Research - Sociolinguistics

Perhaps the world’s most renowned theoretical linguist of the 20th century, Noam Chomsky states in his work Language and Mind, 1972, that the “most fundamental reason for studying a language is that language is a mirror of the mind.” I am interested in building on Chomsky’s assertion to discover ways in which language is both a reflection of the human mind and the social variables and conditioning that form an integral part of human intellect and cause speakers to favor distinct linguistic resources to shape their identity. I am specifically interested language contact and the social meaning of linguistic variation as it relates to gender and ethnicity in Spanish-speaking immigrant groups.

Native Spanish speakers now total more than 400 million worldwide and their ever-increasing population within the US surpasses 30 million. These individuals’ influence on politics, culture and society in general grows stronger each day. To enrich our own understanding of our multi-ethnic society, ensure peaceful coexistence, and curb escalating conflict it is imperative to gain a better understanding of language as part of one’s ethnicity, cultural rights and heritage.

My interests also include sociolinguistic aspects of gender representation and the manifestation of gender identity and ideologies through language. I believe this to be a particularly relevant topic in sociolinguistics, as traditional gender representations are increasingly challenged in our ever-evolving societies.