Member Spotlights

Language Sciences statement on the Kamloops Indian Residential School burials

We were horrified to learn of the 215 children buried at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. However, we should not be shocked - Indigenous communities have known and spoken about the atrocities committed at residential schools for generations.  For our community to take one…

LangSci After Grad: Having a head and a heart is crucial for clinical work, Dr. Noreen Simmons

Written by AJ Orena. Image credit: B.C. Family Hearing Resource Society Having both a head and a heart is crucial for anyone pursuing a clinical role, according to Dr. Noreen Simmons, executive director of the BC Family Hearing Resource Society and School of Audiology and Speech Sciences…

How language teaching, learning, and pop culture, can help combat racism

Read about students and faculty from UBC’s Asian language programs experiences with racism and discrimination in Aydin Quach’s article series ‘Through our eyes, with our voices: How students and faculty are creating space to heal and be proud of their Asian identities’. If language is the key to…

'There is still so much we don’t know about language and how it interacts with culture, politics, art', Living Language alumna Q&A

Sign up for a 2021 registration alert!   Learning to work and collaborate on an interdisciplinary team in the Living Language course has been indispensable to Paris Gappmayr's graduate education. Gappmayr took the course in 2019, and is now a doctoral student in Speech, Language,…

LangSci After Grad: Finding your niche outside your department, Dr. Jennifer Abel

LangSci After Grad is a new series interviewing graduate and post-doctoral alumni with language sciences qualifications about their transition from academia to employment, written by AJ Orena Working for the UBC Research Commons while completing a Linguistics PhD helped Dr. Jennifer Abel find…

'We can work with language towards a more just society', Living Language alumni Q&A

Language can be used by humans to work towards a more just society. That's just one of the many things Jewel Goodwin learned in the Living Language: Science and Society course in 2020. A recent Speech Sciences graduate, Jewel shares her thoughts on the course and advice for students considering…

LangSci After Grad: From PhD to language coach for First Nations languages, Dr. Sonja Thoma

Langsci After Grad is a new series interviewing graduate degree and post-doctoral alumni with language sciences qualifications about their transition from academia to employment, written by AJ Orena Dr. Sonja Thoma first became interested in language documentation and revitalization while…

Why so Siri-ous? Striving to create natural voice agents

Concerned about your toddler not talking? Here are some expert tips and resources for parents

If your toddler isn’t talking, there could be a number of reasons. Expert resources and support are available to help children reach their full potential. On World Autism Awareness Day (April 2nd), Language Sciences member Dr. Paola Colozzo, an Associate Professor in the School of Audiology and…

Adopted by Tlingit, descended from Mohawk: how learning Lingít helped UBC student discover her history and strive for a future of reciprocal, respectful research

When the Tlingit community adopted UBC student Éedaa Heather Burge, she was brought in from the cold. Studying the language in Juneau, Alaska, that could be taken literally, but the Lingít phrase for adoption ‘A tóot ajeewatán’ means to take someone’s hand and bring them inside. Her adoptive…