assistant Professor in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition

Dr. Lorna Williams, CRC Chair in Indigenous Knowledge and Learning

MA in Applied Linguistics

The Department of Linguistics and the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of Victoria are pleased to announce the MA in Applied Linguistics degree program.

This Master's degree will provide advanced graduate training in theories and research in the areas of second language acquisition (SLA) and the practice of second language teaching methodology. Students will pursue their research goals through course work and either a thesis or a major research paper. Our department offers excellent opportunities for completing a graduate degree in a distinguished academic program at a dynamic university.

For more information about the program, please click here or contact Dr. Hossein Nassaji at nassaji@uvic.ca.