Member Spotlights

Podcasts, policy, and the president: interdisciplinary course returns to teach the power of language

Helping at-risk children develop their cognitive skills can aid success in life - and language plays a role

Cognitive skills such as learning, planning, and problem solving, are critical for success in life, from making friends and getting good grades in school to having a career or becoming a parent. These cognitive skills develop as the brain does, so working to improve them early can change the…

Understanding word learning in the growing brain

Toddler wearing the Brite fNIRS. Photo credit: Artinis Story by the Department of Psychology Dr. Maria Arredondo and Dr. Drew Weatherhead, postdoctoral researchers in the department of psychology at UBC and Language Sciences members, recently won the Artinis Win-A-Brite Contest…

Redefining ‘lazy eye’ and investigating its effects on reading ability

Amblyopia, or lazy eye, affects about 100,000 Canadian children, but recent research suggests its definition may need to be updated. Language Sciences member and Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences professor Deborah Giaschi is investigating the reading ability of children with this vision…

Good vibrations: how vibrating devices can help wearers understand speech

Ever agreed wildly with someone at a party because you couldn’t hear what they were saying? What if a vibrating device could help you understand their speech? A project headed by Language Sciences members investigated how vibration against skin might help people understand speech in noisy…

Let’s talk about love, baby – and why we should define it

Lovers planning a romantic gesture this Valentine’s Day may want to consider their definitions first. Carrie Jenkins, Canada Research Chair in philosophy and a member of UBC’s Language Sciences Initiative, says discussing the definitions of key words often used in love—including “love” itself…

Showcasing undergraduate language research with LSURC

Pictured from left: Terrance Gatchalian, Ashley Chand and Paris Gappmayr​. The third annual Language Sciences Undergraduate Research Conference (LSURC) is coming up next week, showcasing undergraduate language research. Wholly student-organized and run, the conference provides a…

Helping to preserve a language 1,200 kilometres from home

“My name is Gawagani. I come from the house of Gamlaxyeltxw.” Gawagani, or Vincent Gogag, is 1,200 kilometres from home, and has just finished speaking the Gitksan language for a group of students on a Wednesday afternoon. This is part of Gogag’s role as a language consultant with the…

Language Sciences members win prestigious awards in 2018

Language Sciences members won a number of awards this year, including a University of British Columbia (UBC) Killam Research Fellowship, election to the Royal Society of Canada, and a Global Public Scholar award.   Language Sciences member and doctoral student Khia Johnson won a…

Camels and compliments: how language, culture and nature are interconnected

Have you ever been compared to a camel as a compliment? In Somalia, dromedaries are a favourable comparison for a woman’s beauty, something University of British Columbia Language Sciences Initiative invited speaker Luisa Maffi learned during her fieldwork for a Somali language dictionary…